Universities do a lot of marketing to try to attract students. But you shouldn’t be basing your study decisions on the ads you see around you – you should do some other research before you make a decision.
Here are a few things that you can do to help you get a more impartial view of different universities and courses before you make a decision about where you’d like to study:
1. Talk to real students, not ambassadors
Try to talk to current students who aren’t “ambassadors” at Open Days (e.g. try your friends and family first). You might want to ask them about things like:
- How many students are in your course
- Are you studying on-campus? If yes, how many of your subjects are still online?
- Do you see your tutors and lecturers regularly?
- What kind of support services are there at your uni?
- How much help is there to help you get work experience? How much help is there to prepare for graduating and getting a job?
2. Visit during normal semester
Consider visiting the universities you are interested in during normal uni semester time. Universities are open to the public, so you can just walk in. Visiting on a day that isn’t Open Day will show you what the university looks like when it isn’t all dressed up and packed full of visitors.
3. Talk to professionals
(If you can) ask professionals who are working in your dream industry which universities they recommend. Again, if you can, try to get a few different opinions. Some universities have changed a lot in the over the last few decades, so people of different ages might have different opinions.
4. Consider how you’ll get there
If you’re studying on campus, you need to be able to get there. Research public transport and parking to find out what your options are. For example, if you live on the northside of Brisbane, you would probably find driving and parking (for free) at ACU would be faster and easier than catching public transport to somewhere like QUT or UQ, and definitely much cheaper than driving and parking at either of these campuses!
5. Research support services
Research the support services available at each university and compare them with each other. Consider: What kinds of supports are there? Is the support offered by trained professionals or by other students, or both? Is support offered just once or can you see someone regularly if you need/want to?
6. Research world rankings, if you’re interested in working overseas
You can research how highly the whole university ranks using something like the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. But also research how highly your study area ranks using something like the Times Higher Education World Rankings by Subject. Some universities are highly ranked as a whole institution, but may not be highly ranked for your study area (e.g. mechanical engineering or nursing). You might be surprised by which universities rank highly for different study areas!
Got any other tips for researching universities? Pop them in the comments!
Good luck!
Tom
graphic by upklyak