Ratings of educational programs

In fact, global rankings will tell a student almost nothing about the quality of education at the university in the chosen profession. Global research is necessary first of all for universities themselves, because getting on the first lines of the university gets a good reputation, and the most talented students tend to come here. Global rankings are also useful when applying for master's and doctoral programs, because they reflect the academic and research success of the university.

National rankings are also not as informative for international students as they are for local applicants. They are compiled specifically with the needs of the country's students in mind. They reflect the average admission score and employment rate of nationals, as well as the average salary of graduates..

International students should first of all focus on the profile rankings. It is this data that will help you decide where to enroll in your chosen profession. You should also pay attention to student reviews, with the help of which you can understand whether the university meets the expectations of students.

Well, the most useless ratings are those that are published in social networks and various blogs on the Internet, people far from education. These tables and graphs do not carry any information, but only can confuse the applicant. At the same time, such ratings will not tell you anything about the selected university, because the information is also taken from the Internet, often distorting it.

 What to pay attention to while choosing a university

If while choosing a university you are guided by ratings, the first thing you should pay attention to is the position of the study program in your chosen profession. In this case, the university will not necessarily occupy a leading position in global rankings. When choosing a university in the USA you should look not at global rankings, but at university ratings. For example, the University of Utah ranks 5th in the Best Graduate School Physician Assistant rating, and the University of Illinois at Chicago ranks fourth in the Best Graduate School Occupational Therapy rating and sixth in the Best Graduate School Pharmacy rating.