• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Go to Expat Living Hong Kong
Get our Newsletter

Lifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living HomepageLifestyle Guide To Moving To & Living in Singapore - Expat Living

Moving to Singapore and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Singapore.

Menu
  • Living in Singapore
      • Living here
      • Neighbourhood Guides
      • Schools
      • Property
      • Work And Business
      • Finance
      • For Guys
      • Environment
        • sports schools in singapore students jumping sack sports activitiesDiscover the sports programme at this international school
        • home internet singaporeGet your IT sorted – especially if you’re renovating
        • employee benefits mental healthEmployee benefits: What’s trending now
        • John HoggerSingapore authors – new books from sci-fi to self-help!
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things to do
      • EL Events
      • Calendar
      • Competitions
      • Noticeboard
        • The National Stadium - Sports Hub Best venues for concertsTheatres in Singapore plus venues for events & concerts!
        • Matilde G Cover picWe meet 17-year-old singing star Matilde G
        • sports schools in singapore students jumping sack sports activitiesDiscover the sports programme at this international school
        • ChivasWhat’s on this week and beyond
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Enrichment
      • Kids Things To Do
      • Mums & Babies
      • Schools
      • Tots & Toddlers
      • Tweens & Teens
        • enlarged adenoids ENT surgeonENT specialists discuss hearing loss & enlarged adenoids!
        • Oasia Resort Sentosa Far East Hospitality leadFeel like having a family staycation in Singapore or have friends visiting?
        • LoveAmme MadeToTravel breast pump with custom breast shieldPain-free & Efficient Breastfeeding Starts Here
        • Camp Asia school summer holiday campsSummer holiday camps the kids will love!
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Decor
      • Readers’ Homes
      • Furniture
        • interior décor tips styling a colonial house in SingaporeInterior design styles for a colonial house in Singapore
        • European bedding best mattressBest mattresses for the best sleep!
        • Where to buy lamps in SingaporeWhere to buy lamps in Singapore – lights galore!
        • singapore furniture shoppingSideboards, benches and consoles!
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Asia
      • Australia & New Zealand
      • Rest Of World
      • News
      • Travel Offers
        • international health insuranceProtecting your health overseas in 2022
        • COMO Point Yamu One Bedroom Pool Villa sundeckWhy you should stay at this Phuket resort
        • BangkokWhere to go in Bangkok
        • Jurong Bird ParkTravel News & Hotel Deals
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Asian Cuisine
      • Western Cuisine
      • Bars & Clubs
      • Groceries & Speciality Services
      • Recipes & Classes
        • Farmers market - butcher - meat shopTop butchers for good-quality meat
        • Sugarhall DaquriLatest bars in Singapore: New drinking spots!
        • M&S Meat Free NuggetsPlant-based nuggets – here’s what we think!
        • champagne deliveryOnline alcohol delivery – wine, champagne, beer & spirits!
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
      • Beauty Offers
        • Spray tan singaporeGet a golden glow quickly with a spray tan!
        • affordable massages singapore spasMassages in Singapore that’ll help you unwind
        • clifford clinic aesthetic clinic singapore best acne treatmentHow to prevent pimples and get rid of acne scars!
        • skinscapeScared of the pain? There’s always numbing cream!
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Dental
      • Fitness
      • Medical
      • Wellness
        • PainWhat is pain and how do you treat it?
        • Pilates fitnutFancy doing a fitness & Pilates instructor course in Singapore?
        • enlarged adenoids ENT surgeonENT specialists discuss hearing loss & enlarged adenoids!
        • frequent urge to pee overactive bladderHow to treat that frequent urge to pee
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • PRINT MAGAZINE
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINE
    • BOOKS
    • Close

Do uni rankings matter when deciding which college?

11th October 2018 by Emily Finch 4 Min Read

https://expatliving.sg/uni-rankings-matter-deciding-college/

While how a university ranks academically compared to another, can certainly be a place to start the college research process, are they going to help your teen find a university that is a good ‘fit’  – academically, socially, and in other ways?

UWC South East Asia’s (UWCSEA) University Advising Team’s recommendation is that rankings can be a useful piece of information, if applied in context, and urges families not to overly rely on them because they can be a highly subjective and potentially misleading source of information. Read on for their step-by-step guide to deciphering the rankings system and finding the best uni for your high schooler:

feet up on desk uwcsea uni rankings
Do your research, but consider the source!

Step 1: Consider the source

The best approach is to look at several sources for rankings and regard each with a critical eye. In many instances, the rankings statistics are not focused on the undergraduate experience and are based on factors that would mean very little to the experience of students embarking on their first university degree.

Many organizations that offer university rankings are for-profit entities that are more concerned with selling magazines than with journalistic integrity. In the United States, US News & World Report (USNWR) competes with Forbes and the recently introduced Wall Street Journal/TES ranking to dominate the US “market” for rankings.

QS World Rankings and THE compete to provide world rankings, but they diverge significantly due to differences in the indicators used and the weightings applied when calculating overall scores.

 uni rankings uwcsea handwriting image
Don’t worry too much about rankings, it’s all about the right “fit” for your teen, according to UWCSEA’s University advisory team

Step 2: Look at the criteria the each ranking utilises and pay attention to the criteria omitted

When looking at the rankings, students and parents must do their research and find out what the criteria are used when calculating the ranking. For example, USNWR uses the following as highly weighted criteria in calculating the overall ranking for a university:

  • how many students are denied admission
  • what is the ‘reputation’ of a university (as determined by presidents, provosts and deans)
  • faculty resources
  • alumni donations

Not all of these criteria are relevant to the experience of an undergraduate or give an indication of the quality of the education on offer.

While it may be important to a student or parent that faculty have the resources they need to educate their students, are alumni giving and the ‘deny rate’ of a university important to a student’s experience and ‘fit’ at a university? UWCSEA’s opinion is no, and we encourage students to look at criteria that are important for them.

Head to the What’s Next blog for more in-depth information on rankings criteria in the US, UK, Asia and Australia.

Step 3: Compare Apples to Apples

When using rankings, make sure you are comparing universities in a similar category. For example, a small, liberal arts college can’t be compared with a large research university.

QS World Rankings place 20% of their ranking on research citations per faculty member, which virtually eliminates liberal arts colleges in the US and small universities in Europe because those institutions do not share the same budgets as large private research universities and many public universities and therefore aren’t able to publish as many research findings.

uni rankings uwcsea asia person looking at wall
Head to UWCSEA’s blog: What Next? which provides university advice for expat parents.

Step 4: Make the rankings work for you

Look at rankings online, rather than just in print. Rankings published in magazines can’t be filtered to focus on criteria important to you.

Step 5: Don’t assume that because a university isn’t highly ranked, it isn’t good

The worldwide rankings only account for roughly 5 percent of universities, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of universities that are unranked. This does not mean they aren’t excellent educational institutions.

Step 6: “Big name” universities don’t guarantee big results

Understand that attending a university with a “big” name does not guarantee big results upon graduation. Again and again we hear stories from our alumni of the importance of being able to stand out in their university (the big fish in the small pond) and the importance of establishing relationships with professors, internship supervisors.

For more information on critically reviewing rankings, including a recommended reading list that includes the likes of Malcolm Gladwell, the esteemed author for the New Yorker, head to UWCSEA’s blog: What Next? which provides university advice for expat parents.

Presented by, UWC South East Asia
Dover Campus, 1207 Dover Road |  6775 5344
East Campus, 1 Tampines Street 73 | 6305 5344

Looking for more tips on how to help your teen through the uni application process?

 

 

 

Get the latest events, stories and special offers
sent to your inbox.

By signing up, you'll receive our weekly newsletters and offers, which you can unsubscribe to anytime.

Categories: Kids Living in Singapore Schools Schools Tags: College Education International Schools University UWCSEA

You May Also Like

sports schools in singapore students jumping sack sports activities

Discover the sports programme at this international school

home internet singapore

Get your IT sorted – especially if you’re renovating

employee benefits mental health

Employee benefits: What’s trending now

Primary Sidebar

  • Competitions
  • Noticeboard
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy

© 2022 Expat Living Singapore, All Rights Reserved.