Choosing a School - Part I.

So a long time ago I said that I would post up articles on how to make a list of the types of universities that you want to go to and shortlist the universities bit by bit. The first thing that I suggest is to decide your country of study.

This is what you may want to think about when deciding the country, in no order of priority:
1. Culture
2. How it fits with your course of study and type of education you want
3. What you hope to gain out of going there
Now let me elaborate on those 3 points.

1. Culture
Different countries have different culture, and some people have an inclination to certain cultures, especially if you do 3rd language. For instance, if you take German and you really like Germany, there is no reason why Germany shouldnt be a consideration (unless it goes against the other 2 points). Some people like the US culture where everyone is liberal and merry, while some like the UK culture. It's all about personal preference, though some are fairly neutral about this and this is therefore a non-factor in their consideration.

2. Course of study and type of education
I suppose you would have an idea of the course that you would want to study. Think about how it fits in with the country of study. For instance, aspiring doctors rarely choose US as a destination because medicine in US can only be done in graduate school, whereas it can be done in the UK/Australia as an undergraduate degree. At the same time aspiring doctors have to check with the medical authorities to see if they can practise in Singapore if they are educated in a different country.

Same goes for law in the US - it can only be done in grad school. UK therefore is a popular option for aspiring lawyers.

Some countries are also better in certain subjects - dont do psychology anywhere else other than in the US for example.

And the type of education in each country has different styles as well. For instance, the US education is rather liberal - you can do double degrees, triple degrees, etc, you can dabble in japanese classes while doing a major in biology. But in the UK, you can only stick to modules in your course of study. Of course there are upsides and downsides to it, the upside is that in UK you learn things in a more in depth manner and you get more knowledge in your subject content but you dont get the breadth unlike the US.

Clues can also be seen from the admission process, where UK universities tend to focus more on the academic aspect of applicants (hence if you go there it will probably be more academic than the US) while the US looks at the applicant as a whole. Tells you about the kind of students you will be mixing around with as well in school.

3. What you hope to gain
Different people hope to gain different things during their undergraduate years. Some hope to learn about a new culture or go somewhere unconventional, in which case it might be better to steer clear of the Anglo-Saxon schools. Some hope to gain mastery of the subject they are learning, and for some they just want a degree that can get them places (in which case ranking is king). You probably have to weigh all these factors and think about what works for you - you probably have an inclination of what countries you would want or not want to study in already, or at the very least you would have an idea of what you want from your undergraduate education.

Will continue this again another day, got to run for a meeting. Ciao!

>> Choosing a School - Part II