Читать книгу How to Succeed At University--International Edition - Danton O'Day - Страница 20

Many students spend little time selecting a university. This can be a serious error. Although the overall ranking of universities may be based on their total programmes, some of the less highly ranked ones offer specific programmes that surpass those at the more prestigious institutions and some universities offer unique programmes. If you have a concrete idea of what you want to do, look over each university’s offerings in the area that interests you.

Don’t select a university because it is close to home. Never attend a university because all your friends are going to go there. Attending a distant university can give you new experiences, new friends and new outlooks on life. You will mature faster and grow faster mentally if you move on to a new environment.

Did You Know?

Universities are respected and ranked on their contributions to society—not on their teaching. Harvard and Oxford are famous because they have famous professors who work there. They are not great because they are great teaching institutions. In fact, the data suggest the opposite. A recent analysis of the world’s top research universities has shown that the top fifty or so universities worldwide generally have faculty who are not very good teachers. So if your goal is to simply get a good education, then you should set your sights on some of the lesser institutions. However, if your goal is to become a leader in the field in which you are interested, then enter those ivy-covered halls of the intellectually elite.

If it is necessary to attend a local university for financial or other reasons then do so, but make an attempt to meet new people. University is a fantastic place to meet people with varied backgrounds. It is a multinational, multicultural community. Regardless of the university you attend, you will be exposed to new views of life.

One way to get the feeling about what universities to apply to is to attend the annual recruiting sessions that many high schools organize one or more nights each year. Representatives of local universities, and even a few distant ones, give special talks at which they explain the attractions of their universities. Obviously the university representatives (liaison officers) are there to get your warm body to their university for the revenue it will generate. They are not going to tell you about their shortcomings, only about their strong points. However, you can learn a lot from these meetings, especially if you make notes about the topics discussed. If social or sports aspects are emphasized with little regard for academic programmes, then you should beware. You are going to university (or should be) to get a valuable education that will form the basis for your future. You will have fun along the way, but that should not be your prime concern. Look for liaison officers who describe the academic programmes available and be sure to ask questions.

University recruiting nights may be limited to specific locations and are not offered by all schools, so they will not be available to all students nor will they provide you with data on all the universities in the country. Thus you will likely still have to rely on other sources of information such as university brochures and websites.