University
How to Choose a University
January 18, 2011 | 
Author Going to university is a big decision. It influences your future career path, and your wealth, health, and well-being.
Consequently, choosing the right university is important. Attending a university that is the right fit for you can make a big difference – in terms of job opportunities, career development, and general levels of happiness.
So how do you choose which university to attend? What should you look for?
Step 1: Talk to University Students
One of the best ways to work out whether a university will be a good fit for you is to talk to current and past students who have attended the university. Talking to current and past students will allow you to get an in-depth understanding of what it is like to be a student at the university.
Students will be able to tell you about the quality of education, job prospects, facilities, housing, and what the university social life is like. It is important however when taking to university students, both past and present to get a wide range of opinions, across different faculties, as students may have certain biases, or limited experiences. For example, a university may not be strong in a particular faculty, and if only speak to one student who studies in this faculty, you will only receive an incomplete image of what the university is really like.
What to Ask
A good list of things to ask current and past students about includes:
Quality of Academics
This should include things like lecturers, tutors, class size, course material, course structure etc.
Job Prospects
How hard or easy has it been for them to gain work?
Quality of Facilities
Are the facilities sufficient for the university student population? Are they overloaded? How old are they?
Quality of Housing
If you are thinking about moving out of home this is important. Find out what students say about cleanliness, access to university, cost and roommates.
Accessibility
How easy is it to get to the university? How long does it take other students and what do they think is the quickest way?
Social & Night Life
What are the parties like? Are they wild, or pretty tame? Is there a large variety of clubs and societies for all interests?
Resources
A great resource that has been developed to help prospective students discover what current and past students think about their university is www.uniaustralia.com.au. Uni Australia provides tens of thousands of university student reviews and comments on all Australian universities, which allow prospective university students to really discover what a university will be like.
Step 2: Attend Open Days
Once you have got an idea of what a university from a current and past university student perspective, you should attend the university open day yourself so you can also develop your own perspective of what it will feel like to study at the particular university.
Accessibility
University open days are a great opportunity to work out how accessible the university is. Use it as a test to see how long it will take you to get into university, and the travel options you have. This is important, as depending on your course, you will need to travel into university anywhere from 3-5 days a week.
Facilities
Additionally, University open days are a great way to check out the facilities. Make sure you check out the libraries, gymnasiums, lecture halls and labs. Keep an eye out for the amount of computers that are provided, as not enough computers can be a big pain when you are studying at university. If you are contemplating moving out of home and living on campus, be sure to get a tour of the university colleges and student villages to see if they will suit your requirements.
Beware of Sales Pitches
Finally, a note of warning. Often university open days can be deceiving as the university is making a concerted effort to sell itself to you. Be wary of the claims the university might make.
The university will often have current university students available to help you and answer your questions. While these students are well- meaning, often they are paid University Ambassadors, which means that you also need to carefully consider what they tell you. Always cross-reference what you learn at an open day with what you have learn from reading reviews, and speaking to past and current university students without any association to the university.
For information on University Open Day’s in Australia, visit: http://uniaustralia.com.au/articles/?p=179
Step 3: Further Research – Career Development, Pathways into University & Scholarships
Once you have read reviews and spoken to past and current students, attended the open days, and developed your own perspective on a university, you then need to conduct some specific research on the university, and what it can provide you in the longer term.
Career Development
Things you should research include how the university can help you in your career development. Do they have connections with industry? Do they have co-op programs, and offer internships alongside university study? What is the graduate employment rate for the university?
Pathways & Study Options
Furthermore, you should also consider what scholarships the university offers, and what pathways they offer into university. Do they offer TAFE Credits, and have relationships with colleges that allow you to enter university after studying a dilploma or Advanced Certificate? Do they have special admission requirements? Can you study part time, or via distance?
Talk to Employers
Finally, call a couple of companies in the industries you are interested in that employ graduates and speak to their Human Resources Department. Ask them what they think of graduates from the university you are thinking of attending. Find out what skills and strengths employers see in graduates from the university, and what starting salaries and ongoing prospects are.
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University of Missouri and LPU Signed MoU
In a step further towards its internationalization strategy, Lovely Professional University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of Missouri, Columbia. This MoU was signed between the Engineering departments of both the Universities with a vision of providing the students the opportunity to study in each other’s campus and learn the workings of foreign universities.
Both the universities are prominent names in the field of education in their respective countries and are considered to be pioneers of quality education at international level. Missouri University is considered one of the nation’s top-tier institutions of the world and has a reputation of excellence in teaching and research while LPU has earned the stature of largest University in India. The twinning arrangement programmes offered by LPU have a major say in the curriculum and pedagogy of the University and this prompts the foreign universities to come in collaboration with it. Under this MoU, the students taking admission in the under graduate engineering courses of 2011 session shall be eligible to complete half their course at LPU and the other half at Missouri University.
On signing the MoU, Mr. Ashok Mittal, Chancellor of LPU said, “LPU is a global University having tie ups with 20 international universities of global repute. Our twinning arrangement programmes are the strength of our curriculum which allows our students to have enough international exposure. This collaboration with University of Missouri will benefit our students in terms of practical exposure and knowledge enhancement which will further help them in their professional lives. Such students who have global exposure and experience always have an edge over other potential candidates at the time of recruitments. We want all our students to have that ‘edge’ and hence we are doing continuous efforts to enter into such new collaborations.”
Expressing his trust in LPU, Dr.Jim Thompson, the Dean of University of Missouri said, “We always wanted to have a tie up with an Indian University which works on the similar strategies and patterns as we do. After a stringent survey on Indian universities we found LPU to be the best suited one for our requirements. The University is not only open to spreading quality education at international level but also has its curriculum and pedagogy at par with international universities. This makes it a university well recognized at global level. As we sign this MoU with such a renowned name, I’m pleased that our 6 months efforts to get associated with LPU have well paid off.”
The most illustrative factor about MU is that it is ranked at No. 32 with Michigan State University and Virginia Tech in the top 50 public national universities-doctoral list with more than thirty thousand students on rolls. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) of United Statesaccredits it. NCA itself is one of six regional organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
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