Education Abroad

Most students going abroad choose a university by its rankings, often neglecting its location, which may or may provide the right exposure. Countries across the world are investing in education, particularly higher education, with the object of attracting international students. This is being done with the dual objective of promoting international ties & attracting foreign investment. Universities are also offering innovative schemes in terms of financial aid.
Most students who went abroad to pursue their higher education degrees did so for the love of learning and receiving a degree. Hence, earlier it was mostly the exceptionally bright & academically oriented students who went abroad. Today, education is becoming more application-oriented & viewed as an investment in terms of securing a job. Most indian students feel that studying in a university abroad will give them a multicultural exposure, & this is 1 of the key reasons they attribute towards their decision to pursue higher education abroad. Ironically though, this objective gets sidelined when they start the application process.
LOCATION WISE
Reiterating the importance of location. university's location can be beneficial in two ways: living in the vicinity of corporate firms facilitates easy reconing for an institute. it then becomes easier for firms to approach the institute in terms of placements & internships. second, if a university is located in a professional hub there is a strong likelihood for students to meet professionals in informal settings.
EMERGING TRENDS
Earlier most students who went to canada for higher education preferred to study in the universities of British columbia & york. but there has been a noticeable shift in the recent years with more & more students opting to study in the universities of Nova Scotia & New Finland. Canadian universities on their part are not very conscientious about rankings & there are only a few ranking agencies. Moreover students are not limiting there options to the MTV ( Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver) cities as they are realising that the cost of living is far more economical in smaller towns . infact it is easier for indian students to acclimatise themselves in smaller towns , as these towns are more welcoming towards indian & south east asian students, on the criterion of rankings, rankings can be a cursory consideration at best. students can refer to universities wwhich highly ranked, but they should necessarily do a thorough background research on the universities faculty & course content before applying to it. It is accreditation, location & quality of the course offered in comparison to other universitites which should guide students in terms of their selection of a university.