University rankings reflect the craze for studying abroad

University rankings reflect the craze for studying abroad. London Zao, a research company that compiles rankings of the world's top universities, released a report on September 11 saying that students who choose to study abroad...

London Zao, a research company that compiles rankings of the world's top universities, released a report on September 11 saying that the number of students choosing to study abroad has shown "unstoppable growth momentum."

London-based QS Consulting Research Company (Quacquarelli Symonds) released the annual QS Global University Rankings, the company's academic consultant John? #22885; O'Eary) wrote, "There is an unstoppable growth trend in the number of students studying abroad around the world, and these students choose to receive education at top universities abroad."

He pointed out, "The latest university rankings show that even in recent years The number of students studying abroad has increased significantly, and the number of international students enrolled in the world's top 100 universities has still increased by nearly 10%. "

In this year's global university rankings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts). The Institute of Technology (MIT) has overtaken Cambridge University to top the list of the most influential top universities, which is based on a range of factors, including reviews from academics and potential employers.

American and British universities still dominate the QS global university rankings. On this list, which has been compiled since 2004, the top 10 universities in the world are all British and American universities.

QS's ranking method takes into account the number of foreign students and teachers, which is reflected in this year's list.

O'Reilly said, "For example, although the number of international students at the University of Cambridge has been growing significantly, its ranking in this indicator dropped five places, causing the University of Cambridge to slip from the top of the global university rankings to second place."

Similarly, the University of California at Berkeley (University of California at Berkeley) Berkeley also fell in the rankings, from second place in 2004 to 22nd. Martin Ince, a consultant at QS, said this not only reflected Berkeley's relatively low teacher-student ratio, but also showed that the school was "unattractive to international teachers and students."

QS pointed out that the most successful universities compete to attract the best students and teachers from around the world. The company said, "A simple assessment of the ratio of international students to international faculty can be used as an indicator to measure a university's diversity and international attractiveness."

As more and more academic rankings emerge to help incoming students choose their ideal university, critics have expressed concerns about the objectivity and scientific nature of these rankings.

Ben Sowter, QS's head of research, admitted last year that these university rankings were "designed according to the model of universities in English-speaking countries".

But reporter D.D. Guttenplan quoted him in the International Herald Tribune (IHT) as saying that there are currently 3.4 million students studying abroad in schools outside their home countries, and QS is committed to "helping international students make more reasonable choices."

As my colleague Mark McDonald, who writes for the International Herald Herald’s “Rendezvous” blog, pointed out in an article this year, “Many Chinese families hire study abroad agents to help them with the college application process. Each agent can charge up to $10,000 if the student enters a university that ranks high on the rankings, such as U.S. News & World "

It’s obvious that studying abroad is attractive to students who want to receive a high-quality global education. It is also an economic stimulus in terms of tuition fees and foreign exchange earnings for the universities themselves and the countries in which they are located.

However, studying abroad depends on the willingness of governments to accept foreign students. Ben?#32034;, director of research at QS, pointed out to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that the UK's stricter visa regulations will prevent some international students from applying to British universities.

>Translation: Meng Jiebing