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COLLEGE RANKINGS – Myth or Facts?

While selecting colleges for college admissions, students refer to their rankings on multiple levels, country, course, affordability, etc. There are multiple rankings available on the internet for multiple universities.  One of the most trusted global institution that ranks these colleges annually is QS Rankings.

The QS world rankings are approved by International Ranking Expert Group. Their rankings are based on the systems known to Times Higher Education. It is mainly based on five factors, first being Academics. Academics weights upto 40% of the deciding the university ranks. QS is known to send surveys to researchers and teachers who are asked to provide with their opinions about the top institutions in academia.

The second factor considered is the student faculty ratio as they sincerely believe that a child can be more productive if professors can devote more time to each of their student improving his/her performance.

Citations or the reference used by different publishing houses based on the research conducted by a university’s faculty is one of the other deciding factors for the university rankings od QS. More citations equal to a greater academic standing  along with  a well versed faculty.

The next factor used by QS is Employer reputation. For this, QS considers the kinds of employment the university pass outs receive.  They also ask employers what universities do they think make the most productive employees.

An their final selection is based on international student ratio, as they understand that best global colleges would attract students from parts of the world.

While their ranking is known to be based on the above mentioned parameters, they are known to be biased towards large English speaking institutions. Another criticism it faces is for facouring universities that specialize in health and life sciences.

It is quite true that QS rankings are most trusted by students. But they should be used as a guide to building college lists instead of heavily influencing it.