How to Choose my University
I have received several enquiries on how to choose your University.
There are so many things to consider when choosing your University. some of the evaluation criteria includes the school ranking; its reputation; the quality of the lecturers; what you will be learning; the types and kinds of modules available; the level of difficulty in terms of exams, projects and assignments; school fees; duration of study; the starting date of the modules; kind of students; admin support ……
And your consideration set can actually go on and on and on to infinity and beyond.
I don’t know about you guys. As for me, when choosing my university, it is actually pretty simple. In fact, I kept it simple on purpose because anything that gets too complicated, it tampers my decision making process. Slows me down and confuse me even further, and end up wasting more time which might not be necessary.
Thus my advice for you is, keep your consideration set SIMPLE and LOGICAL.
But before you arrive at your evaluation criteria, you need to ask yourself one question, what is your objective of getting a degree?
Let me share with you how I got chose my University previously.
My objective is to get a degree that is Advertising related. I wish to venture into the Advertising Industry, and many corporations will not take in candidates without a degree.
During then, the only school that offers a degree in advertising is Curtin. However, it is a double major which includes Marketing. Of the 17 subjects, only 5 are Advertising related. However, the rest of the marketing subjects are something that I can live with. It is important not to pick modules that you HATE. You will dread studying for it and you will not do well because you are going against your DNA.
At that point when I enroll myself into Curtin, I had not given any consideration if it is a reputable school and its ranking at all. Luckily, it turns out to be all fine and good. I have learned that from many who are working in HR or involved in hiring. The bottom line is, so long your school is not those rock bottom ranking schools, without bad reputation or bad press, situated in countries with a reputation for building good schools with good educational system like United States, England and Australia, you are safe to join any of those schools.
To sum it all up, here are the steps you could use when choosing your university, in order of importance, base on my own decision making variables (just recently, i did the exact same thing when choosing the school for my MBA)
1) Why do you need a degree?
2) What kind of degree do you want to pursue? (Should be close to where your interest lies)
3) Which University offers the degree you are looking for? (preferably from US, England or Australia – my personal preference)
4) Is your shortlist of Universities in the bottom ranking, or had bad reputation?
5) Do you like the subjects / modules covered in your course? (might not have a perfect match)
6) Can I afford the course fee?
7) What is the duration? (within reasonable time frame)
To me, the rest of the decision variables such as level of difficulty in getting my degree, school location, etc are just ‘cost of doing business’. Which is why you need to ask yourself the very first question, why do you need a degree? If you really needed one, you will go all out just to get it regardless.
Once the decision is final, go for it immediately. The sooner you get yoruself enroll, the sooner you will get it done and over with. You may have choosen the not so ideal school, but in the end, you would have gotten nearer to your life goals / career goals. However, if you delay and you be surprised how time flies. A few months even years later, you are still where you are today. And you will dread even more with the thought of going to school again when you get older and older.
i remembered two years ago, some of my friends wanted to take MBA. Today, i have already gotten my MBA, but my friends are still CONSIDERING their options. And they said, “IF ONLY i had enrolled together with you, i could have my MBA now”.
Thus, do not procastinate. as you will never be able to buy back TIME that have been ‘wasted’.
JUST DO IT.
Best wishes,
Strongerhead
