PICKING A UNIVERSITY IN A WORLD OF OPTIONS
▶ Countries such as the UAE, Canada and India offer a variety of academic experiences, writes Daniel Bardsley
Young people are often told “the world is your oyster”, and at no time is that more the case than when they are choosing a university. Whether it is Canada, the Netherlands, India, Britain or the US, there are many countries in which pupils raised in the Emirates may study.
The UAE itself also offers many options, in branches of foreign universities and in institutions with their main campuses here.
David Hawkins founded The University Guys, which helps high school pupils to select and apply to institutions.
He believes “a university experience is not the same in every country”.
“A lot of students’ ideas are conditioned by their family or by experiences in high school,” he says. “Different countries will have different styles of what’s valued and how the curriculum works.
“For students trying to find what they think might be the best option, but nothing fits, by looking at global options they might find something they’re better suited to.
“I think that a very high number of students are intrigued by the idea of going to a university outside their home country.”
Whether going abroad makes sense depends in part on how academically strong a student is, Mr Hawkins says. Someone able to secure a place at a top university in their home country might be best off doing that.
For people closer to the average academically, he says going abroad may help them to stand out from the crowd.
“That person will have a much greater set of life experiences than someone who didn’t travel,” he says.
Alan Bullock, whose UKbased consultancy, Alan Bullock Careers, offers advice to pupils and students, says moving abroad is “a tough thing for anybody to do”.
But that those who do so gain “resilience and maturity” that could benefit them in their careers, he says.
“It’s always been the case that it adds something quite significant to what you can offer future employers,” says Mr Bullock, who has given talks in UAE schools.
“International higher education has so many advantages that it’s good to look at it and consider it.”
Similarly, Jeff Evans, the principal of Global English School in Al Ain and an education consultant, says that with workplaces often involving international collaboration, experience of living abroad can help students to “integrate seamlessly”.
An overseas education can also offer a more liberal and culturally diverse university experience, he says. But there are benefits to staying in the Emirates.
“Remaining in the UAE, for students who grew up and studied here, is more convenient and less turbulent or demanding,” he says.
“Some families also prefer their son or daughter to be close by, particularly after the recent Covid-19 travel restrictions.”
There may also be cost benefits staying in the UAE, although Soraya Beheshti at Crimson Education, a consultancy that assists pupils with securing university places, says institutions in the Emirates are not necessarily cheap, with annual fees often in the region of Dh100,000 ($27,229).
Ms Beheshti, who oversees Middle East, North Africa and Turkey at the consultancy, suggests that young people thinking of applying to a university in the UAE that is linked to an overseas institution consider how closely aligned the parent university is to the local campus.
Will the degree be officially awarded by the main university or the campus in the UAE? “That’s an important consideration,” she says.
When deciding which institutions to apply to, she says a good first step is to look at rankings. The QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education league tables are among the most respected.
But Ms Beheshti says some criteria that determine the rankings, such as a university’s research output, may be less relevant for young people who are applying for a business degree, for example.
“There’s also environment. The US is really good at its soft power and popular culture representation of university life. That may or may not be a factor,” she says.
Mr Bullock advises pupils to look beyond a university’s reputation to find institutions that fit them “personally and academically”.
“That’s echoed by graduates who chose a university nobody else had thought of,” he says.
“That sense of ‘best for me’ is really, really important.”
Tuition fees and living costs may be an important factor that influence where a student chooses to study.
Some countries are much more expensive than others, but there are significant differences between institutions within a country.
India, the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand have long been popular with pupils in the UAE, but there are many other options that they or their parents may not have thought of.
For instance, the Netherlands has become a popular higher education destination and offers many courses that are taught in English, as do numerous other continental European nations.
“There are the private English-speaking universities across Europe,” Mr Hawkins says. “They offer an international education, quite often on the US model, based in countries such as Spain or Switzerland.
“A lot of families don’t know these options are out there. They might be a wonderful fit for their child.”
Ms Beheshti highlights two universities in Beijing, Tsinghua University and Peking University, that offer undergraduates good value for money.
She says these are highly respected internationally, but the costs are a fraction of those at universities in, say, Britain or the US.
While the US is often considered to be as one of the most expensive destinations for higher education, Ms Beheshti says it is “leagues ahead” when it comes to financial aid.
Thresholds for parental income below what support is offered can be high, to the extent that, she says, about 60 per cent of students at Ivy League institutions receive some assistance.
“If you apply during the early round, you have a much higher chance of getting financial aid,” she says.
Remaining in the UAE, for students who grew up and studied here, is more convenient and less turbulent or demanding JEFF EVANS Principal and education consultant