How to Succeed At University--International Edition. Danton O'Day

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      In the United States, for example, the term “college” often refers to an institution that offers only a two-year Associate degree (junior colleges) as well as one that offers a four-year Bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, a full-fledged university offers Bachelor’s degrees and advanced degrees. But this is changing and, with more colleges offering Bachelor’s degrees, the lines between universities and colleges get less distinct with each passing year. The take-home message here is that although this chapter focuses specifically on universities, other types of higher education institutions also exist.

      Depending on the university, the complexity and diversity of the curricula will vary considerably. Thus some places will offer Bachelor of Arts and/or Bachelor of Science degrees in a limited number of disciplines while other, larger institutions will offer almost the whole gamut of possible programmes. If you have any questions about the offerings at various universities, look up their websites. If you have long-term academic ambitions, universities that offer Master’s and PhD programmes may hold more appeal for you. In addition, the presence of graduate students working towards their Master’s or PhD degrees provides the university with a large source of qualified teaching assistants, laboratory demonstrators, tutorial leaders, etc., in addition to the full-time faculty. Another advantage of an institution that is training postgraduate students is that it will be more in the mainstream of what is happening in your area of study—it has to be in order to survive in the competitive academic world.

      Selecting a University

      Many students spend little time selecting a university. This can be a serious error. Although the overall ranking of universities may be based on their total programmes, some of the less highly ranked ones offer specific programmes that surpass those at the more prestigious institutions and some universities offer unique programmes. If you have a concrete idea of what you want to do, look over each university’s offerings in the area that interests you.

      Don’t select a university because it is close to home. Never attend a university because all your friends are going to go there. Attending a distant university can give you new experiences, new friends and new outlooks on life. You will mature faster and grow faster mentally if you move on to a new environment.

      Did You Know?

      Universities are respected and ranked on their contributions to society—not on their teaching. Harvard and Oxford are famous because they have famous professors who work there. They are not great because they are great teaching institutions. In fact, the data suggest the opposite. A recent analysis of the world’s top research universities has shown that the top fifty or so universities worldwide generally have faculty who are not very good teachers. So if your goal is to simply get a good education, then you should set your sights on some of the lesser institutions. However, if your goal is to become a leader in the field in which you are interested, then enter those ivy-covered halls of the intellectually elite.