Students often consider university rankings when shortlisting colleges, but rankings alone should not determine their final decision. According to QS CEO Jessica Turner, students should look beyond headline rankings and examine the data behind them to understand which university and course are the right fit for them.
"Ranking can tell you a lot. But the number alone doesn't tell you everything," she said.
Turner said students should consider factors beyond overall rankings, including universities that specialise in the subject they plan to study and the reasons behind their strengths in that area.
"I think that it's really useful to have more data about the university and the course that you are thinking of studying. And using rankings is one part of the process, looking at the subject that you are studying, and therefore, which universities are really specialising in that subject and why," she said.
She also advised students to examine factors such as research and employer reputation and assess which of these would be most relevant to their individual goals.
"Is it the research that they're offering? Is it the employer reputation? What are the components of that, that really you would benefit from - things that are most important for you," she said.
Turner said the data behind rankings can provide a deeper understanding of a university's profile, how it is perceived, and the trajectory it is on.
"So, I think there's the headline number, but it's really the data underneath that that helps you to figure out more about the profile of that university, how they're perceived, what trajectory they're on. Those are the things that I think are going to help to inform their decision, along with all of the other data points and the interactions that you're going to have," she said.