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QS Best Student Cities 2015

Wednesday, 20. May 2015 - 10:43

QS, a British company specializing in education and study abroad, recently ranked the world’s top 50 best value cities for international students. Again Paris remains most popular, retaking the #1 spot for the 3rd consecutive year.

According to QS, 18 indicators were applied to determine ranking. The 18 indicators are combined to score each city in five key categories: university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity and affordability. (The complete ranking is attached below this post.)

New York City, the top metropolitan area with most international students in the U.S. only ranked 17th in QS Best Student Cities for 2015. However, according to QS, the United States has more desirable cities for international students than any other countries. The 8 U.S. cities are Boston (#6), San Francisco (#13), New York (#17), Chicago (#18), Las Angeles (#31), Philadelphia (#41), Washington, DC (#42), and Pittsburg (#46). Those U.S. cities score high marks in two key categories: ranking and employer activity.

Europe is the #1 competitor for U.S. in terms of global education market share. Nineteen of the 50 cities recommended by QS are in Europe. Many of them are listed in the top 20. This includes Paris (#1), London (#3), Zurich (#11), Munich (#14), Berlin (#16), Barcelona (#19), and Vienna (#20.) These 7 European cities comprise 35% of the top 20 destinations for international students.

U.S. schools would be wise to note that the global education market is highly competitive. According to QS, six Australian cities on the list include Melbourne (#2), Sydney (#4), Canberra (#21), Brisbane (#23), Adelaide (#29), and Perth (#38.) Both Melbourne and Sydney score high on three key categories : student mix,desirability, employer activity. Given their relatively weak dollar, Australia expects to have another banner year for international enrollment.

Large cities like Montreal (#8), Toronto (#9) and Vancouver (#12) are also some of world's most desired destinations for international students.

Asian cities on this list include Hong Kong (#5), Tokyo (#7), Seoul (#10) Singapore (#15), Taipei (#25), Beijing (#26), Shanghai (#32),). Kyoto (#34), and Osaka (#45). Asian cities are favored by international students mostly because of their affordability.

Tanya Gray

Source: 
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