We're pleased to announce that this year's QS Leadership Scholarship has been awarded to Afghan student Neelofar Rahimi. The $10,000 scholarship is awarded to outstanding candidates who have demonstrated strong leadership skills.

Neelofar is currently studying at Norasonde Adult Learning Center for Norwegian Language in Norway, where she lives with her parents and four siblings, and plans to study a master’s in International Business at Hult International Business School in the US.

Neelofar’s extraordinary life story makes her an extremely fitting recipient of this particular scholarship. Born in a country where education for women is a challenge due to religious, cultural and governmental issues, Neelofar has overcome a series of obstacles, from being shot to experiencing depression and losing her big brother, and speaks of her determination to positively impact the lives of other women through her own work ethic. Fittingly, her thesis is on Women Empowerment and Employment.

Neelofar learned of this scholarship after attending the QS World Grad School Tour in Oslo. She says: “I believe this scholarship was one that gave everyone a chance despite their nationality or race. Having been rejected elsewhere many times for these reasons, I appreciated the chance QS Scholarships was willing to give me and this scholarship will have a significant impact on my ability to continue my graduate degree. By lightening the financial burden, this scholarship enables me to shift my focus toward making progress in my studies.”

After finishing her studies in the US, Neelofar hopes to continue working to empower women around the world through business, entrepreneurship and employment.

Advice for other applicants

“Take your time searching for scholarships and read carefully through the requirements for each one. When writing application essays, be true to who you are as what you write should reflect your personality. Nothing comes easy, so make the effort to have someone experienced check your essays before you submit them. It will definitely pay off in the end!”

We're delighted to announce that Juliette Perche is the winner of this year’s QS Academic Excellence Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded to support one master’s or PhD student anywhere in the world. Awarded annually, the QS Academic Excellence Scholarship is worth US$10,000, providing support for a student embarking on a master’s or PhD course anywhere in the world. Applicants are assessed based on their academic achievements to date, as well as the potential they show to make a contribution within academia or another area.

Currently studying in Paris, Juliette plans to specialize in environmental economics at master’s level at the London School of Economics next year.

Although she’s visited London a few times, Juliette says she doesn’t know the UK capital that well and is looking forward to the wide range of cultural activities on offer. She says: “I’m really looking forward to meeting people from all backgrounds who share my interests and desire to work for a sustainable future. Being at LSE will give me the opportunity to attend numerous fascinating conferences and meet great scholars in my study area.”

Juliette had initially planned to rely upon a student loan and a part-time job to fund her MSc in London but can now afford to take out a smaller loan and dedicate more time to her studies and getting involved in LSE’s academic circles, attending conferences and participating in student groups.

Advice for other applicants

“Always try your best and never lose hope. If you’re clear about what got you this far and what your career and academic motivations are then all should go well. Even if you don’t think you have a chance, it’s worth applying and seeing what happens. I honestly didn’t believe I would be accepted into LSE or this scholarship.”

Following hot on the heels of last month’s QS World University Rankings 2018, the QS Top 50 Under 50 2018 is here.

Ranking the top young universities in the world, the QS Top 50 Under 50 is supplemented by an additional ranking of the next 100 universities under 50 years old, allowing more young universities to be featured than ever before.

This year, seven of the top 10 young universities come from just four countries: Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region dominates the ranking, with more Australian universities featuring this year than any other country. Malaysia has also made great strides this year, with four universities making it into the top 25.

Elsewhere in the world, only one UK university is included, Oxford Brookes, which drops to 41^st place. Many UK universities are now too old to be featured in this ranking, which means several institutions that were founded in 1966 have dropped off the list since last year.

The top young university in Europe is Finland’s Aalto University, ranked seventh, although Spain can proudly boast to having more institutions featured than any other European country with a total of six.

Ben Sowter, Research Director at QS, said: “This year, we see Asia-Pacific universities make considerable headway on their European and North American counterparts, a testament to the growing renown of these young, STEM-focused universities.”

2018’s top 10 young universities

Find out more about how this year’s QS Top 50 Under 50 ranking was put together by clicking here, or click here to see this year’s ranking in full.

Following the publication of last month’s QS World University Rankings® 2018, it’s nearly time to reveal the 50 hottest young universities in the world.

On July 13, the QS Top 50 Under 50 will be published, along with a rundown of the Next 100 Under 50, ensuring more of the world’s young universities than ever before can be included.

First published in 2012, the QS Top 50 Under 50 celebrates universities which have established a strong position in the international ranking tables in an impressively short space of time. Accumulating the levels of reputation and research impact to secure a place in the world rankings is hard enough, but it’s even more impressive when a university is under 50 years old.

What to expect

Each year, several institutions drop out of the list simply because they have passed the 50-year marker, making space for new entries. For example, several UK institutions included in last year’s ranking were founded in 1966, and therefore will now no longer be eligible.

Those institutions which are featured this year provide an example for other new universities to follow, demonstrating how a reputation can be forged quickly. This rapid rise is particularly notable in Asia, for instance, with previous Top 50 Under 50 rankings dominated by universities in countries such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.

So, check back on July 13 to see which young universities have risen up the rankings this year and tweet us @TopUnis with your reactions and questions.

To see last year's Top 50 Under 50 rankings, click here.

Lucy Farrington-Smith撰文

报考研究生学位是一个很大的步骤--你要把时间、金钱和自身投入到一个学科中至少一年的时间。毋庸置疑，这需要是一个深思熟虑的选择，不仅是在你选择什么学科方面，而且是在它对你个人而言是否是合适的选择。

所以，在你决定选择进修之前，请注意以下几点，以确保你为研究生学位做好充分准备。

检查大学是否适合你

在研究未来的课程时，大学排名是一个非常宝贵的信息来源--您可以通过谷歌搜索，快速、轻松地评估一个地区在教学、设施和毕业生就业成功率方面的适宜性。

如果可以的话，您可以认识一下相关大学的应届毕业生或在校生。这将让您亲身了解大学环境的真实情况，同时也了解排名榜上的事实和数据。

没有什么比个人推荐更有价值的了--所以，请你好好谈谈吧。

计划您的学习时间

联系小时是您研究生的一个关键组成部分 - 而您的学科成功取决于它们。在申请之前，充分研究你的课程并请您沉浸在信息中。你的教学是现场教学还是非现场教学？它是远程学习还是内部学习？你应该期望每周有多少小时的接触时间？

此时，你还应该考虑你是想进行全日制还是非全日制学位。你是想在学习的同时继续或从事兼职工作，还是在没有收入的情况下，你能负担得起完全应用于你的课程？现在就把这些变数弄清楚，以确保你以后的选择是明智的。

一旦您进入大学，没有什么值得惊讶的（任何情况都有可能发生）--因此，请提前做好背景工作，以确保您不会在为时已晚、无法改变的情况下发现任何危险信号。

了解您在获得学位的同时还能获得哪些额外的福利

你知道你会在你所选择的领域获得研究生学位--但大学还能为你提供什么？是否可以选择出国留学或在教学期间进行实习？研究你未来的讲师和教授--他们在他们的领域是否有建树？他们有什么荣誉？他们能否为你联系到行业内有价值的人脉？了解他们除了教学之外还能提供什么建议。

研究生并不便宜--所以你完全有权利榨取他们的一切。

扪心自问，你到底为什么要这样做

在申请过程中很容易被冲昏头脑，在不知不觉中加速前进，但你应该退一步，在点击提交之前问自己一个问题：我为什么要读研究生学位？

答案应该是这样的：你想在一个你热衷的领域进一步提升自己的专业水平。

研究生不是什么东西，只是偶然进入 "因为我的朋友都在做它 "或 "因为我还不知道我想做什么，所以我只是继续大学"。正如我们之前说过的，你将长期把时间、金钱和自己运用到一门学科上，所以你需要全身心地投入其中，并准备好迎接它带来的数小时的辛苦、压力和头疼。

准备工作是成功的关键--所以在你攻读研究生学位之前，要确保自己有充分的线索，这样就不会出现什么意外。

露西-法灵顿-史密斯（Lucy Farrington-Smith）为Inspiring Interns撰稿，Inspiring Interns是一家专门为职场新人匹配研究生工作的招聘机构。从市场营销实习到曼彻斯特的毕业生工作，请点击这里。

供图：维基媒体共享资源

By Danielle Pacheco

恭喜你！你将要出发去了一个大城市出国留学，完成了所有的申请流程，带着行李箱和兴奋的心情来到了国外的机场。 现在该做些什么呢？

几个月的时间后，你会结交一些新的朋友并学了新的宝贵文化知识，但是你也会有预算紧张的问题。如果严重的话你可能不得不典当自己几乎所有物品，因为你甚至都不确定是否可以负担得起机票——回家的费用。

到新国家交换的愉悦经历每个人都应该体验一下，但是出国留学也可能是你一生中财务压力最大的时期之一。留学的时候你总会想去参观景点、参与一些当地的活动，但是由于新的国家、新的货币，你会发觉到你很难预估每天的花费。

因此，在你无法回头之前，请快速浏览以下列表。 遵循这些建议，也许就能获得完美的，无压力的出国学习体验。

通过开设本地银行帐户省钱

via GIPHY

出国留学中最糟糕的部分之一，就是你要支付的兑换和ATM费用。要解决此问题，请尽快开设一个本地银行帐户，然后从您的家庭银行中提取最大每日限额，用同一台ATM机上将其直接存入本地银行帐户。通过增加本地银行帐户的余额，你只需支付一次ATM费用、用当地货币消费。当您需要更多现金时，请执行相同的操作，而不是一次只提取二十块。

吃当地的食物（而且也要健康的）

via GIPHY

出发去外国留学之前，我的父母有跟我提关于他们的一个朋友的儿子：他上了大学连续几个月只吃比萨配酒，结果得了坏血病。 是的，“海盗病”！ 当人体没有摄入水果和蔬菜时，就会发生这种情况。

虽然香蒜酱意大利面很诱人，但如果你在当地的市场买的话当然会比较省钱。购买时令食品并查询一些当地食谱，以了解那里的人们整个冬天如何生存。另外的节省方式也就是将剩余的食物吃掉，第二天带一些东西去学校当午饭。

聪明的聚会方式

via GIPHY

你不可能拒绝与新朋友出去玩只为了省饮料钱而每天晚上都呆在家里，所以你需要为晚上做好心里准备面对花这么的多钱。其实呢，你可以通过免费的博物馆参观日，露天电影院，街头节庆和其他廉价活动进行一些研究来减少花费，仍然可以在不花钱的情况下体验当地的文化。

另外，带上学生证，检查Groupon或本地版本是否有折扣或其他省钱的方法。当涉及夜生活时，让几个朋友过来或在星空下野餐是避免高价夜店的一种非常不错的方法。

买一辆自行车

via GIPHY

陷入困境的另一个原因是去市中心的公共汽车很贵。更别提昂贵的出租车，并不是为贫穷的学生设计的，有的国家甚至公共交通似乎也很昂贵。

如果你想以自己的方式游览这座城市的话，其实可以购买二手自行车或订购共享自行车，该系统在全球越来越多的城市中兴起。这种方法你就不必担心错过最后一趟火车，而且还可以完全自由地探索所有以前从未注意到的可爱小巷。

在买教科书时节省

via GIPHY

计划出国旅行时容易忘记的另一件事是教科书所需的钱。这些费用可能加起来会超出预算，因此请考虑购买二手教科书或看看是否可以在线找到。文学专业可以依靠古腾堡工程（Gutenberg Online），这是一个不断增长的图书数据库 – 通常这些图书太旧还有无法获得版权保护，并且重新回到了公共领域。大多数经典作品都在那儿，可以免费使用。

找点零花钱

via GIPHY

如果尽管尽了最大努力，本月底你仍然钱不够花，而出国留学签证却阻止你找工作，那么你该怎么办？好吧，一种赚钱的简单方法就是在课外一边辅导，翻译或保姆。 如果你不想做这么累的事情，请访问当地大学的心理学实验室。他们经常在寻找参加研究的参与者，并会花您一小时的时间回答调查问卷或执行一些无关紧要的任务。

Lead image: Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica Study Abroad 2015 (Flickr)

Sponsored by LUMSA

When the US pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this month, Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, and countless other businesses condemned his move. Why? Because sustainability management isn’t just a global humanitarian challenge, it’s the business opportunity of the century. Here’s why you should get involved.

1. Sustainability degrees are like a fine wine...

… They get better with age. While you could have gotten away a decade ago without a sustainability management degree, green credentials like LUMSA’s MSc in Management and Sustainability are increasingly sought after because businesses need grads with the in-depth expertise and professional toolkit required to untangle complex social issues.

Were you to upskill by doing LUMSA’s MSc, you could expect to find jobs in new innovative fields like corporate social responsibility, sustainability management, consultancy and business analysis, social entrepreneurship, whether for think tanks, multinationals, European and international institutions, public administrations, NGOs or social enterprises.

2. More and more companies have sustainability programs

As sustainability becomes more widespread, an increasing number of businesses across sectors including finance, healthcare, manufacturing and construction will rely on sustainability managers to untangle complex sustainability issues.

A common misconception about sustainability is that it’s fundamentally incompatible with most business models. However, thanks to huge strides in technology, increasingly reliable renewables and shifting public opinion, many corporations have realized sustainability also means greater efficiency and have therefore turned to renewables to cap prices, guarantee supply security and foster brand love.

A 2016 report found that investors worth as much as US$5 trillion chucked fossil fuels from their portfolios, as researchers at UC Berkeley and Stanford estimate $50 trillion savings by 2050 if renewables completely replace fossil fuels. 

3. Grads deal with high-impact social and environmental issues

Whether you choose to serve the public or private sector, working in sustainability management means dedicating your career to limiting the depletion of our natural resources and maintaining the quality of life on Earth. Why is this important? Because research has shown professionals who find their work meaningful are happier and more productive.

4. It’s an emotionally and financially rewarding career

In sustainability, business executives tend to earn very comfortable median salaries. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, median salaries in sustainability range between US$46,000 and US$72,000, with management jobs at the very top end of the payscale. Meanwhile, salaries for sustainability management professionals in the UK are on the rise, with a 2016 report estimating they earn £57,350 (US$73,100) on average, while top earners make £94,000 (US$119,800).

5. You could step into the C-level executive suite

Sustainability leadership roles are on the rise. Most companies these days have a C-level executive suite comprising of executive, financial, operations, marketing, and technology chief officers. A few forward-looking businesses now also employ a chief sustainability officer - a growing role with increasing responsibilities and a bright future. As corporations evolve to survive a warming planet with strained resources, there will be a growing need for sustainability chiefs to come in and manage sustainability from a business management perspective.

Study sustainability management at LUMSA in Rome
The Italian university’s MSc in Management and Sustainability covers topics like corporate social responsibility, sustainability, regulation and the European Union against on-going major global economic reshuffling and environmental and social emergencies. Your training would suit you perfectly for a career as a manager or consultant in the public or private sectors, or at an NGO.

Situated in the Prati district of Rome, with some of its campus buildings dating back to 1859, within walking distance of San Pietro and the Vatican City, LUMA brings together old and new. If you’re interested, you can read about the Club of Rome and the Italian capital’s strong sustainability track record here.

To find out more about the program, drop Professor Nicoletta Rangone a line and she’ll get back to you with more information.

夏天来了，考试结束了，这只能意味着一件事：是时候玩得开心了。当然，你可以花时间阅读最新的世界大学排名，但让我们面对现实，你只是想要一些傻傻的东西，可以分享在群聊中。

以下是这个月让我们笑个不停的头条新闻。

打扮成女人来抵御酷暑

一群男学生和一名20岁的呼叫中心员工有什么共同之处？他们都决定穿女性服装来绕过严格的着装规定。英国德文郡的一所学校告诉学生短裤不是正式校服，因此一群学生们联合起来决定改穿裙子去学校。

来自英国的乔伊更进一步，当他被告知在呼叫中心不可以穿短裤工作时。你觉得他穿得好看吗？

pic.twitter.com/tIvA7UvDoN

— joey (@jBarge_) 2017年6月19日

不惜一切手段省钱

如果你住在英国，你可能完全知道火车票有多么贵。来自纽卡斯尔的21岁小乔发现了一个富有创意的解决办法，他从纽卡斯尔飞到伦敦，途经西班牙的门岛，这段冗长的旅程为他省下了50英镑以上。小乔甚至在国外喝了一杯海滩上的性感鸡尾酒。不错！

纽卡斯尔 - 伦敦火车票78.50英镑 纽卡斯尔 - 门岛火车票15.99英镑 门岛 - 伦敦火车票10.99英镑 租车费7.50英镑 海滩上的性感鸡尾酒4英镑 我可以在西班牙岛上过一个夜晚，租一辆车，在海滩上喝一杯鸡尾酒，然后飞回伦敦，还能剩下40英镑.....还是坐火车呢？ #维珍列车 #托马斯库克 @维珍 @托马斯库克

由 Joe Furness (@joethesailor) 分享的帖子 on 2017年6月23日 下午1:52

如何延误你的航班

说到飞行，也许不要像一位中国妇女本周所做的那样。为了确保她即将起飞的航班好运，一名80岁的乘客将硬币扔进了飞机的引擎中。有趣的是，这对引擎来说并不是什么好事，引起了其他担心的乘客的注意，他们报告给了当局。虽然九枚硬币中的八枚被找回，但因为最后一枚硬币没有被取出，航班被认为是不安全的，所以所有150名乘客都被延误了五个小时。好运似乎离她有点远。

摆个姿势

这不需要太多准备。法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙本月为他的官方肖像摆姿势，没多久每个人都心情沸腾了。

emmanuel macron's official portrait is full on "monsieur grey will see you now" pic.com/HxoWgfoawu

— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) 2017年6月29日

海底世界

出于某种原因，这只新发现的海底虫从未出现在《海绵宝宝》或《小美人鱼》的一集中。

Peculiar group of sea creatures found in deep Australian abyss https://t.co/5WtQziRTCO pic.com/l66QwStKpA

— IBTimes UK (@IBTimesUK) 2017年6月17日

我们确信这与它的外表无关......

Suddenly I wanna go deep sea diving pic.com/nUKgSdwtge

— ㅤ (@festivating) 2017年6月17日

淘气的女王

在一个滑稽可笑的英国大选后，女王前往议会，为特蕾莎·梅支持的少数保守党政府揭开了女王的演讲。虽然大多数人选择关注女王的帽子有多像欧盟的旗帜，但一个鹰眼般的观众太忙于报警，报告女王没有系安全带。

格拉斯顿伯里必看的表演

我们以今年格拉斯顿伯里音乐节的最大亮点来结束这次回顾。是Radiohead、Foo Fighters还是Ed Sheeran给参加者留下了深刻印象？是异常炎热的天气让这个周末难忘吗？不，显然不是。工党领袖杰里米·科尔宾出现在音乐节上，从金字塔舞台上发表讲话，得到了数十万人的欢呼。他如此受欢迎，以至于整个周末几乎每场表演都被《七国军队》的曲调“哦，杰里米·科尔宾”所打断。Stormzy如此喜欢，他甚至加入了......

Lead image: Raph_PH (Flickr)

Emily Valentine撰文

他们说你不应该通过封面来判断一本书，但有时很难不这样做。为什么要在黑暗和肮脏的地方学习呢，当你可以得到你的学位，同时被精心设计的哥特式建筑所包围，该建筑付得起给霍格沃茨运营资金，或配得起尖端的现代设计。在给你伟大的教育的地方学习，同时也每天给你灵感。毕竟，谁说你不能同时拥有美貌和头脑？

牛津大学

牛津大学在2016年被评为英国最美丽的大学，是一个美丽的地方，拥有哥特式的尖塔和风景如画的绿地。如果这还不够，真的很容易引导你内心的哈利波特，因为电影中的一些场景是在校园里拍摄的。

明尼苏达大学

明尼苏达大学的弗雷德里克-R-魏斯曼艺术博物馆（Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum）将这座大学推入了我们的前十名。 棱角分明的设计和银色不锈钢包层，这座太空时代风格的艺术博物馆由建筑师弗兰克-盖里（Frank Gehry）设计，尽管建成已经20年了，但它仍然像一座未来的建筑。在不同寻常的外表下，隐藏着一个教育中心，创造 "激发发现、批判性思维和变革的体验，将大学和社区联系起来"。

南洋理工大学

同样是世界上最顶尖的年轻大学，南洋大学的优势不仅仅是好看。这所大学作为尖端技术、工程和研究中心的声誉，在其建筑上得到了明确的体现。现代化的设计和休闲空间与充足的自然光相结合，使这所大学成为榜单上最美观的大学之一。

塔鲁丹特大学

另一所新建的大学，Taroudant将现代和传统设计完美地结合在一起。它坐落在南部沙漠中，经过精心的设计，可以在阴凉的地方抵御摩洛哥的酷热。 除了橘色质朴的墙面和一望无际的线条让人眼前一亮之外，大学的地理位置也值得一提。坐落在强大的阿特拉斯山脚下，这绝对是一所风景优美的大学。

萨拉曼卡大学

萨拉曼卡大学位于联合国教科文组织的世界遗产城市萨拉曼卡，是西班牙最古老的大学，其历史可以一直追溯到13世纪。惊艳的巴洛克建筑让人眼前一亮，但大学并不只是一张漂亮的脸蛋。这所大学有着悠久而著名的历史，培养了一些相当著名的校友，包括《堂吉诃德》的作者米格尔-德-塞万提斯。

开普敦大学

开普敦大学以桌山为背景，眺望开普半岛，其戏剧性的地理位置会让你叹为观止。 这所大学也恰好是南非排名第一的大学，所以在这里学习将确保你得到两个世界最棒。

南丹麦大学

由建筑奇才Henning Larsen设计，丹麦南方大学欧登塞校区最先进的传播与设计学院无愧于前十名的位置。 该校20%的校园由林地组成，是斯堪的纳维亚简约风格的最佳典范。迷人的欧登塞镇也就在你的家门口，所以如果你在这里学习，你会得到双重的视觉享受。

北京大学

中国建筑可以说是世界上最华丽的建筑，在北京大学有很多传统的设计可以欣赏。校园以前清皇家园林为基础，校园内有宝塔、宁静的花园、湖泊和传统建筑，是一个宁静的天堂。除了美丽的风景，该校还以其一连串有影响力的校友而闻名，年年被评为中国顶尖大学之一。

塔斯马尼亚大学

如果你喜欢在接受教育的同时，呼吸到健康的新鲜空气，并以连绵起伏的山峦为背景，那么塔斯马尼亚大学就是你的不二之选。你可以利用大学美丽的岛屿位置，享受一系列的户外活动，如果你喜欢皮划艇、冲浪、爬山，那么你将会在这里如鱼得水。这所大学也是学习环境相关学位的理想之地。

佩珀代因大学

如果你追求的是令人心驰神往的风景，那么位于马里布的佩珀代因大学绝对应该在你的学习地理想名单上。四周群山环绕，俯瞰太平洋，如果你想看海景的话，没有比这更好的了。 如果你曾经厌倦了这一景色（让我们面对它，你可能不会），那么洛杉矶大约有一个小时的车程。

艾米丽-瓦伦丁为Inspiring Interns撰写毕业生就业建议，该公司专门为职场新人匹配毕业生工作。从分析性职位到市场营销实习，请点击这里。

When it comes to picking a top US university to apply to, you’re unlikely to give much consideration initially to whether a particular institution is privately or publicly funded. Let’s face it: where a university gets its funding is nowhere near as interesting as what the course is like, what the university’s reputation is, how close it is to home and what the campus culture is like. Even so, the private/public debate is worth paying attention to, especially as public universities typically offer lower tuition fees to in-state students.

The case for public universities

Pictured: The University of Washington (ranked 22nd in the US this year)

Yes, that’s right, public universities normally offer lower tuition fees than their private counterparts. As you may already know, this is because some funding for public universities comes from state governments instead of solely from student fees.

Public universities also typically offer a wide choice of majors and are less likely to be specialist institutions. While this isn’t a positive for anyone who already knows the exact field they wish to study in, it might appeal to you if you’re still undecided or just like the idea of studying somewhere that’s academically diverse.

The case for private universities

Pictured: Yale University (ranked eighth in the US this year)

If private universities cost more, why would anyone choose to attend them? Well, the simple answer is that they’re better. Private universities out-perform public universities in ranking tables and enjoy a much stronger reputation academically. Class sizes are also usually smaller, ensuring you’ll have more time to interact with your tutors on a one-on-one basis. The student demographic is potentially also much more varied than at public universities where in-state students make up a considerable majority. Where you live won’t affect your chances of getting into a private university.

Even the argument that public universities will save you money isn’t necessarily true. Many private universities will offer financial support packages to prospective students and will judge application on a needs-blind basis. This means applications are picked on academic merit and students are offered as much financial support as they require.

So where should I study?

Ultimately, this is a decision that’s up to you. Like we said at the start, the distinction between private and public is unlikely to be enough to swing it entirely, but it has an impact on several other key factors. Both types of university have a different type of atmosphere and campus culture, both will offer a slightly different academic experience and both will cost considerably different amounts.

Here's a rundown of the top public and private universities in the US, according to the QS World University Rankings® 2018. As you can see, the top private universities are also the top universities in the world. There are, however, several high-performing public universities that shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly if they’re based in your state.

Top US public universities

Top US private universities