Year in and year out, we witness the best-ranked universities in the world staying at the top 10 positions with hardly ever a new competitor to change the standards. This is simply because they get the attention of governments, authorities and investors who have been providing them with the utmost amount of research funding and the best teachers as well as the most talented students.

There are a number of universities and bodies out there which apply different ranking approaches and therefore generate different results. In most cases, they rank universities as a whole and use a league table – which makes it difficult for new entrants to be at the top. To name a few, the university rankings done internationally are usually by
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• Times Higher Education World University Ranking
• The Leiden Ranking
• The CHE Ranking
• Financial Times Ranking

The organizations listed above have been catering to the needs of the traditional purpose of education – academic achievements. Yes, it is an important criterion for a student to choose his or her university based on ranking. However, it may not be the only decisive factor for some who want a holistic experience furthering their studies in the best universities in the world. This individual experience of some is especially important when they have to leave their homeland to places that are not familiar to them or they have to practice habits that are very different from theirs.

Fortunately, Times Higher Education had realized the importance of a more vibrant campus life and started out a survey for student experience five years ago. From their findings, Loughborough University at UK topped the poll in five consecutive years with an excellent all-round experience for its students. The university excels in areas such as sports facilities, extracurricular activities, campus environment, facilities, social life, students’ union and library.

Needless to say, Singapore emphasizes much more on the academic results than other holistic aspects for students to be accepted into the local universities. And more often than not, employers are more interested in the academic standing of their prospective workers than to know their future employees’ talents and other non-academic abilities. This is a real hard fact that many Singaporeans have to experience over the years despite the nation’s attempt to get its people more active in sports and the arts.

At the end of the day, the choice is up to any individual to choose the university that will meet their personal goals for their future portfolios.