How to choose which country to spend your academic years in

Students are often at crossroads when deciding what country is best for them. There is a general tendency to rely excessively on ranking tables and reputation. While these factors are important, they cannot be the sole determinants of your choice.
Academic Expertise: For e.g., over a period of 100 years, 1915-2015, Australia has won 16 Nobel prizes and 50 per cent of theses Nobel prizes are in the field of medicine and life sciences; so for majors like Biology, Life Science, Health Sciences Australia can be a very good destination because it has reached that level by constant high-quality research.
Academic Fit: Do you satisfy everything underlined to compete for the top colleges in that country. For example, if you have not taken the SAT, you can go and study in the U.S., but to only select colleges that are test optional. Most competitive colleges have the best opportunity available for you so look for a country that can give you the best opportunity possible.
Academic - Structured or Open: In the U.S., there are plenty of options to pursue your diverse academic interests - many colleges offer open curriculum that allow such degree of flexibility, but then you must be able to design your personalised plan. Are you ready for such responsibilities? Or would you prefer a more structured environment?
Other Academic Opportunities
Research: If you are applying for a course that is research intensive such as Economics, Biological Sciences or Psychology then opportunities for research at college will really make a huge difference to your complete college experience.
Professional Interface: Today the gap between industries and universities are narrowing down because industries have realised that they are the ultimate consumers of the graduates so they have started partnering with the institutions by offering some opportunities like the Flying Start programme for Accounting & Finance in the UK.
Duration and Parity: This is something we need to think. For example, doing a three-year Bachelors from India or the UK or Australia may not qualify you to apply for a Master's degree in Canada. US, on the other hand, does not have such restrictions. Similarly, you do a three-year Bachelor degree in Australia you can go and do a Master's in the U.S., you do a four-year Bachelor Degree in Australia you actually get one year credit in the Master's programme in the U.S. So when making a plan you can see where you are heading, what your opportunities are and how it will benefit you in the future.
Professional Level Sports: Today U.S. is one of the popular destinations for higher educational opportunities where there is a separate admission track for people performing in sports at a very high level. You contact your coach at school and the coach needs to contact the coach at the university. They need to see you in action and if they are convinced then you can move forward.
Finances: How much does it cost you to study. You need to compute cost based on cost per annum. Living expenses, travel expenses add into total cost and then you see the cost and decide on it. Also remember the fees amount is subject to exchange rates.

Shyamala Elango is the Director, Educational Services, at Inner Universe. She can be reached at elango.shyamala@inneruniverse.org