Advice

One of the most popular questions that secondary school students get asked is “what do you want to be?”. But the thing is, in a world where the types of jobs are endless, choosing is tough.

Some of your teachers may be giving the wrong advice about how to write personal statements for UK universities.

In some cases, teachers said that a personal statement did or did not increase the chances of the applicant getting accepted to university, while the admissions tutor responsible for those kinds of decisions took the opposite stance.

Using examples from the research, the following teachers’ tips are ones that you might want to take with a pinch of salt:

Frankfurt is undoubtedly a great place to study. Right in the heart of Germany, the city is a well-connected hub and easy to reach by car, train or plane. Public transport is well developed and distances are short. The city also boasts a vibrant cultural scene, many opportunities for internships and part-time jobs and a wealth of other amenities. Several polytechnics and one university offer a wide range of subjects in many disciplines. As a place, it seems ideal for any student. There is only one minor problem: the price tag that comes along with studying here. 

My first experience of the ENS Lyon was as an Erasmus student. I’d opted for Lyon over Paris in a bid to sidestep some of the inevitable year-abroad clichés. Neither the city nor the university disappointed; I left Lyon to finish my degree, wishing that I could stay.

Eunseo Kim, a chemical engineering student, on life at South Korea's small and prestigious university:

The best thing about POSTECH is an environment that is conducive to learning. We have small classes, and the low student-to-faculty ratio allows extensive opportunity for one-on-one contact with the professors during and after classes.

See the Times Higher Education World’s Best Small Universities 2016 table here.

Aude Untersee, a geosciences undergraduate at École Normale Supérieure, explains the benefits of a small university

I grew up in Tokyo, Japan and I am now studying at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) as a fifth-year student. My major interests are obstetrics, gynecology and emergency medicine. I will start working as an intern after I graduate in March 2017.

See the Times Higher Education World’s Best Small Universities 2016 table here.

Kalind Baraya is a senior year undergraduate student in the department of mechanical engineering at IIT Guwahati

View the 200 most international universities in the world 2016

When I started looking for my degree course, I knew that it needed to have a year abroad. I’ve always had a love for French, and I wanted to take advantage of this skill and try something different. I found my perfect degree, physics with European language, at England’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

View the 200 most international universities in the world 2016

Ashley C. Pilipiszyn writes about moving from the US to Geneva to further her career opportunities in international policy:

I am originally from Chicago and was living in Boston prior to moving to Geneva. I currently am completing a master’s degree in international relations and political science with a specific research focus on environmental security, energy diplomacy and policy entrepreneurship within global cities.