If you can’t decide which university to choose, let’s decide based on what you want to study, not on the ranking of the university.

Before reading this article (explanation of terms)

Deviation score: An objective index for the level of Japanese university entrance exams
SAT: the test you need to get into college in the US
World University Rankings: A ranking of the best universities around the world.

As long as you’re in college, you can learn something regardless of your university’s ranking or deviation.

Universities are just places to teach academics, and academics have nothing to do with deviation scores, world university rankings, or SAT results. A decent university is a place that understands and respects those who are serious about their studies, and conversely gives no chance to those who are not so serious about their studies and just play around. Wherever you want to learn, college is where you’ll find the resources, knowledge and support you need. Whether you are in the top 10 of the world university rankings or a university not in the world university rankings, you will still be able to come into contact with academics in some way. Of course, the quality of the students varies greatly depending on the ranking, but the quality of the teachers does not change that much (because, at least in Japan, there are few places where teachers can work, and salaries are different between national universities and private universities). If you really want to teach, you will work at any university.Above all, the position of assistant professor or professor affects the salary, so even if the ranking is lower, if the position goes up, the lower rank will be. more likely to go to college).

Reasons why you regret choosing a university only by university name, rank and deviation value

So it’s not wise to say, for example, “I want to go to ABC University because it’s famous.” Also, it is not very wise to think that “I want to go to ABC University because it has a high ranking”. Because you can learn similar things at any university. There is no big difference in the quality of teachers.
Also, depending on the field, you have the option of going to a vocational school or getting a job, so universities are not the only places to learn. Therefore, if you enter a university with the feeling that you want to go to a university for some reason, even if there is no particular reason, you will surely regret it even if the university is ranked high in the rankings. Conversely, even if the university ranks low and the deviation is low, if there is something you want to study there, and you are passionate about your studies and study hard, you should be able to reduce your regrets.
Furthermore, regardless of whether you choose ABC universities with high rankings or deviations or DEF universities with low rankings or deviations, if they “give a university bachelor’s degree”, the qualification (bachelor’s degree) you will eventually get It doesn’t matter, you can get a bachelor’s degree at ABC University or DEF University.

How to choose the ideal university

However, for example, if you want to enter the English department and study nineteenth-century American literature, there must be a university that meets your needs. When that happens, for example, “At the local DEF university, you can learn English, but you can’t study American literature.ABC University has a professor who specializes in American literature, and has made presentations at academic conferences like this. It’s expensive, but the best thing to do is to study hard and go to ABC University.” Motivation will come naturally. Of course, if there is the opposite case, for example, “I can only study Spanish-speaking literature at ABC University, so even if the deviation score or ranking is low, DEF University is more suitable for me because there are faculty who specialize in it.” You can make a wiser decision than saying “I have.”

My Case – Why I went to L’Aquila University Psychology Department

In my case, I have a desire to learn how to provide psychological support to earthquake victims, and as a result, I can learn more in Italy than in Japan (I will not go into details, but I am the main activity). It has a lot to do with the fact that Italy is where I want to go.) I chose L’Aquila University’s Department of Psychology, passed the exam, and studied there as a regular student. What you want to learn comes first, and the name of the university comes later. It’s a cardinal rule.

If you can’t decide what you want to do, take advantage of the promotion system or enter a comprehensive university.

If you can’t decide what you want to do, in the case of Japan, there is a system where you can enter the framework of “humanities” like Hokkaido University and the University of Tokyo and choose “American literature of the 19th century” when you become a third year student. I think choosing a university is wise. If not, it is wiser to choose a comprehensive university (university with various subjects) instead of a single college like “XX Foreign Language University”. This is because when you say, “After all, I want to go to the Faculty of Science and Engineering from XX Foreign Language University,” you need to change universities. is relatively easy. I don’t know if your country has a ypuna system at the University of Tokyo, but if you choose one with a wide range of majors, you’ll be less likely to make mistakes. For example, instead of choosing a “faculty studying 19th-century American literature,” go to the “faculty of literature.” The best place to do things like deeper professional studies (e.g. nineteenth-century American literature) is graduate school, not college.

A low ranking does not mean that the university is worthless.

I’ll tell you about an acquaintance of mine. Because he was in poor health in high school, he was unable to study for the SAT and entered a university with a low deviation score. However, he worked hard on qualification exams and studying foreign languages. He is a hard-working, enthusiastic person.” No matter what place you choose, as long as you don’t give up on your dreams at that place, you can go anywhere. Conversely, no matter how good the place is, if you stop chasing your dreams there, you won’t be able to make your dreams come true.