Whats the best University? (1 Viewer)

ScxLore1216

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Hello where I'm still a year 10 student. Looking to enhance my education by going to a University after high school. What's the best University in Australia? I am informed that the Unis in the Greater Sydney region is better? I highly doubt the statement as I heard one of the Unis in Melbourne is better.
 

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As mentioned above, that depends on what you wish to study after you graduate from high school. Different universities excel in different fields and it would be a good idea to think about what you wish you to study beyond the HSC prior to thinking about universities.

In terms of examples of what field(s) each university excels in:

Medicine (including related fields):

Studying Medicine is generally thought not to be affected by the university, meaning your main goal in that case would be to determine the university that offers Medicine at which you wish to study, as well as meeting all entry requirements for medicine at the chosen university.

Universities that excel in Nursing include WSU and UTS (although I believe nursing is similar to medicine in the sense that the university you choose to attend is not a crucial factor).

Universities that excel in Psychology include USyd, UNSW, MQ and WSU.

Law:

People generally seem to lean towards Go8 universities like USyd and UNSW for Law due to their prestige. However, it is important to keep in mind that a career in Law is competitive, irrespective of the university that the student attends.

Engineering:

People generally seem to agree that UNSW is the best university for Engineering. Universities that also excel in Engineering include USyd, UTS and (potentially soon) WSU.

Business/Commerce (including related fields):

This would depend on what you wish to specialise in within your Bachelor of Business/Commerce. Universities such as USyd, UNSW and MQ tend to excel in finance and accounting majors, whereas WSU tends to excel in majors involving psychology/sociology, such as management and human resource management.

In terms of other degrees such as a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies, universities that excel in this field are MQ and UNSW.

I hope this helps! :D
 

dasfas

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There is no best university in Australia. Most of them are good, none of them are significantly above each other.

You are correct in that The University of Melbourne is a top Australian university. It is considered to be the best in the life sciences in Australia, but not by a significant margin. Life sciences is also a very very broad field, and you will have other universities such as USYD being better in certain parts of the life sciences, such as oncology.

Your university is secondary to everything else on your CV. There is no university in Australia that employers will see and go "Wow, you went to X?".

Ultimately, the rankings are largely bullshit and change every year. They measure research output which is not necessarily reflective of teaching caliber. Focusing on a) commuting distance b) cost of living c) campus vibe d) desired degree progression is far far more important than "prestige", whatever that may be.
 

icycledough

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Hello where I'm still a year 10 student. Looking to enhance my education by going to a University after high school. What's the best University in Australia? I am informed that the Unis in the Greater Sydney region is better? I highly doubt the statement as I heard one of the Unis in Melbourne is better.
As everyone above has mentioned (which I agree with), the university you consider to study a degree won't affect the level of education your receive. Perhaps the only factors you may want to consider would be travel time, uni fees, friends who may be going to a specific uni, etc.
 

dan964

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As mentioned above, that depends on what you wish to study after you graduate from high school. Different universities excel in different fields and it would be a good idea to think about what you wish you to study beyond the HSC prior to thinking about universities.

In terms of examples of what field(s) each university excels in:

Medicine (including related fields):

Studying Medicine is generally thought not to be affected by the university, meaning your main goal in that case would be to determine the university that offers Medicine at which you wish to study, as well as meeting all entry requirements for medicine at the chosen university.

Universities that excel in Nursing include WSU and UTS (although I believe nursing is similar to medicine in the sense that the university you choose to attend is not a crucial factor).

Universities that excel in Psychology include USyd, UNSW, MQ and WSU.

Law:

People generally seem to lean towards Go8 universities like USyd and UNSW for Law due to their prestige. However, it is important to keep in mind that a career in Law is competitive, irrespective of the university that the student attends.

Engineering:

People generally seem to agree that UNSW is the best university for Engineering. Universities that also excel in Engineering include USyd, UTS and (potentially soon) WSU.

Business/Commerce (including related fields):

This would depend on what you wish to specialise in within your Bachelor of Business/Commerce. Universities such as USyd, UNSW and MQ tend to excel in finance and accounting majors, whereas WSU tends to excel in majors involving psychology/sociology, such as management and human resource management.

In terms of other degrees such as a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies, universities that excel in this field are MQ and UNSW.

I hope this helps! :D
UOW is probably slightly better at engineering than WSU. But definitely agreed with the remark for UNSW for Engineering.

To add to this list:

Mathematics:
By far ANU is the best uni in Australia for maths, but if you don't want to make the move to Canberra, Sydney Uni is your best bet. UOW also has a pretty decent Maths department, at least when I went through (and has an accelerated program if you are really good at Maths X2) but don't have much in terms of majors.

Education:
In NSW, UOW and Macquarie apparently are the best uni's for education including early childhood education.
 

jimmysmith560

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UOW is probably slightly better at engineering than WSU. But definitely agreed with the remark for UNSW for Engineering.
The reason I included WSU there (with the "potentially soon" remark) is because they are in fact collaborating with UNSW directly in that regard. The upcoming WSU Engineering Innovation Hub is thus expected to be a game-changer for WSU in terms of Engineering (including degrees and research).


I should edit that thread to reflect more up to date information. I will most likely do it soon. :D
 

dan964

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The reason I included WSU there (with the "potentially soon" remark) is because they are in fact collaborating with UNSW directly in that regard. The upcoming WSU Engineering Innovation Hub is thus expected to be a game-changer for WSU in terms of Engineering (including degrees and research).


I should edit that thread to reflect more up to date information. I will most likely do it soon. :D
I only mention it because I've heard good things about the engineering department at my uni; apparently UOW ranked #1 for learner engagement in engineering. (and #15 globally for mech engineering). So I would add it your list haha
 

someth1ng

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There's no simple answer and most of the things said above are correct.

With that said, I'd argue that for research, the university matters because they generally have more funding and are better known abroad if you want to do research internationally. Again, it's very situational and you'd have to consider the supervisor too. The best university in Australia for materials science is UOW (and they're in the lead by quite a lot).
 

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