Did you know that people read an average of 7 reviews before trusting a business? But did you ever think to do the same thing when it comes to universities?
In fact, college reviews by students and graduates can play a critical role in helping future students decide on their future international study programmes and destination.
With the help of Studyportals, you can search for a university anywhere in the world and decide if it’s right for you, by checking our student-written reviews and ratings. This is a great way to find out which are the best international colleges according to students like you.
What exactly are student reviews?
International student reviews that you can find on Studyportals are personal assessments that students and alumni can leave about their study experience at a university. Student reviews are a combination of star ratings and text descriptions. These reviews present the actual experiences of real people who studied abroad.
Just think about the ratings on Airbnb, Uber, IMDB, or the products you might order on Amazon, but for universities. How likely would it be for you to choose accommodation, a driver, buy a product, or watch a movie if it had a low rating, or not even be rated at all? Studyportals thinks it should be the same way for international universities.
It’s much easier to make an informed decision if you first read the reviews, and then pick the university that fits you best!
Why do student reviews matter?
We could write a lot about why university reviews matter, but here are just a few of the most important advantages:
- They help you make an informed study choice based on your personal needs
- An easier way of shortlisting your preferred universities
- A way to feel the pulse of international student satisfaction at a university
- The chance to read personal, realistic, authentic experiences from others like you
- Get a feel for the reputation of a university, going beyond traditional university rankings
What’s the difference between student reviews and university rankings?
University rankings only focus on the overall best schools in terms of reputation but are not always as tuned in on individual student needs. They also evaluate different criteria and can differ vastly because of this. They usually take into account student surveys, but these “reviews” are just a relatively small percent of the overall score of a university.
University reviews and ratings by students access very personal experiences and share insights you might connect with. You can read about the unique experiences of people who are similar to you. While student ratings don’t claim to be objective, they do tend to lead to an overall objective score through the average star rating.
Nevertheless, university rankings are a good tool to get an idea about good universities, while student reviews offer an extra source of information that’s more personal and human.
What exactly gets reviewed?
Students and alumni can use Studyportals to rate the university where they study or studied, the programme, their social life there, as well as their overall experience. Additionally, they can write specific comments about their unique experience.
Ratings will appear on programmes and university pages alongside any extra comments which students share.
We accept reviews from people who studied at their institution in the last few years. This includes the students currently taking a degree at their university. This way, we keep information fresh and relevant for all readers.
How do you calculate university ratings?
The overall rating for a university or programme is based on the average star rating. A reviewer can enter a star rating from one to five stars on different topics. The sum of the overall rating is divided by the amount of all the individual ratings to create the average overall score. Obviously, the highest the star rating, the better the overall experience of the students.
In order for a rating to be calculated and displayed, at least 10 students need to leave a rating. We always show the text reviews.
How can I find the reviews for a university?
Go to our list of available programmes and pick a programme that you’re interested in. You can add some filters to make the list shorter and more focused. Once you land on a programme or university, you will see the star rating. It should be right there!
There’s also a link with the reviews people wrote about their experience. Just click it and have a look! Here are some examples of rankings and reviews pages for top universities:
- Imperial College London
- ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
- University College London (UCL)
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- University of Edinburgh
We have thousands of universities that have been reviewed and have star ratings. And the number keeps growing. So, you’re bound to easily run into universities with ratings.
View ratings for Masters abroad
How can I rate and review a university?
If you are studying somewhere, you graduated or know someone who wants to review their university you just have to go to the Studyportals review page. You can choose if you want your name displayed or if you’d rather keep it anonymous.
By sharing your review and rating you will offer other international students around the world a helping hand. Let others know how cool your study experience was, and help your university get the global recognition it deserves!