We have shortlisted the 8 top universities, so you can make an informed decision while deciding where to study.

Nothing is more nerve-racking than finding the right university for your undergraduate. Choosing where to study and that too in which university is an important and difficult decision to make. Like deciding which field to advance wasn’t tough enough. This decision can change the course of your future. There are many things that you need to consider while taking this decision, like which country or region is more suitable for you not to mention you have to consider which university is on top. One more factor that influences students’ decisions is how many working hours are they allowed. This significantly helps them in paying for their study expenditures.

We have shortlisted the 8 top universities, so you can make an informed decision while deciding where to study.

1. Harvard University

Harvard University continues to rank at the top among the global university ranking. Founded in 1636, Harvard is one of the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions in the US. Around 20% of the students enrolling at Harvard are international. Though located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard has facilities such as Harvard Medical School near Boston. Harvard has one of the largest endowments that any university has in the world. Harvard research is in multiple disciplines in its more than 100 centers. Further, Harvard has undergraduate programs with 11 degrees granted to other institutions, including Business School, Law School, Graduate School of Education, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The Harvard Library is the largest in the world, accounting for 70 libraries with a volume of 19 million books.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology was formed in 1861 and is located in Cambridge near Boston. There are around 11,000 students enrolled in the university out of which 60% are in graduate programs. MIT is comprised of five schools; engineering, architecture, planning, social sciences, art, and humanities with English as the primary instruction language. The Institute provides opportunities to both graduate and undergraduate students to engage in research at one of MIT’s Labs or even in the centers including MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. It is one of the largest and most reputable research centers in the US. The institute spends more than $675 million each year on research projects with federal funding from the Department of Defense to MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory which is focused on technological solutions to national security issues.

3. Stanford University

Stanford is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Established in 1885, the institute is located in California Bay Area. Around 50% of the students are enrolled at the graduate level. There is a total of seven schools, three out of which offer both graduate and undergraduate degrees. These include earth sciences, engineering; humanities, and sciences. While the law, business, medical, and education schools offer graduate-level degrees only. Around 8% of the undergraduates and 30% of the graduates are from across the world.

The university offers a guarantee of housing for four years for the under-grads, therefore, more than 90% of them live on campus. Stanford’s libraries comprise 20 libraries with more than 9.3 million books or physical copies. Research funding is more than $1 billion which includes funds from the federal government. Around 3,400 scientists gather annually at Sandford’s SLAC facility and around 1,000 scientific research papers are published each year. 

4. University of California – Berkeley

The university is located around 15 miles from San Francisco in the Bay Area and was founded in 1868. The university is commonly known as Cal or Berkeley among the locals. Around 70% of Berkeley’s students study at the undergraduate level. Berkeley has 14 colleges ad schools, including the prestigious Haas School, College of Engineering, College of Chemistry, School of Law, and School of Public Health. The university has a semester-based system. This university amazingly offers more than 350-degree programs. 

The university has major programs including electrical engineering and computer science; political science, economics, psychology, and business administration. The university has around a quarter of undergraduates that live on campus. Around 15 % of the students are from other countries. The fees for international students are slightly higher than that of the locals. Around 3000 international scholars come to Cals as temporary teaching staff that is allowed to conduct research in the university labs including in the areas of ecosystems and forestry and zoology. Several elements on the periodic tables were discovered here including berkelium and californium.

5. University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is probably the oldest. No exact dates are known about its founding but is said to have roots in 1096. The university is located 60 miles northwest of London. And 45 percent are graduate students. More than half of the Oxford students are required to complete research as a part of their degree. This sort of research is conducted in all four academic divisions at Oxford including medical sciences, life sciences, and mathematical and social sciences. The academic calendar is divided into three terms. Michaelmas (the fall), Hilary (the spring), and Trinity (the summer).

Each term spans over eight weeks. The central university is made up of the University of Oxford with 38 colleges and 6 permanent private halls. Undergraduates are offered complete housing facilities where they can live during and later during the years of their studies. The tuition charges are higher for students that are not from Europe. The university together with its departments and colleges offers more than 900 scholarships for students interested in graduate students.

6. Columbia University

This university is a private institution that was formed in 1754. It is based in the Upper West side of New York’s Manhattan borough. Initially, it was called King’s College, however, the school got its current name in 1896. Around 30 percent of its students are enrolled in undergraduate degrees and about the same percentage is of international students. The university provides the facility of living on campus and around 90% of them are availing of this facility. Academics are based on a semester system with English as the primary language of instructions.

Undergraduates are enrolled in three schools – the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of General Studies, and the Columbia College with several professional and graduate schools. Columbia University is ranked as top-notch for Business, Law, Surgeon, and Physicians graduates. It is accredited with Barnard College for Women, Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Union Theological Seminary. Columbia has global centers all across the globe including Jordan, Mumbai, Paris, Istanbul, Nairobi, Santiago, and Rio de Janeiro to help international studios.

7. University of Washington

The University of Washington was founded in 1861. Seattle is the school’s largest and oldest campus in terms of student enrollment. In 1990, two smaller campuses were added to the university, Tacoma, and Bothell in Washington. Across three campuses 70% of university students are admitted at the undergraduate level. The university charges more for students who are from outside of Washington. Housing facilities are available for graduate and undergraduate students. The academic calendar is quarter-based with English as the instruction language.

The university comprises 16 schools and colleges, offering subjects like arts and sciences, social work, and engineering.  Moreover, it is a highly ranked graduate school for medicine, nursing, and education. The university offers one of a kind community-based medical education program, allowing students to complete their clinical rotations in Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington. The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of primary care physicians in less privileged areas. Research grants for the university have exceeded $1billionwith with 280 specialized research centers.

8. University of Cambridge

This is one of the most prestigious universities globally. It is located almost 60 miles north of London. The history of the institute can be traced back to 1209. There are more than 19,500 students in various programs with 35% of them studying at the graduate level. The university has six schools: biological sciences, clinical medicine, arts and humanities, humanities and social sciences, technology, and physical sciences. The academic calendar comprises three terms. Michaelmas (the fall), Lent (the winter), and Easter (the spring).

The University of Cambridge has 31 residential colleges that take care of admitting the graduate and undergraduate students with three colleges – Lucy Cavendish College, Newnham College, and Murray Edwards College.  The university guarantees accommodation to most of its students at least for three years. Around 20% of students are from Non-European countries. The university contains above 100 libraries including department and college libraries. In recent years, the university has secured more than $415 million for research grants. 

Also Read: There are eight continents and not seven in the world

Finding the Right University

Finding the right university is the first important step toward a growing and stable career. Leading companies are more inclined to hire graduates and undergraduates from top universities to maintain a top-notch candidate pool. The harsh reality is that many industries including consulting, tech, and finance are still heavily inclined in hiring leading universities’ candidates. The list above can help you in selecting the right institute according to your preferred field while you decide where to get yourself enrolled.