Darts and sciences

University rankings can lure international students, but some experts fear the league table is unreliable, writes Yojana Sharma. Students intending to study abroad are so used to looking up where universities stand in global league tables that it is easy to forget the rankings are just a decade old - the first was released by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2003, creating a huge international buzz.
Since then there has been a profusion of international rankings, mainly published by newspapers and magazines, such as Times Higher Education (THE) and The Guardian in England, and the US News and World Report in America, as well as commercial organisations, such as QS.
International rankings have become so popular that organisations vie against each other to release new lists every year or sub-lists with a tweak - THE's first Asian regional ranking was released on April 10 and QS is planning a Latin American ranking based on "methodology more appropriate to that region".
The main global league tables are timed to coincide with the university applications season - some students wait for the rankings before deciding where to apply. Read more...