Advice needed: What uni should I go to?

[Prospective uni kid]

Hey people on ATAR Notes! I have come to seek advice. So I have been fortunate enough to obtain an ATAR that can allow me to choose any uni and course I want but now I’m very conflicted as to what to choose. I have been interviewed for a selective program at a small uni that guarantees work placement within the course, however the cons to that is that the ranking of that uni is quite low. My relatives and peers have encouraged me to just choose melb or Monash as their uni rankings are higher, but I’m worried that the competition for IBL placements, internships will be high and I might not secure any. Pls provide me with some advice, eg. Are internships rlly that hard to get? cheers

[vox nihili]

Hey people on ATAR Notes! I have come to seek advice. So I have been fortunate enough to obtain an ATAR that can allow me to choose any uni and course I want but now I’m very conflicted as to what to choose. I have been interviewed for a selective program at a small uni that guarantees work placement within the course, however the cons to that is that the ranking of that uni is quite low. My relatives and peers have encouraged me to just choose melb or Monash as their uni rankings are higher, but I’m worried that the competition for IBL placements, internships will be high and I might not secure any. Pls provide me with some advice, eg. Are internships rlly that hard to get? cheers

It might help if you let us know what you want to do with your life Because really it depends on what you want to do, which uni will be right for you.

[Aaron]

Imo choosing a uni solely based on rankings (which are heavily influenced by research which has minimal impact on undergraduate degrees) is unwise. It's easy to get caught up in the hype of prestige, rankings etc. but this requires a lot more thought. Every uni has its strengths and weaknesses - it's about finding the uni that will best suit you (not your parents, not your family, not your friends). What will help you succeed in your chosen path?

I strongly believe that in MAJORITY of disciplines, practical skills along with academic studies is absolutely critical. In alot of cases, networking and industry placements/on-the-job training can often lead to a "foot in the door" and in reality that puts you above the rest that don't offer such. A bachelor degree on its own is slowly becoming not enough, so something to give you the edge is needed.

What course are you thinking of doing? I'm giving you my opinion blind here, without knowing your course... so perhaps sharing this may prompt some responses tailored to your discipline of choice.

[Prospective uni kid]

Hi everyone, that’s for the insightful responses
So the courses are the swinburne bachelor of Accounting and Information Systems scholarship program and the bachelor of Information technology, also a scholarship course. Both have guaranteed work placements, but idk if I should do it just based on that.  I’m also not quite sure what I want to do in the future, I just know I want it to be commerce based, but probably not accounting specifically :/
Thanks

[Prospective uni kid]

Also, although I know uni rankings aren’t really about the level of teaching, I have been hearing from others that the uni you go to stick with you for life and that people will judge you based on that, perhaps not so much in Australia but in companies overseas and I am slightly interested in working overseas.

[VinnyD]

Also, although I know uni rankings aren’t really about the level of teaching, I have been hearing from others that the uni you go to stick with you for life and that people will judge you based on that, perhaps not so much in Australia but in companies overseas and I am slightly interested in working overseas.

I'm sure that it won't stick with you "for life", but there are advantages and disadvantages. Most commonly it would help you land a job at a prestigious place that accepts certain graduates from certain unis. Having said that, the more important thing to consider is what you'll make out of your university time. It completely depends on your course, but most courses have a base line for what it teaches. This means most Unis at the end of the degree have taught the same thing, perhaps in a different way. The things i would recommend to check out is the student support, job placements as well as travel time. Many institutions offer overseas exchanges and some even work placements overseas, allowing you to test out the waters to see if you like the environment. Sometimes a scholarship can even finance these trips to an extent.
Regardless of uni ranking, it is important to find out what you are truly looking for. Some institutions have a very high academic regard, and some have a very practical and industry based approach to learning. Keep in mind that some people can complete a bachelors and 'get your foot through the door' as Aaron said, and later complete research at a 'prestigious university' if need be.

[Orb]

If you're planning on studying Commerce and prioritise employment prospects, then Commerce at UniMelb should be your #1 preference.

For context, I passed on a $8,000 per year scholarship from Monash and it was the best decision i've ever made. The monetary difference is easily made up within 2-3 years of working.

The development and personal growth opportunities at Melbourne are unparalleled and the truth is many top employers in the business field do care about what university you go to. It is definitely not the be-all and end-all, but there are companies that simply don't really look at Swinburne (places like Google, McKinsey and Goldman Sachs have never taken a single Swinburne graduate in at least the last 3 years). If you want relative security, going to Melbourne definitely does not guarantee you a job, you will need to work hard and truth is I'd guess that at least 20% of graduates are unemployed from Melbourne (perhaps higher at other universities).

If you want to work overseas, the company that you enter out of graduation has more of an impact than the university you attend. Most companies in America don't know the difference between UniMelb/Swinburne but if you join somewhere like McKinsey or Facebook straight out of undergrad most companies overseas will take you, or you could just transfer offices if that's what you wanted.

Also as a caveat, this only applies to studying Commerce. I don't understand enough about other degrees from UniMelb/other universities.

[Prospective uni kid]

 the truth is many top employers in (places like Google, McKinsey and Goldman Sachs have never taken a single Swinburne graduate in at least the last 3 years).

Thanks for your response I was wondering where you found this data from? Thanks

[Orb]

Thanks for your response I was wondering where you found this data from? Thanks

Go on Linkedin, search "McKinsey and Company", use filters, Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology as university = 2 results. One is working as an implementation leader and the other one is a Partner (highest rank). Looking more closely at the results, they both also obtained degrees from Monash, so you can probably infer that it's pretty much impossible to get a role without getting another degree at Melb/Monash.

Feel free to apply the same process for the other companies.