Capital among top student cities for education . . . and craic
DUBLIN has been rated as one of the best student cities in the world -- and "the craic" has a lot to do with it.
It shares eighth place with Berlin in a table topped by Paris, followed by London, Boston, Melbourne, Vienna, Sydney and Zurich.
QS, the organisation that drew up the rankings, is loud in its praise of what the Irish capital offers students.
"For those whose idea of a perfect study destination involves combining top-class study facilities and historic surroundings with a cracking social scene and famously friendly locals, Dublin is your place."
It goes on: "Cultural mainstays such as 'the craic', Guinness and St Patrick's Day may have spawned a global Irish cliche industry, but if you visit the real thing you'll see why there are so many imitations.
"Dublin has become a more multicultural and cosmopolitan place in the past two decades but at its heart remains a tradition and culture that is all its own"
The "best student city" table is based on a range of measures including affordability, quality of life, college fees, the quality and number of internationally ranked universities and the reputation of the universities among employers.
It is drawn from information gathered by QS for its annual World University Rankings.
QS notes Dublin has a high concentration of students and a high ratio of international students, and is well-ranked for its quality of living.
"On the negative side, tuition fees don't come cheap for international students, and that's before you even calculate your Guinness budget."
Tables such as this are taken seriously by students internationally. Ireland has about 26,000 international third-level students, a figure the Government is trying to increase.
Dublin Lord Mayor Andrew Montague said the ranking was "hugely" useful in raising the profile of Dublin among prospective students.
- Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
