Best Student Cities 2015 Revealed

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Nov 24, 2014, 04:57 ET

LONDON, November 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

#QSBestCities

QS Best Student Cities Logo (PRNewsFoto/QS Quacquarelli Symonds)

Paris tops for the third consecutive year the QS Best Student Cities, a ranking of the world's top cities for students, released today on TopUniversities.com .

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141124/717963 )
Melbourne (2^nd) gains three places while London drops to the third position.

The ranking, compiled by the team behind the QS World University Rankings, is based on five key pillars, which are then broken down into individual criteria: university rankings; student mix; quality of living; employer activity and affordability.

To be included in the ranking, each city must have a population of over 250,000, and must be home to at least two ranked institutions in the QS World University Rankings. 116 cities in the world qualify on this basis, 50 have been ranked.

This year, the number of criteria has increased from 14 to 18, adding in metrics on safety and pollution as well as the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index and the Social Progress Index.

29 countries are represented with the most cities in the US (8), followed by Australia (6), UK (4) and by Canada and Japan with 3 apiece.

Europe boasts 20 cities, North America 12, Asia 9, Oceania 7 and South America 2.

QS Best Student Cities 2015 - Top 10

   
     2015   2014          City          Overall Score
      1      1            Paris              412
      2      5          Melbourne            397
      3      2           London              392
      4      4           Sydney              388
      5      7          Hong Kong            387
      6      8           Boston              386
      7      17           Tokyo              385
      8      9          Montreal             380
      9      13          Toronto             375
      10     14           Seoul              372

Source: ©QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2014 http://www.TopUniversities.com

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, says: "QS Best Student Cities provides students with a complementary tool to the university-focused rankings. After all, a university experience is intrinsically influenced by the location, especially for international students."

Students globally are sharing opinions and experiences about their #QSBestCities.

Amanda Smith from the USA says: "London is an incredible place to be a student as it gives you access to amazing experiences and sources of knowledge. Furthermore it's unique in its diversity and heritage."

"Montreal offers a melting pot of languages, cultures, and ideas, it's impossible not to be inspired here. For me, a great student city is one where you learn more outside of the classroom than in it, and in this regard, Montreal has proved to be a perfect student city,'' echoes Michael M. from the UK.

"Studying Tokyo is enriching my life culturally and academically: it's such a creative city!" says Ming Li from China.

SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds