The Best Education in the World: reality, repetition or cliché? International students’ reasons for choosing an English university

Abstract

Universities and students collaborate in a shared language of excellence, quality and choice and become part of the same “neo-liberal discourse of marketisation and commodification, and globalisation” (Sauntson and Morrish 2010 p.83) where each plays their part as provider and consumer in a highly competitive international area. Whilst there are an increasing number of studies focused on the use of the Internet and website use, there are still only very few papers on the use of websites in the context of Higher Education and university choice. This study uses a sample of 60 personal statements from online post-graduate applications submitted by overseas students. The extracts are coded for analysis and compared against the website information provided on university and British Council websites during the time period of the applications. Applicants used nouns, adjectives and phrases published on the British Council website and the website of their target university.

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