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Foreign students rate Australia as the safest study destination but rank it third for education system prestige, according to a global survey.

Despite media coverage here and overseas of violent attacks on Indian students, nearly 40 per cent of respondents ticked Australia as the safest place when asked to choose from a list comprising Australia, the US, Britain, New Zealand and Canada. The US ranked last for safety, with 4.3 per cent.

But students did not believe Australia offered the most prestigious education system. On this measure, the US rated most highly (42 per cent), followed by Britain (28 per cent) and Australia (15 per cent).

The quality of education at some private Australian colleges has been called into question recently with reports of unscrupulous college operators offering substandard courses. Under new, stricter Federal Government rules, more than 1300 registered institutions will be forced to re-register.

Only one Australian university, the Australian National University, was placed in the top 30 of the recent Times Higher Education's ranking of the world's top 100 universities.

The survey of more than 6000 students from eight countries was conducted from September 12 to October 6 by IDP Education, one of Australia's biggest international student recruitment companies. The findings will be presented at the Australian International Education Conference starting in Sydney today.

Of those surveyed, 1130 were Indian students. They ranked Australia No.1 for safety, access to permanent residency, access to student visas and best government policies to protect international students.

But just 8 per cent rated Australian institutions as the most prestigious, placing the country third. They considered the US as the top study destination for a quality education (58 per cent), followed by Britain (21 per cent).

IDP Education chief executive Anthony Pollock said the findings in relation to Indian students reflected the ''private opinion of students which may be a little better disposed towards Australia than the public opinion in the press''.

He said IDP was expecting a 50 per cent drop in Indian student enrolments next year because of negative media coverage in India of attacks on Indian students, the global economic squeeze and a government crackdown on bad practices in the international education industry.

But he predicted the long term outlook was ''reasonably rosy'' with an expected ''bounce-back'' in Indian student numbers in 2011 once many realised studying elsewhere was ''not as easy as they thought''.

The IDP research surveyed students from China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Miami University (Ohio ) sometimes gets passed over by high school seniors looking for that special college. Too often any attention that might be given to Miami University tends to get directed to the other Miami, The University of Miami in Florida. After all Miami, Florida is a place we all have heard about. It has the beaches,the palm trees out your dorm window , why wouldn't this grab up your attention. Well its fine to take a look at the University of Florida but don't let that first look keep you from looking at the other Miami University the one up north in Ohio It's a school well worth your attention.

A Native American Beginning. Miami University , Oxford, Ohio is a University that is close to celebrating the 200th anniversary of its 1809 founding. It was not long after the conclusion of the American Revolution that land was used to build a university in the Miami Valley. It was land that had been inhabited by the Miami Indians and so it seemed appropriate to name the new school Miami University .

It seemed a wise use of land and more than a century later, Robert Frost looked at the school, with its tree lined entry way and declared it ” the most beautiful college there is”. There could be room for discussion of this superlative, but certainly today students are drawn to Miami University, Oxford , Ohio at least in part because of its magnificent campus. As Miami University, Oxford, Ohio prepares to enter its 3 century it welcomes some 14,000 undergraduates each year to benefit from its experience and enjoy its scenic charm.

We Know It's Not a Party School. Miami University has distinguished itself in the present in a number of ways. First the student body may not be MIT or Caltech quality but this is still a challenging academic university. You can tell this by the fact that almost 80% of the undergraduates who go to Miami University , Oxford Ohio graduated in the top quarter of their high school graduating class. If you choose Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, know that you will be sharing four years of academic experience with some smart and competitive classmates.

Miami University, Oxford, Ohio prides itself on being a public school that does not sacrifice quality of academic experience. In fact Miami claims to offer the same type of personalized education that you might more likely find on a small or private campus. Those in business of evaluating college programs don't seem to disagree. Based on academic quality “U. S. News and World Report” ranked Miami University as 27th among public colleges in the nation. The undergraduate business school , The Farmer Business School , as 17th among undergraduate business schools nation wide. Apparently quality really is the name of the academic game at Miami University

Students who come here discover that not only are courses of good quality, there are lots of them. Students can follow majors in 100 different areas of study. The graduate programs include degree offerings in 50 areas. Quality and quantity may be what you are looking for. At Miami University both seemed to have been accounted for.

…But There is Fun Here, too. It's fine to have great scholastic ratings but potential freshmen want to know about the “fun stuff” too. What goes on at Miami University that fills in the time outside of class hours and study time? Plenty . Okay, way beyond plenty. At Miami University there really are 350 clubs, groups and organizations for you to sort through until you discover those that interest you. About a third of undergraduates get involved in a sorority or fraternity. Students who aren't even music majors get involved in musical productions. And lots , almost 80% , of students here find themselves spending some time each month doing some form of service or community outreach.

Then of course there is athletics. Miami University is an NCAA Division I school and its athletes participate in intercollegiate competition in the Mid American Conference . Undergraduate have the chance to see top level sports competition on campus and to cheer on the Miami University Red Hawks when they take action in any of 18 intercollegiate sports played by men and women. There is definitely fun at at Miami University and you don't have to go to far to find it either.

Saving the Best Until Last. Students looking at potential schools eventually have to take a realistic look at the so called bottom line. What is all these great academic opportunities and extra curricular activities going to actually cost? Lots less than you might expect. Using its own approach to scholarships, Miami University charges student approximately $21,000 tuition but then immediately slashes that price in half with scholarships for every in state student applicant that average between $10,000 and $11,500 leaving students with a very palatable bottom line. Even out of state students,of which there are many, recognize the bargain of a college like Miami University that offers admission at $21,000.

There are many state institutions in Ohio and the other 49 states but of course the truth is that few of them can compete with the quality of programs offered at Miami University of Ohio.

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