中国有俗语说：宁可当鸡头，不可做凤尾？这句话套用到现在也实用吗？相信不少人在申请大学的时候都疑惑过，是申请价格昂贵的精英大学好，还是性价比高的普通大学好呢？普通大学价格不贵也较容易毕业，精英大学课程难度高，价格也高昂。究竟哪个选择会更好呢？
As the deadline for applications for mid-year admission to university approaches, prospective students face two important choices: what to study, and at which university.
If past experience is any guide, places at the Group of Eight (Go8) universities will be in high demand. In 2017, the Go8 universities attracted the largest share of undergraduate applications and rejected more applications than any other type of university.
为什么G8学校受欢迎？
与其他普通的大学相比，澳大利亚的G8精英大学拥有了更多的优质学生与员工，更优秀的合格人员、更厉害的研究成果与更厉害的大学排名。也就是说，澳大利亚的精英大学和普通大学相比，实力强了不只一丁点……对于申请大学的人来说，都是需要根据他们过去的学习成绩来竞争大学学位的，不少的外国学生都会认为“我这么努力，就是为了上更厉害的大学！”。而在这些精英大学毕业的“精英毕业生”就是这些精英大学的有力代言人了。所以，澳大利亚认为，能获得高薪的只是“精英毕业生”，而不是因为在精英大学入读才获得高薪。
The Go8 universities have more favourable student-to-staff ratios, better qualified staff, superior research outcomes, and better placement in university rankings compared to non-Go8 universities. That said, institutions of the Australian Technology Network (ATN) are broadly comparable in terms of class sizes and staff qualifications.
The characteristics of these students (including better academic performance) should make them more likely to be higher paid wherever they studied. That is to say, it may be the students who are “better quality”, rather than the university.
英语马上学：
Favourable ['feɪv(ə)rəb(ə)l] adj. n. 有利的、顺利的、赞成的、有利。
G8精英大学毕业生赚的更多？
相信不少人会好奇，从这些精英大学毕业的毕业生是不是赚的更多呢？澳大利亚为此做了一个研究调查，研究了澳大利亚大学八校联盟（G8）的学生是否有更高的收入。研究发现，原来不同的大学平均起薪还真的是有差异的，但是变化的幅度并不会很大。澳大利亚的研究发现，13%至46%的G8毕业生的工资奖金要高于其他普通大学生，虽然这个薪资福利并没有差太多，但是G8的毕业生还是有些优势的。
We used data from the Graduate Destination Survey and data on average Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs). We found statistically significant evidence of variation in average starting salaries across university groupings. But the magnitude of the variation is only a few percentage points.
We found between 13% and 46% of the apparent Go8 salary bonus over other university groups are due to their recruitment of students with higher ATARs. So, attending an elite university appears to play a comparatively small role in determining one’s starting salary, at least relative to other factors.
英语马上学：
Magnitude ['mægnɪtjuːd] n. 大小、量级、震级、重要、光度。
Recruitment [rɪ'kruːtm(ə)nt] n. 补充、征募新兵。
Comparatively [kəm'pærətɪvlɪ] adv. 比较地、相当地。
精英大学拥有更好的条件
作为精英大学来说，澳大利亚的G8大学会有更好的条件。比如，G8的精英大学就拥有不少的博士学位员工和研究人员，这对G8大学来说都是有利的师资力量。也就是说，在G8大学就读的学生，会拥有更加好的学习条件。（优质的师资也是非常重要的~）选大学也是澳大利亚年轻人的需要做的一个关键性决定，衡量大学对自己未来就业的影响，也是这些未来大学生所注重的事情。
Our results suggest prospective undergraduates looking to maximise the financial return on their educational investment are not well-served by standard measures of university quality. Student-to-staff ratios, the proportion of staff with a PhD, and research productivity measures are important for graduate students and researchers. But they don’t appear to have much relevance for the post-university salaries of undergraduates.
The choice of a university is a key decision for many young Australians. It’s important they’re provided with relevant information to help them make this choice.
英语马上学：
Maximize ['mæksɪmaɪz] vt. vi. 取…最大值、对…极为重视、达到最大值。
或许还是有不少歪果仁还会犹豫，究竟是选择性价比高的普通的大学好，还是选择价格高昂的大学好。但是，不少大学生心里都清楚的知道，精英大学会让自己享受到更加高质的精英教育。成为“精英毕业生”的首要条件，也是缺少不了精英大学的精英教育。话说，你是选择精英大学还是普通大学呢？
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