What Is Whole Life Insurance Explained – Definition & Benefits.

 

I have spent more than 20 years on Wall Street and I was lucky enough to meet smart people who knew how to maximize their assets. You know, on Wall Street, smart people become rich, so if you’re smart enough, you stick to those people.  So I was speaking to my old boss the other day and I asked him about the trend on the stock market and what he was buying. To my surprise, he told me that he hadn’t bought a stock in 10 years.

I was stunned; Everybody on Wall Street has a few favored stocks that they love to 

What’s this? Everybody on Wall Street has a couple of favorite stocks that they would always brag about. So the question was he putting his money? “Whole life insurance” was his answer.

So after an hour he had me completely riveted on the concept. He had research the topic thoroughly and examined its entire constituent so assiduously, that I knew that this was the perfect way to maximize my income. This is the smartest way for wealthy people to get wealthier. Why? Because this policy gives them the opportunity to take advantage of built-in savings options, tax advantages and dividends.

What Is Whole Life Insurance?

Whole life is a type of life insurance contract that provides insurance coverage for the insured for his or her whole life. Upon the fated death of the insured, the insurance payout is made to the inheritor of the contract. These schemes also comprises of a savings component, which amasses a cash value. This cash value is one of the pivotal elements of whole life insurance.

Similarities & Differences to Term Life Insurance
Similarly to term life insurance, whole life insurance policy comprises of inheritors too. They are the one who receive the death benefit when the insured dies.

The biggest difference among those two insurance policy, at least superficially, is cost. Some whole life insurance premiums cost three to five time as much as term life premiums, at least at the beginning. However, term life insurance last only for a prescribed period, usually ten or twenty years, before the policy expires. In term life insurance, the younger and healthier you are, the lower the cost of your insurance. When the term expires, you can renew the policy  at a much higher premium in most cases, depending on the age and health of the insured. Whole life insurance premiums, on the other hand, while costing more at the beginning, never has its cost go up – this is key. The policy is fashioned to last your entire life, and as long as you’re paying the premiums, the policy will be valid regardless of your age and health.

The premiums in whole life policies are based on a cash value as well as a death benefit – term life insurance offers only a death benefit.

Are the Higher Premiums Worth the Cost?

In a word, yes.

The first major advantage of whole life insurance is the fact that the cost of the premiums paid to the policy never rises, as long as you make sure to pay the premiums and the policy doesn’t become void. This is the main advantage whole life insurance offers over term policies, in which your rates rise over time. Term policies costs rise due to the changes in your health and age. As you get older, your chances of dying increase. As the life insurance company undertake that risk, they rise the cost of premiums.

However, with whole life insurance, the premium cost doesn’t change as long as the policy is valid. The cost will remain the same independent of how healthy you are. This is guaranteed as long as you pay your premiums. As a matter of fact, as the years go by, the policy becomes cheaper. This is because of inflation, which grinds down the value of money. With a premium that never changes and on which inflation has a positive impact, you are literally paying for the policy with "cheaper dollars." On the other hand, the cost of term life polices is only assure until the end of the term which usually last five, ten or twenty years, after which term policy premiums can be increased accordingly to your age, health and also according to the rate of inflation.

Cash Value, Taxes, and Dividends
Another advantage whole life policies offer is that the premiums paid contribute to increase your cash value and if you’re disposed to pay more, it will increase the death benefit. Also, you cash value earns interest is similar to a savings account.
It is important to note that, with a whole life insurance policy, you cash value and death benefit can never depreciate in value, unless you start withdrawing the cash value from the policy, or unless you stop paying your premiums, which would void your policy. In this way, your whole life policy almost identical to a savings account: When you pay your premium, part of the money is directed to the insurance costs, while the rest increases your cash value. This cash value earns interest, guaranteed by the insurance company, just like the death benefit. The guarantee is secured as the company that holds your policy, so financial stability is a mainspring in choosing an insurance company.

Tax Advantages

When you invest into your 401k or traditional IRA, you are only delaying taxes that you will inevitably have to pay when you withdraw your money during retirement. With a whole life insurance policy, premiums are paid with after-tax dollars. The cash value multiplies without taxation. You would only be taxed if your withdrawals from the policy are more than what you put invested, and you can remove gains tax-free by taking a loan off the policy.
Dividends

The whole life policy pays a dividend. The main advantage is that these dividends are not taxable, but are considered returns of premium. So, if the insurance company pays out $1,000 in dividends on your policy, at the end of the year, you don’t pay taxes on that money. You are given the opportunity to take that money in the form of a check, reinvest it in the cash value of the policy, or use the dollars to purchase supplementary, paid-up insurance. Those dollars you put in new policies will buy more life insurance, provide a outstanding death benefit, and earn interest.

Borrowing Against Your Policy

It is possible to take loan off the cash value of your whole life insurance policy. For example, if you ever need some money, perhaps to help pay for a child’s education, you can take a loan from the cash value of the policy. Interest to the insurance company is applicable on this loan, but the loan rates are very competitive with standard bank rates on home equity lines. In most cases, the loan balance can be reimburse at the time of death by subtracting it from the death benefit.

Also, there’s the potential for tax-free income. Loans off the policy allows you to take money out of the policy tax-free. Though interest will be paid on the loan, depending on your income tax bracket, it can be considerably lower than what you’d pay in taxes. This also gives individuals younger than 59 1/2 the opportunity to access income for an early retirement without having to pay excessive taxes and penalties.

Lastly, and particularly alluring to the very wealthy, is the fact that in some states, all or most of the money in a whole life policy is free from from creditors. In these states, if you are ever sued, that money is viewed as secured because it is meant to profit to someone else: the beneficiary.
The Strength of the Insurance Company

Since your association with the insurance company will literally last a lifetime, whole life insurance policies are really a long-term investment. Opting for a company with the highest ratings both for financial stability and customer service is crucial. Do your research and confirm that you feel comfortable with your insurance broker. Remember, the guarantees offered in whole life policies are only as strong as the companies who offer them.

Here’s a list of the highest rated overall insurance companies according to ConsumerSearch.com are as follows:

Northwestern Mutual

Mass Mutual

TIAA-CREF

New York Life

Guardian

Disadvantages of Whole Life Insurance

While there are many benefits to whole life insurance, there are also some limitations to consider:

The cash value of a whole life insurance policy will not start to rise until two to three years of frequent premium payments.

Whole life cost a lot more than other types of life insurance, such as term life. Make sure that the cash value and durability of the insurance policy justify the exorbitant premiums relative to a term policy with the same death benefit.

Whole life policies can be extremely complicated and there are subtle differences between policies. Careful research, a solid relationship with the insurance agent, and a clear-cut understanding of your insurance needs and priorities are crucial to getting the right policy

Whole life policies have a “surrender period”: A length of time that you must keep your money with the insurance company before you are allowed to withdraw it. If you want to withdraw it before the end of the surrender period, you have to pay a surrender charge, usually around 10% of the account value. A surrender period is usually 5 to 10 years, but make sure to read the policy carefully to ensure that you understand how long this period is on your particular policy.

Loans are not immediately available. Most policies have a minimum cash balance (typically at least $10,000) and a period of time you must be an owner of the policy (typically five years or more) before you can borrow against the policy. Once you have reached these milestones, you can typically borrow up to 75% of the cash value.

Final Word

The most important thing to consider when deciding whether whole life insurance is what you need is to ask yourself why you are buying insurance. To put it briefly, if you have a long-term insurance need and you want to boost your retirement savings and long-term financial flexibility, a whole life policy is a great product.

The key to whole life insurance is to draft exactly what your overall financial picture is before taking a decision. Once you have decided to invest in whole life, commit to it and understand its benefits and limitations so you can make the most of the policy offered and achieve your financial goals. Consulting a financial professional who is aware of all of your needs and concerns might help you make a decision.

Best Accredited Online Colleges for the 2013-2014 Academic Year

 

Today more and more college students are opting for online learning. Online are more flexible and offers the student the opportunity to work while they stuidy.  In 2013, the state of Florida announced its  intention to formally establish the first university in the United States to offer an online-only education. It is quite common for most state universities to offer some online courses, and sometimes even full online degrees, however this new Florida university, will run fully online and yet its status as a public research institution will remain. It has already been reported that tutoring for this online university will be at least 75% of  conventional classroom education. Students interested in studying online do not have to move to Florida though; there are a lot of privately held colleges that operate fully or partly online. Prospective students should carefully  check for accreditation before enrolling in an online college, so that they are sure to receive quality education and a degree that will be recognized in the job market.  Here’s what to scout out when choosing an online college.

Accreditation

you may have heard of the term before and asked yourself how it is relevant to you. Well, a degree from a college that is not accredited could affect the transfer of your credits to other colleges and employers may not recognize your degree or certificate. Because not all online colleges are accredited, you might want to search the U.S. Department of Education's database of accredited postsecondary institutions and programs for diligent information on regional and national accrediting agencies that are accepted by the U.S. secretary of education as reputable authorities on the quality of education.

Technology

Students will gain more from online classes if full use of technology is implemented. An efficient online education would take much more that just reading from textbooks and emailing assignments to a professor for correction. Online tutoring through video conferences and lectures, online forums for discussion, and chat for group projects would contribute to improve the quality of online education.

Degrees

Online colleges generally specialize in a certain field areas such as creative (graphic design, creative writing, etc.), business (economics, marketing, administration, etc.), or education. Prospective students should be sure of which career goal they want to pursue before picking an online college so that their studies will put them on the path to the job they would want in the future.

Below is a list of the well founded online colleges in the country. To sort out this list designated data from surveys completed by current students, graduated students, faculty, and experts in the field. Furthermore, student graduation rates, tuition costs, and the meticulousness of courses proposed were reviewed. 

University of Missouri–St. Louis

The University of Missouri-St. Louis Online in Nine gives you the possibility to complete a full course in nine weeks. Some it this program comprise of some courses that encompasses online tutoring with face-to-face appointments. Online undergraduate degree programs are available in the following fields ; Business Administration (BSBA), Communication (BA), Criminology & Criminal Justice (BS), Liberal Studies (BLS) and Nursing (BSN). There are also Online in Nine programs that focuses on elementary education and nursing.

Arizona State University

Arizona State University gives students a multitude of online selections with the added expediency of six different start dates. There are 32 online undergraduate programs, over 30 masters and a Doctor of Behavioral Health. ASU intersects quality standards for educational and financial performance and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges.

Texas A&M University–Kingsville

Texas A&M University-Kingsville is notorious for their liberal arts and career education programs. Lately their online engineering and education degrees have achieved national recognition as two of the top online graduate programs. Texas A&M University-Kingsville had their industrial engineering graduate degree program ranked 21st in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Their online educational program meets the federal standard of 100 percent online.

Robert Morris University

Robert Morris University gives students more flexibility with its eight week term internet delivery model to help you speed up your degree completion. Courses are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Online programs are based on the same programs used on campus and embrace discussion questions and chats. Super Scholar, an online education and career information website ranked RMU 10th in their Smart Choice Schools for Online Master’s Degrees 2013. Online undergraduate degree programs offered include courses in the fields of hospitality and tourism, psychology, cyber forensics and information security, health services or organizational leadership. Master’s degrees are also available in organizational leadership, engineering management, and nursing education.

University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska is a well established accredited university setting the pace in online education. Bachelor of General Studies degree programs are offered in Nonprofit Administration, General Administration, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, Geography, Criminology & Criminal Justice, Political Science and Sociology.

University of Wyoming

Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Nursing is offered by the University of Wyoming. Other courses available include Educational Administration with cognate in Educational Leadership (K-12), Instructional Technology, Executive MBA and Nurse Educator Option. Online certificates comprise Early Childhood Program Director.

Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University offers 24-hour access to course materials. This university offers high quality, supportive faculty and a variety of courses and accredited degree programs are offered every year. Plymouth State University has been branded one of the “Best in the Northeast” by Princeton Review.

Regis University

Regis University provides online courses that gives the students the opportunity to interact with each other worldwide while studying nursing, physical therapy or health services administration. The programs offered include bachelors, masters, doctor, and doctoral certificates. RU has been ranked as a Top University in the West by U.S. News & World Report for the past 18 consecutive years and their online master’s degree programs in Education ranked in the top 10 percent for Teaching Practices and Student Engagement.

Longwood University

Longwood University Online is suited for those pursuing a degree in Speech-Language Pathology. LU offers an online self-assessment that will assist you figure whether an online course is the most fitting for you. Their world class, student-centered courses are available to students throughout the country using Blackboard.

Oklahoma State University

Graduate degrees together with undergraduate coursework can be taken online at the Oklahoma State University. Individual departments with online programs comprises of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Arts & Sciences, Spears School of Business, College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology, College of Education, and College of Human Sciences. OSU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

How auto insurance works

 

This article may help you if you're planning to purchase a car or already a car owner but with little knowledge on how auto insurance works.  You have may have heard key words in the auto insurance world such as deductible, premium and so on.  But not many know how to differentiate the different aspects of an auto insurance policy and which one is most suited for you.

Almost all countries require that you have at least a car insurance policy, thus making it a good idea to know what the kind of policy you should have according to the law and what other aspects does the policy cover in case of an accident or an even of theft.

Prior to purchasing an auto insurance, you should consider the factors such as which car do you own, your driving record and how much you’re willing to invest for an auto insurance policy. The basic of auto insurance will make you more aware of the type of policy you need in case of an accident.

We will be covering the basics and discuss about the auto insurance coverage for possible insurance needs.  We will be also analyzing the different prices of auto insurance, and what you need to know the bring the costs down and understand your policy accordingly.

Basically every driver who owns a card needs car insurance, which is a must in most countries according to the law.  When you pay for auto insurance, what you really are paying for is called a policy.  Now your policy will be based on different factors such as which vehicle do you drive, and what type of auto insurance do you want.  Most  of the auto insurance these days comes in packages.

The main factors to consider would be liability, collision, comprehensive, medical coverage, uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist and rental reimbursement.  We will now breakdown these main factors and explain each one of them accordingly.

Liability – This insurance policy pays for the accidental bodily injury and property damages to others.  Injury damages include medical bills, pain and covering your wages if lost.  Property damages covers damaged property and automobiles.  This coverage pays for your law fees and court expenses.  Laws depending on the country determines how much liability coverage you must own, but you can always get more than what is necessary.

Collision -  This insurance policy pays for the damages to your vehicle caused by collision with another vehicle or object.

Comprehensive – This insurance policy pays for the damage or loss to the insured vehicle that doesn’t happen in an auto accident.  The types of damages this insurance policy pays for includes natural causes such as fire, wind, hail, flood, vandalism or theft.

Medical – This insurance policy pays for your medical bills regardless of who’s fault when the expenses are caused by an auto accident.

PIP – Personal injury protection is compulsory in some countries.  This insurance policy pays for the insured driver, regardless of fault, for treatment due to an auto accident.

Uninsured Motorist – This insurance policy pays for car’s damages when an accident is caused by a driver who doesn’t have liability insurance.

Underinsured Motorist – Pays your car’s damages when an auto accident is caused by someone who has insufficient liability insurance.

Rental Reimbursement -  This insurance policy will for a rental car if your car is damaged and is covered by your policy.  Often the insurance company provides a motor vehicle but in case one isn’t available, an allowance is provided for the rental car.

Most insurance policies combine a number of these types of policies.  Before choosing the right one for you it would be best to check the laws in your country first.  You will then be able to determine which type of auto insurance to start with or would need for your vehicle.  It’s always good to check because most coverage isn’t required by your country and extra coverage would mean higher costs.

Mesothelioma Insurance

 

Mesothelioma or, the full name, malignant mesothelioma is a cancer which is very scarce and that develops cells of the mesothelium the protection that covers many of the internal organs of your body.  People who usually get this rare case of cancer have either worked in places where they must have inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers or were exposed to those dust and fibers.  Even holding or washing the clothes of someone who worked with asbesto also creates a risk for developing mesothelioma.

Some signs of mesothelioma include shortness of breath because of the fluid between the lungs and the chest walls being affected, chest wall pain and unexplained weight loss.  To be able to diagnose the malignant mesothelioma it would be based on a chest x-ray and CT scan, but the results must be confirmed by examining serous effusion cytology or with biopsy. 

MESOTHELIOMA INSURANCE OPTIONS

The kind of insurance a patient has often determines the type of treatment available to them. For patients without insurance, health insurance premiums and acceptance are based on a number of factors.

• Current Employment
• Age
• Location
• Gender
• General Health (obesity, smoking, etc)
• Family Health Risks

Health insurance is first categorized as public or private. Public insurance includes any insurance received from the government, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Public insurance is meant to offset hardships that make paying for private insurance impossible. There are public insurance benefits available to many patients with mesothelioma.

 

Types of Insurance

Health insurance is subsequently categorized as group or individual. Group plans are mostly applicable to insurance gained through employment. These are called group plans because an employer negotiates a single premium with the insurance company that becomes available to all employees on the plan. Individual plans, by comparison, only cover one person.

Employer Healthcare

Employer healthcare plans are typically the most desirable because the insurance company does not usually consider an employee’s health status. This is because an employer negotiates a premium with the insurance company on the behalf of all employees under the plan.

Medicare or Medicaid

These two programs are specifically designed to help senior citizens and those who cannot afford healthcare. Since mesothelioma primarily affects older individuals, it is likely that many patients qualify for Medicare benefits. For those who have limited income, Medicaid is available. Visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for more information.

State Health Insurance Pools

These insurance pools are another option available to those who cannot get healthcare coverage. These plans help those whose seek coverage after diagnosis, labeling their diagnosis a preexisting condition. The American Cancer Society lists which states these insurance pools are available in, along with contact information.

Private Individual Insurance

These can provide help paying bills. Unfortunately, most private individual health coverage does not cover treatments or prescriptions associated with cancer. Plans like HMO and PPO plans can limit a patient’s freedom when choosing a specialist or accepting special treatment like clinical trials.

Employment and Treatment

Being unable to work or losing a job as a result of being diagnosed with mesothelioma is a major concern for many patients. Fortunately, there are several legal protections for those diagnosed with cancer.

The Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is one of the primary legal protections for those who can no longer work due to a serious illness. Patients with serious medical conditions normally lose their employer healthcare when they are unable to keep their job or are forced to work fewer hours because they are sick. COBRA allows these patients to keep their insurance.

Other legal protections for those with serious illnesses include the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Affordable Care Act. These laws provide patients and family members with protection from unfair treatment in the workplace and make better treatment more accessible. Because the Affordable Care Act is a recent development, more benefits are still scheduled to take effect in the future. Being aware of newly available legal benefits is important to maximizing the financial and insurance assistance patients can claim.

Understanding Coverage After Diagnosis

Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma have some form of coverage, but most healthcare plans do not provide full coverage for certain treatments and screenings. Understanding available options for the patient is important to ensure the best possible treatment is received.

Private individual healthcare plans can place limits on access to specialists, so it is important to understand your plan. Traditional private healthcare and point of service (POS) plans usually let patients choose their physician. Health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) plans either choose a physician or limit patients to a network of doctors.

Employer healthcare plans offer the most benefits because they do not discriminate based on the status of your health. These plans are popular because the financial risk is divided among fellow employees, keeping costs lower than private plans. While these plans are more secure, patients may still be limited in the choice of a specialist depending on the type of group plan they are on.

 

New Coverage for Mesothelioma Patients (Obamacare)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) provides insurance coverage options to millions of Americans who are uninsured or unable to be insured currently. The bill is beneficial to mesothelioma patients who are currently uninsured because their illness is considered a pre-existing condition. The law makes it illegal for health insurance companies to turn customers away with pre-existing conditions like mesothelioma.

The introduction of this new policy means people are required to be covered under a private health insurance, employer-based insurance, or a public plan like Medicare or Medicaid. Under the act, insurers are no longer allowed to discontinue coverage for patients that receive dire diagnoses, there are no more annual and lifetime insurance caps, and insurers must provide easy-to-understand information to their consumers.

It was estimated that 20% of mesothelioma patients are uninsured. Medical bills for mesothelioma patients have ranged, on average, from $150,000 to $1 million. Uninsured patients pay their medical bills out of pocket or are forced to negotiate with the hospital on their own.

Over 30% of all mesothelioma patients are U.S. Military veterans. The Veterans Administration Hospital provides healthcare to the veterans. Until the Affordable Healthcare act takes effect in 2014, there are different ways that those who are uninsured can receive compensated treatment.

Clinical trials are an option for most mesothelioma patients. Even though they may have to qualify for the study, the treatment is sometimes free and many research groups pay for travel and accommodations. There are some complications that may arise from clinical trials, but many patients have been successfully treated because of clinical trials.

Another option that mesothelioma patients have is to take advantage of legal options and available compensation. There are trust funds set up to help compensate mesothelioma patients who were exposed to asbestos. These trusts have been set up by companies who have knowingly exposed individuals to asbestos products. There is over $30 billion in these funds, all set aside to mesothelioma patients.

Law Degrees

Law degrees has always been one of the most important degrees which has been available worldwide.  This blog post will certainly help assist you in choosing the correct course for you.

There are several types of Law degrees available and they are as follows in alphabetical order:

• Law Degree 
• Bachelor of Civil Law
• Bachelor of Laws
• Bachelor of Science in Law
• Bachelor of Talmudic Law
• Bar Professional Training Course
• Candidate of Law
• Doctor of both laws
• Doctor of Canon Law
• Doctor of Civil Law
• Doctor of Juridical Science
• Doctor of law
• Graduate Diploma in English and Hong Kong Law
•  Ijazah
• JD-MBA
• Juris Doctor
• Legal Practice Course
• Legum Doctor
• Licentiate of Canon Law
• List of Master of Laws Programs
• Magister Juris
• Master of Business and Law
• Master of European Law
• Master of Jurisprudence
• Master of Laws
• Master of Studies in Law
• Postgraduate Certificate in Laws
• Pre-law

 These different degrees posted will be explained later on as this post is just an overview of the type of degrees available.

Now choosing the correct Law Degree for you would depend what your career path would be.  A good example would be there are many graduates per year with a fresh Law Degree but Law firms have reduced trainee contracts and some other firms have decided to end the trainee programs available at their firm to directly hiring good prospects instead.

You definitely have to read a lot when going into the law field mainly because you have to know about different cases and that would mean spending a lot of time at your local library or any other institute providing law information.

As much as reading is important, working at your level best is much as important as well.  Without your time and dedication you wont be able to attain your goal of getting a law degree.  You will have to know how to organize your schedule as it is really important to be organized and efficient.

At Law school you will be having competition from other students, it all which teaching curve is being used at your school.  You will have to be able to work as a team and not try to something for your advantage, this will help you a lot in the future.

Learn to manage your costs for study materials such as book as your Law school is already going to cost a fortune and will completely drain your expenses.  Be wise when spending money and always choose the study materials that would be useful to you.

I certainly hope these few tips will be able to assist you in choosing a law degree and I wish you good luck in your future endeavors.

How to choose a health insurance plan

Today we'll be focusing on choosing the idea health insurance plan for you.  Health care can be quite costly these days, be it having a baby or staying at the hospital.  This is where Health insurance comes in, it helps reduce the expenses by sharing the risk with other people.  You must be thinking how is it possible to share the risk, it is possible because most people are mostly healthy most of the time, only the small numbers of people getting injured or sick get the premiums.


What does a medical insurance plan cover?

Health insurance before was based on different separate plans before the health reform.  Which means if you were sick and had to go to the doctor i.e doctor visits was a separate plan.  Having received prescriptions would require to have another plan so that you could get your prescriptions with medical insurance.

The new health reform has changed this issue combining different factors and putting them in all in one health insurance package.  Therefore you didn't need multiple health insurance for yourself but reap the benefits of having them all into one single medical insurance.


How much would a medical insurance plan cost?

There are two ways in which you can play for your medical insurance plan.

1.  The monthly payment that you pay to get your plan.
2.  Shared costs when you get your medical bills.

There are multiple plans available, I will be writing a few reviews of ones which you should consider before choosing a medical insurance plan.

How to choose your university?

I will be giving you a brief information on top universities around the world and what factors to consider before choosing one.

First of the list of top universities are as follows:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States

Harvard UniversityHarvard University United States

University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge United Kingdom

UCL (University College London) United Kingdom

Imperial College London United Kingdom

University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford United Kingdom

Stanford UniversityStanford University United States

Yale UniversityYale University United States

University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago United States

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States

Princeton UniversityPrinceton University United States

ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland

University of Pennsylvania United States

Columbia University United States

Cornell University United States

Johns Hopkins University United States

University of Edinburgh United Kingdom

University of Toronto Canada

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland

King's College London (KCL) United Kingdom

McGill University Canada

University of Michigan United States

Duke University United States

National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore

University of California, Berkeley (UCB) United States

University of Hong Kong Hong Kong

Australian National University Australia

Ecole normale supérieure, Paris France

Northwestern University United States

University of Bristol United Kingdom

The University of Melbourne Australia

The University of Tokyo Japan

The University of Manchester United Kingdom

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong

Kyoto University Japan

Seoul National University South Korea

University of Wisconsin-Madison United States

The University of Sydney Australia

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States

Ecole Polytechnique France

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore

The University of QueenslandThe University of Queensland Australia

New York University (NYU) United States

University of Copenhagen Denmark

Peking University China

Brown University United States

Tsinghua University China

University of British Columbia Canada

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Factors when choosing a university:

Since there are many universities to choose from, you should be clear in your mind what your expectations and goals are for yourself.  Once you have that clear in your mind you will be able to choose from a narrowed list of University for your further studies. Keep in my your goals and ambitions as that would be more to your advantage.  You wouldn't want to do something you don't like now would you?

The main factors you should be considering are the campus, what majors does the university provide, how the admission process goes by, attendance and the cost of the course you plan on attending, how reputed the university is.

This brief overview will be able to guide you through your first admission.  A more detailed post to come soon.