TOKYO, Nov 25 — Paris has been named the world’s best student city for the third year in a row, while the US leads the ranking with eight cities cracking the top 50 list.

For their annual QS Best Student Cities 2015 index, researchers awarded the City of Light with the top spot for a third time, citing assets like its world-class institutions, renowned academics and low tuition fees.

The list, which ranks 50 student cities, is represented by 29 countries, led by the US (8), Australia (6) and the UK (4).

To compile the index, researchers looked at five main factors: university rankings, student mix, quality of living, employment and affordability.

Here’s a snapshot of the top 10 student cities (all prices in US$, and tuition fees shown for international students):

1. Paris Top ranked institution: ENS Paris Average tuition fees for international students: US$2,400 (RM8,040) Cost of a Big Mac: US$5.25 (RM17.60)

2. Melbourne Top ranked institution: University of Melbourne Average tuition fees: US$22,700 Cost of a Big Mac: US$4.81

3. London Top ranked institution: Imperial College London Average tuition fees: US$22,100 Cost of Big Mac: US$4.93

4. Sydney Top ranked institution: University of Sydney Average tuition fees: US$28,600 Cost of Big Mac: US$4.81

5. Boston Top ranked institution: MIT (also the top-ranked university in the QS University Rankings list 2015) Average tuition fees: US$43,900 Cost of Big Mac: US$4.80

6. Hong Kong Top ranked institution: University of Hong Kong Average tuition fees: US$13,000 Cost of Big Mac: US$2.43

7. Tokyo Top ranked institution: University of Tokyo Average tuition fees: US$7,700 Cost of Big Mac: US$3.64

8. Montreal Top ranked institution: McGill University Average tuition fees: US$14,300 Cost of Big Mac: US$5.25

9. Toronto Top ranked institution: University of Toronto Average tuition fees: US$21,700 Cost of Big Mac: US$5.25

10. Seoul Top ranked institution: Seoul National University Average tuition fees: US$6,300 Cost of Big Mac: US$4 — AFP-Relaxnews