Europe has outshined the United States in a new ranking of the world's best cities for students, released by QS World University Rankings.
Paris tops the table ahead of London, Boston and Melbourne, with six European cities in the top ten. Singapore (12th) is the leading Asian city ahead of Hong Kong (19) and Tokyo (19), while Australia is the only country with two cities in the top 10.
Based on 12 criteria, QS Best Student Cities 2012 takes into account the quality and number of internationally ranked universities, alongside factors such as affordability, quality of living and the reputation of local universities among employers.
Europe triumphs on quality of living and affordability, with tuition fee in top 10 cities averaging under $1,000 per year, compared to $30,000 in the US. Twenty European cities have made it to the top 50 compared to nine each from North America and Asia and four from Latin America.
London claims to get the top score for the quality of its leading universities, but Paris has a greater number of internationally ranked institutions alongside superior all-round scores.