Probably the toughest decision students have to make is choosing the right university for their educational needs. Deciding what and where to study can be daunting. Here are a few key characteristics to take into account when searching Arab region universities for the perfect fit.

1. Choice of majors and minors: Students should consider schools with a variety of majors and minors or that are known for certain fields. Sajid Khan, head and associate professor of marketing at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, says, “the level of quality education and credibility of the school” are factors that should be at the top of any list.

AUS offers 26 majors and 53 minors at the undergraduate level and 14 master’s degree programs, such as a Master of Arts in English/Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting.

Most schools, including AUS, allow for a change of major; while some majors require a minor, many do not.

Marwa Gad El-Hak, a specialist in the Office of Student Services at American University in Cairo‘s business school, says students will want to check several aspects based on their own priorities. She says these can include “university/school ranking; campus life; student engagement offered by the university as well as support, majors and specializations they can pursue, course topics and style of education — interactive, theoretical, modern.”

[Check out photos of universities in the Middle East and North Africa.]

2. Quality of professors: Many schools in the Middle East and North Africa have the benefit of having faculty from all over the world. AUS, for example, has 367 full-time undergraduate/graduate faculty representing 50 nationalities. Diverse faculty brings a variety of perspectives and more to the learning experience.

“This is one of our strong points,” says Chandler Jordana, spokesman for Middle East University in Lebanon. “We have faculty and staff members from nearly every continent and our small classes require all professors to be very accessible.”

Franziska Apprich, dean of liberal arts and sciences and environment and health sciences at Canadian University Dubai, says finding a school with a good reputation is important. A school’s reputation is often tied to its faculty and an undergraduate or graduate program is only as good as the faculty who teach it.

El-Hak from AUC says peer-to-peer advice is a good way to evaluate schools. She suggests students use a website called Live From Campus. “This website includes a lot of information about many universities written by its students. So, it provides an inside insight about all universities and their pros and cons from a student perspective,” says El-Hak, who notes that AUC undergraduate and graduate students have participated on the site.

3. Safety: Students should consider the political situation in any country they plan to study in. Palestinian Abeer Mahmoud completed her medical degree from Al Quds University in Palestine, and says despite the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “Palestine is a safe place.” Her studies have taken her to Egypt and Jordan as well.

“Safety plays a role definitely and political situation, apart from the customs and the nature of the society,” says Mahmoud, who completed four years of residency at Cairo University in Egypt, a country that has seen political turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. “There are wild and dangerous societies where everyday living can be a horror, like Cairo for the past few years.”

Mahmoud is now at Jordan University of Science and Technology, where she is doing a one-year fellowship as a pathologist, and calls it a much safer place to study.

[Explore how Arab region universities are evolving.]

4. Country differences: While many Arab region countries share similar languages, religions and cultural traditions, not all are alike. For example, conservative Saudi Arabian society is restrictive toward women and practices strict gender segregation. Students should research and if possible visit campuses to find the best fit.

“Lebanon is an anomaly of sorts in the Middle East, in that it has the largest Christian minority population in the region and languages other than Arabic are widely and commonly spoken,” says Jordana.

He says Lebanon has nearly 20 officially recognized religions and Arabic, French and English are widely spoken. Beirut, which the Middle East University campus overlooks, is “lively, cultured and cosmopolitan,” Jordana says.

“Since the Arab world is such a culturally and ethnically diverse region, much can be gained from venturing outside of one’s home country or comfort zone,” he says.

5. Location, location, location: University location can have a big impact on a student’s experience, from extracurricular activities to internship, networking and job opportunities.

“Location does matter during the process of choosing a university outside their home country,” says Khan, marketing professor at AUS. Khan says this could range from weather and city life to geography of the country to future opportunities.

[Learn about the growth of extracurriculars at Arab region universities.]

After graduation, a student may need to relocate to find work. Choosing a university in or near cities that cater to a student’s career aspirations can give him or her an edge on the competition. Plus, employers may be more familiar with grads from local schools.

“AUS is very strategically located,” says Khan. “Most of our graduates from the School of Business Administration tend to get good job offers from blue-chip companies based in Dubai or nearby UAE.”

See the complete rankings of the Best Arab Region Universities.

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Consider 5 Factors to Find the Right Arab Region University originally appeared on usnews.com