When admission season rolls around, the anxiety of making a "safe, credible, and future-proof" choice usually pushes students and parents straight toward global league tables and national scorecards. It is easy to see why: picking an institution based on a neat, orderly list feels objective. However, over 20,000 higher education institutions exist globally, while major ranking systems like QS, THE, and ARWU spotlight only a tiny fraction. Relying exclusively on an overall