If a university wants to attract students, it must spend a lot of money on social activities for students.

I would certainly disagree with the statement. While it has some reasons for a school to invest on the student social activities, it is not worth spending a lot of dollars on. Obviously, the university would not have to budget a large amount of money to attract students, because there are much more crucial factors: the research, the facilities, and the ranking, to affect students to consider the university.

Firstly, the students would be attracted if the research in the university is strong. For instance, if the school can hire famous professors, such as Nobel Prize Winners, the research of the school would be enhanced a lot. Undoubtedly, the Nobel Prize Winners or other famous researchers would inspire not only the students but also the teachers in the university. In University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi, one of the best physicist of all time, was famous not only on his theoretical research but also on his experimental research, has attracted many students to become his students. One of his students, Dr. Yang, is also a Nobel Prize Winner after his teaching. As a result, the research quality of this school would be improved, and therefore more applicants would apply for this university.

Secondly, the students would want to be into the school if the facilities there are high-class. For example, if the university has a gigantic library, then many students would go to this school. To elaborate, the library can provide a fantastic place for the students to learn, to study ,and to search for comprehensive information. For another example, if the machines in the departments of the school are complete and advantageous, the students would take this school into account, because they can excel in their research with the aid of some equipment, such as Electronic Tunneling Microscope, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which are extremely expensive. Therefore, the students would take the university into options if the facilities in the university are benevolent.

Last but not Least, the students would choose the university if the university has a high ranking. Accordingly, students would look for some influential university ranking resources, including US news ranking, QS ranking. They would rank the best schools annually, and the top universities, such as Caltech, MIT, would have their fame to attract students. Furthermore, many schools try very hard to promote their ranking, which will benefit their applications of students.

In conclusion, although it is of some importance for the university to put some budgets on the social activities of undergraduates, it is not the most indispensable one. To be more specific, the university should focus on its research, on its facilities, and on its ranking, which would be much more vital if the university wants to attract students.