Do students pick universities because of movies?

Are movies a hidden factor in choosing a university? Does Hollywood and Bollywood influence where students want to study?

Instead of prospectuses and stalls at international recruitment fairs, should universities try to attract overseas students through the cinema?

Instead of focusing on international university rankings, should they be looking at box office takings?

Sir Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of Buckingham University and former headmaster of Wellington College, says: "Television and film portrayals of schools and universities are far more important in opinion formation I think than generally realised."

This is supported by a recent survey of Chinese and South Korean students in the United States, which suggested more than two thirds had been influenced by the movie image of going to an American university.

The US is the world's biggest destination for overseas students and it brings an estimated $20bn (£14bn) each year to the economy.

Movies such as A Beautiful Mind set in Princeton, Legally Blonde and The Social Network in Harvard, and The Graduate in Berkeley, California, have taken the US campus experience to a global audience, showcasing everything from the academic facilities to wild fraternity parties.