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Which uni...?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm doing a third year at college, so will be going to uni in 08. I'm thinking of applying to Sussex, LSE, Bristol, Nottingham, Sheffield and the last one I don't have a clue about, maybe Bath or if anyone has any reccommendations...?
Anyway, I'd love to hear if anyone has been to the Unis I mentioned, and what they thought, and if not, what uni they went to and what it was like! I don't want to make the wrong choice!
Thanks
Anyway, I'd love to hear if anyone has been to the Unis I mentioned, and what they thought, and if not, what uni they went to and what it was like! I don't want to make the wrong choice!
Thanks
Post edited by JustV on
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I havent been to uni but Sussex has got a good reputation for most of its degrees, although competion is tough for a lot of places. Its on the outskirts of Brighton, but the centre is easily to get to by bus/train, and is a very laid back and eccentric city.
Being a student in London is very different to anywhere else and may not be to your taste.
Personally, I wanted to go to a prestigious, campus university, not in Leicestershire. I ended up with a shortlist of maybe 10, and just did it through a process of elimination. My last two were York and Warwick, but chose York over Warwick because the atmosphere when I went was just more laid back and such. I thought there was a bit of snobbishness / elitism at Warwick (obviously not all students though!) which put me off.
eta: my brother gave my some great advice! Consider that you will likely only go to university once in your life, and after that it's working and getting a job until you retire basically (how depressing) - so really although somewhere like oxford / cambridge will always carry a good reputation you should go wherever you will enjoy and feel comfortable living there for 3 years. The amount of people I know who went uni and just do it for the course and don't actually like the place / people / anything and travel home every weekend to see their friends...
Though as I'm sure scary monster will agree with, Oxford and Cambridge also have good social and outside uni bits I was merely saying pick where you will be most comfortable and happy! (Because it's downhill after that! )
Go for somewhere that has the facilities you want, has the modules on the course you like, that you find the travel between there and home achievable for and you like the place.
York sounds like a good uni, and it's meant to be a very pretty city too isn't it?
But I must go and revise if I'm going to stand a chance of getting in anywhere....
Incidentally, what are you applying for? As, obviously, certain subjects are better at certain unis than others.
Bristol is OK, good calibre of people there.
Nottingham and Bath decent, scrape the top 10 of a good league table.
Sheffield is pretty poor compared to these ones but decent for a few subjects. But generally prestige of the university matters much much more than your degree course for getting a good job.
And Sussex is shite.
That isn't strictly true any more. It all depends on the career choice that the OP wants to go into. Some careers yes that still matters in, others it doesn't at all. If the OP gets a good class of degree from anywhere they will not be looked down on for the university it came from in general. Most employees are looking for a far more rounded individual than purely the university.
Beautiful city, prestigious respected university, sexual people.
What more do you want?
Pick any big investment bank, pick any top law firm, pick any of the top engineering companies and look at where their graduates come from. You'll find a massive percentage come from Oxbridge or at a push somewhere else in the top 10 universities.
Once you get away from the very top unis the difference is far less significant, but in the top vs the rest, the top win hands down.
I did say that in some careers it did still matter, but I wouldn't say it is the vast majority like you are claiming. To speak of law since you mention it. I have a cousin who went to Oxford to do law, one who went to Sheffield, her husband went to Sheffield and my brother went to Leicester. Not a one of them has been classed any differently because of the university.
I went to an ex poly...should be lowest of the low. How have I got a grad job with one of the biggest and most sort after companies in the industry if they still look at university completely and looking at the people they have employed this year there isn't a single 1 from oxbridge.
I have a friend who works in recruitment for BAE and when I was applying to uni he told me to not worry about the university I went to because to their recruitment scheme, someone who got a 1st from an ex poly had actually worked harder and improved more than someone who got a 1st from a red brick university because in generally yes they were a lesser calibre of student in the 1st place.
You say the investment banks don't accept people from other universities, I know people who went to my university who have jobs in them so thats also a load of utter bollocks.
Yes there is in some industries still a snobbery about Oxbridge graduates, but it's a lot less than those people who are Oxbridge students/grads seem to like to suggest. :rolleyes:
Mainly magic circle law firms and top investment banks but there are always anomalies.
Ahh, I love the Red Brick vs. Ex-Poly banter. We've got one of those down in Bristol too - UWE (The University Without Education )
Nottingham campus is really nice. But the city's not. Even Robin Hood couldn't sort out the gun problem there :no:
Got to say, I wouldn't think much of an employer who would prefer to take on someone with a 3rd from Oxford rather than a 1st from Oxford Brookes. How ridiculous.
I suppose it depends what you class as a "good job".
To the OP, go where you want to, and where the course is best. There's no point going somewhere you will hate just because it's high in a league table. I was offered a place at Warwick and turned it down because I didn't like it there based on my interview/entrance test.
My thoughts exactly.
How does this work? Surely all unis offer pretty much the same degree? (assuming it's offered there)
Is it just me or have you got a large chip, nay, a whole potato, on your shoulder? Could that be why your av is what it is and why you're getting so defensive about this? Oxbridge is not the be all and end all of higher education as you seem to think it is. And on what authority do you speak for all education establishments around the country when you generalise the workload for 'less prestigious' universities?
I could do the basic psychoanalysis here of you but it's just too fucking obvious.