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Student in the Laboratory, Lancaster University
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Is Lancaster university 'prestigious'?

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Original post by h_naimun94
I'd like to know this as well. I'm trying to decide which to choose for business management between Lancaster, Bath or Bristol. Any suggestions?


I think Bath is supposed to very good for Business and Management type courses, also it's a gorgeous city!

But be warned it's quite expensive, much the same as London prices, however, since it's small you can walk everywhere and save on public transport.
Student in the Laboratory, Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster
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Reply 21
Original post by h_naimun94
I'd like to know this as well. I'm trying to decide which to choose for business management between Lancaster, Bath or Bristol. Any suggestions?


Bristol is brilliant being a leading uni, and would look good on your CV seeing as its been such an excellent uni for so many years. Lancaster is good too, but its reputation isnt all that (or at least it hasnt been until recent years).
Reply 22
Original post by RedRevolver
Lancaster was one of my Dad's choices; he went to Cambridge, and applied for Durham, York and some other places. In 1969. It was definitely not seen to be as good as the others, particularly not prestigious university, as it had not been around long. But when I came here to look at the uni with him, he said it was regarded as being a good new plate-glass university than being bad. It's not, for example, an ex-poly.

But otherwise I agree; it's a small, not that great (but not too bad either) university in the North-West. You've got good prospects if your degree is one of the sciences, engineering, maths or the management school. Humanities or otherwise, your graduate prospects are looking a lot weaker.


I'm a bit suprised your dad was rating it significantly behind York that far back tbh.
Reply 23
Original post by Aszbaz
Bristol is brilliant being a leading uni, and would look good on your CV seeing as its been such an excellent uni for so many years. Lancaster is good too, but its reputation isnt all that (or at least it hasnt been until recent years).


So between Bath and Bristol for business management you would choose Bristol?
Original post by her
Are their graduates sort after? Do big firms want to employee them? Is it 'posh' ?


"sort after" :lolwut:

I don't think a big firm will want to employ you, anyway.
It's good, not prestigious, though.

Prestige is more than just ranking high on a bunch of national league tables that rely on factors as unreliable as 'student satisfaction'.

Prestige is something that comes with having been the best for a long period of time, not simply ranking high in the national rankings for a few years.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 26
Original post by Aspiringlawstudent
"sort after" :lolwut:

I don't think a big firm will want to employ you, anyway.


Aren't you active for that at this hour?
Reply 27
Original post by her
Are their graduates sort after? Do big firms want to employee them? Is it 'posh' ?

Lancaster is definitely NOW in the top ten but is a relative newcomer and some have questioned its fast rise. I am not sure that it is (yet) one of the major universites that attracr employers but it may well get there if it maintains its postion. Warwick, bristol, Nottingham and Oxbridge certainly are.But it is by no means a poor university,

You need to consider the University's reputation for the subject you want to do. For example, I'm at Edge Hill, where a Criminology degree is practically worthless in today's climate, but Teacher Training Graduates are the most sought after in the North West and even around the UK. It's all relative.
Reply 29
It is not prestigious as its only been in the top 10 in the league tables for the past few years, once it has been in the top 10 for 50 years then it could be classed as prestigious.
However it is a good university, with high standards of teaching, an amazing campus, brand new sports facilities, excellent accommodation and has good world rankings. :smile:

It is one of my 5 choices and has a good rep for sciences and the like! It would be my second choice. I really loved the campus and programme at Lancaster is amazing :biggrin: What course would you be applying for?
Original post by AJCSShp
It is not prestigious as its only been in the top 10 in the league tables for the past few years, once it has been in the top 10 for 50 years then it could be classed as prestigious.
However it is a good university, with high standards of teaching, an amazing campus, brand new sports facilities, excellent accommodation and has good world rankings. :smile:

It is one of my 5 choices and has a good rep for sciences and the like! It would be my second choice. I really loved the campus and programme at Lancaster is amazing :biggrin: What course would you be applying for?


What league table has Lancaster been in the top ten of?
Reply 31
Original post by Aspiringlawstudent
What league table has Lancaster been in the top ten of?


In the UK Uni League tables
Lancaster is ranked :
The Complete University Guide - 9
The Guardian - 7
The Times - 9

:smile:

??
(edited 12 years ago)
Its 23rd in terms of entry standards.

The reason it gets into the top 10 is due to high satisfaction rates and high spend per student (is the latter sustainable?).

As far as I'm concerned, entry standards are the best measure of how good a university is because it best represents the demand for courses. If you got A*A*A*, would Lancaster be your top choice? Probably not. Student satisfaction and value added are irrelevant once you're finished university.

If you look at the individual metrics that go into making the rankings, none of them look at how employers perceive the university or how successful graduates are in the long term (which can't be measured) - neither of which can be directly measured as a statistic.

I'm not saying its a bad university - in fact its better than many if not most Russel Group universities. That said, don't take the league tables too literally (especially the Guardian's). These tables have been slapped together using whatever metrics the makers can get their hands on - and the same makers don't even have a conherent idea of what the tables are trying to measure.

I suggest you identify which metrics you feel are most important and look at those.
Reply 33
I'm at Lancaster. Here are the BIG employers I've spotted recruiting on campus this week alone (I left out loads of smaller ones I didn't know):

Placement Fair in Management School:
L'Oreal, Accenture, Barclays, Centrica, Deloitte, Enterprise-Rent-a-Car, Ernst & Young, GlaxoSmithKline, HILTI, HSBC, IBM, Paranthese, P&G, johnson & Johnson, Unilever, PwC, Sodexo

One-to-one sessions in Management School:
KPMG, Accenture, Unilever, BAE Systems, IBM, Mazars

Career Opportunities Fair in Lancaster University Great Hall:
Accenture, BAE Systems, Red Cross, British Sugar, Centrica, Co-operative group, Deloitte, Dialog Semi-conductor, Enterprise Rent-a-car, Ernst & Young, HILTI, HSBC, IBM, Lidl, Lloyds bank, Marks & spencer, Mazars, Network Rail, Philips Electronics, PwC, Rolls-Royce, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Sky, Yorkshire Water

Might have missed some other big ones...

May not be posh, but it certainly gets loads of employers on campus.
Reply 34
i think the fact its not considered 'prestigious enough' for the posh types does the uni a lot of good. cant stand snobs... you can have your oxbridge...ill stay at lancaster and get a good degree without the constant barrage of snobbery. Lancaster is a great down to earth place which has worked so hard to get a reputation and every student there knows they are at a good uni..
Reply 35
Original post by Ilios_Lampros
Its 23rd in terms of entry standards.

The reason it gets into the top 10 is due to high satisfaction rates and high spend per student (is the latter sustainable?).

As far as I'm concerned, entry standards are the best measure of how good a university is because it best represents the demand for courses. If you got A*A*A*, would Lancaster be your top choice? Probably not. Student satisfaction and value added are irrelevant once you're finished university.

If you look at the individual metrics that go into making the rankings, none of them look at how employers perceive the university or how successful graduates are in the long term (which can't be measured) - neither of which can be directly measured as a statistic.

I'm not saying its a bad university - in fact its better than many if not most Russel Group universities. That said, don't take the league tables too literally (especially the Guardian's). These tables have been slapped together using whatever metrics the makers can get their hands on - and the same makers don't even have a conherent idea of what the tables are trying to measure.

I suggest you identify which metrics you feel are most important and look at those.


What a load of rubbish.

Entry standards are pretty much the least important measurement.
Original post by cambo211
What a load of rubbish.

Entry standards are pretty much the least important measurement.


So which measures are the most important?

As I say, none of the measures can directly measure 'prestige' among employers - but entry standards give an excellent measurement of supply and demand. If employers favour a particular university, more students will naturally want to attend it; driving up entry requirements.

Of course, there are flaws to this thinking - i.e. a student who goes to Newcaslte or Leeds rather than Bristol because they'd prefer the nightlife.

However, that said - look at the guardian league table and order the unis in decending order of entry requirements (cutting out all the value added and student satisfaction rubbish) - and voila the table begins to make sense again. If students scoring the highest exam results demand to go to Imperial rather than Lancaster (despite the Guardian ranking Imperial lower) then that tells you something.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 37
Original post by Ilios_Lampros
I'm sorry but the idea that someone with 3x A* would choose Lancaster rather than Imperial in the belief that it would benefit their future career, seems ludicrous.


My mother was encouraged to apply for Oxford. She didn't, because she didn't want to be at a university full of people like you.

Then, with 3 As at A-level (back in the late 70s), she chose Aberystwyth, when she could easily have chosen somewhere like Durham.


In fact, with your logic, you should be saying the same about Durham being a much better choice than Lancaster. After all, it's probably more notorious than Imperial as an Oxbridge backup! Yet the truth is, Durham really isn't as good as everyone seems to think. It is actually in a very similar league to Lancaster and most of the rest of the 1994 group, in spite of the average income of the students' parents. This renders your argument flawed.

Imperial is an excellent university. Lancaster isn't as good. Hell, neither's Durham - not by a long shot. But like most of the 1994 group, they're still excellent universities - and in the real world choosing Lancaster (or any top-40 university) over Imperial would make very little difference.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Ilios_Lampros
I'm sorry but the idea that someone with 3x A* would choose Lancaster rather than Imperial in the belief that it would benefit their future career, seems ludicrous.


Surprising that you think that. The vast majority of my friends at Lancaster had AAA+ at A Level [as did I] and had picked the university because we liked the courses on offer, the atmosphere and the local area. The university has great links with the community, a very active careers service and is generally a wonderful launch pad into a range of sectors.

Most people wouldn't restrict their options because they had high grades - why would you?! Having high grades simply opens more doors; there is no reason why you would restrict yourself by dismissing great universities because of their entry requirements. Madness! :confused:
Original post by Joinedup
I'm a bit suprised your dad was rating it significantly behind York that far back tbh.


I think he probably preferred York as a place.

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