[fbear]

Hey everyone, I hope I posted this in the right forum. Anyhow, I'm focusing on these two right now and wondering which you'd pick for Anthropology.

Oxford Brookes has the course I really like but I'm not sure if it has any reputation at all. It's far lower ranked and most people seem to only pick it as a reserve. The uni seems really nice, appears that they put a lot of thought into the academics or perhaps they simply have a nice/informative website.

Manchester is highly ranked and would definitely look better on a resume. However, since I'm currently gonna be doing undergrad perhaps I should worry about that for postgrad? The course is not bad but not as interesting as the one in Brookes. On the other hand, it seems to have very low student satisfaction.

I'm not from the UK so unfortunately I can't visit any of the unis.

[oxymoronic]

(Original post by fbear)
Hey everyone, I hope I posted this in the right forum. Anyhow, I'm focusing on these two right now and wondering which you'd pick for Anthropology.

Oxford Brookes has the course I really like but I'm not sure if it has any reputation at all. It's far lower ranked and most people seem to only pick it as a reserve. The uni seems really nice, appears that they put a lot of thought into the academics or perhaps they simply have a nice/informative website.

Manchester is highly ranked and would definitely look better on a resume. However, since I'm currently gonna be doing undergrad perhaps I should worry about that for postgrad? The course is not bad but not as interesting as the one in Brookes. On the other hand, it seems to have very low student satisfaction.

I'm not from the UK so unfortunately I can't visit any of the unis.

Hey,

I'm an anthropology graduate. I went to Edinburgh although I had an offer from Manchester. I didn't go there primarily because it was too close to my home. I didn't apply to Oxford Brookes although I have heard very good things about their anthropology course.

From what you've said it seems like you'd rather go to Brookes. Like you've said, a name of a university doesn't mean anything and you have to really enjoy the course. If you don't enjoy the course then its unlikely that you'll do as well in your degree. Employers care much more about all of the other things you do during your degree in terms of transferable skills, work experience and internships rather than simply where you went to university.

[fbear]

Hey, thanks for the post. You make a good point about the course being more important. However, I wonder how much of a role reputation plays when applying for a postgraduate course.

I should've posted this in the social and political sciences section perhaps. If some moderator could move it there it'd be great.

[Deiidara]

I would go for Manchester all the way, the rep is way higher, also £40k after graduation.

[InsaneFandom]

I'd go by the course- you don't really have anything good to say about Manchester except it's reputation. If you reckon you'd find the course at Brookes more interesting then go for it, it's 3 years of your life after all.
You can get into post grads having gone to Brookes, providing you're well rounded and do well.

[bestofyou]

course and institution aside there are other factors

Social life?
Manchester will beat oxford hands down in that aspect

Sports team?
depends on what you like


If I was you I'd go for manchester because the city is better and the campus looks nicer.

As for rep. it only matters to a minimal extent depending...

what job are you after?

[bestofyou]

(Original post by Deiidara)
I would go for Manchester all the way, the rep is way higher, also £40k after graduation.

what you on about 40k?

[fbear]

(Original post by bestofyou)
course and institution aside there are other factors

Social life?
Manchester will beat oxford hands down in that aspect

Sports team?
depends on what you like


If I was you I'd go for manchester because the city is better and the campus looks nicer.

As for rep. it only matters to a minimal extent depending...

what job are you after?

Those are factors as well. Manchester seems like a big city with loads to do. I'm not sure about jobs currently but one of my main aims is to get into research later on in life. I have really not heard much about Brookes and am worried if I'd be making a mistake passing up a uni with a rep like Manchester. Although I'm not sure if that rep translates well into teaching quality as student satisfaction seems to be low there.

[bestofyou]

(Original post by fbear)
Those are factors as well. Manchester seems like a big city with loads to do. I'm not sure about jobs currently but one of my main aims is to get into research later on in life. I have really not heard much about Brookes and am worried if I'd be making a mistake passing up a uni with a rep like Manchester. Although I'm not sure if that rep translates well into teaching quality as student satisfaction seems to be low there.

I'm confused as to where you are getting that information?

Manchester has 90% satisifed with the course and Brookes has 83%

Manchester has 95% satisfied with teaching and Brookes has 88%

So in terms of:

student satisfaction, Manchester is higher
social life, Manchester is better
Institution reputation, Manchester is better
Ease of Access (coming from abroad), Manchester should be better (depending on where you are from)

To me it seems like a no brainer.

Where are you from anyway?

[kog]

I've firmed Reading over QMUL, despite QMUL being ranked a fair bit higher. I preferred the look of the course at Reaing and liked the area a lot more.

Go with gut instinct, you're gonna be living there for 3 years (or more), so make sure you're happy with it!

[fbear]

(Original post by bestofyou)
I'm confused as to where you are getting that information?

Manchester has 90% satisifed with the course and Brookes has 83%

Manchester has 95% satisfied with teaching and Brookes has 88%

So in terms of:

student satisfaction, Manchester is higher
social life, Manchester is better
Institution reputation, Manchester is better
Ease of Access (coming from abroad), Manchester should be better (depending on where you are from)

To me it seems like a no brainer.

Where are you from anyway?

I was looking at the Manchester university forum on here plus The Complete University Guide. Perhaps I was mistaken. I agree with your assessment though, Manchester seems better. The only thing that holds me back is the course at Brookes is really great. I'm from India btw.

[Charlottie93]

(Original post by fbear)
Those are factors as well. Manchester seems like a big city with loads to do. I'm not sure about jobs currently but one of my main aims is to get into research later on in life. I have really not heard much about Brookes and am worried if I'd be making a mistake passing up a uni with a rep like Manchester. Although I'm not sure if that rep translates well into teaching quality as student satisfaction seems to be low there.

At the end of the day choose the course that you think you'll enjoy the most rather then the university with the best reputation. You're going to be paying a lot of money to go there so might as well be happy and if its not all its cracked up to be you can always transfer.

[calumsteele1]

seeing as youre an international student i can only assume youll be paying international fees that being the case id definitely go for the one that interests you most even if it isnt as highly ranked because as you said you can always get a postgrad at a top tier uni plus brookes may not be good by the standards of oxbridge, london etc. but in the grand scheme of british unis its pretty good and as most employers or post grad courses focus on the degree itself not where its from it shouldnt matter to much

[bestofyou]

(Original post by fbear)
I was looking at the Manchester university forum on here plus league tables such as The Guardian. Perhaps I was mistaken. I agree with your assessment though, Manchester seems better. The only thing that holds me back is the course at Brookes is really great. I'm from India btw.

I got my information from the Guardian? I assume that you didn't check Anthropology specifically? The figures I gave are from the Anthropology course specifically.

Just order a prospectus for Brookes and Manchester.

Weigh up the pros and cons of each and decide.

[fbear]

Hmm, it seems there is a somewhat equal number of opinions regarding whether reputation or course should come first. That is good as I thought people would recommend going for the reputation. Anyway, I guess I'll have an easier time in my decision now so thanks everyone.

@bestofyou - yup, i wasn't checking individual courses. thanks for that.

[Stressworthy]

It's a tough one - from a personal point of view, if I were an international student who was going to be paying those fees, and potentially moving back outside the UK after my degree, I'd go for the university which is better-known internationally. I also bet that the course has a fair bit of room for choice in terms of modules - perhaps ask about this - so you could end up studying the sort of material you could study at Brookes. Also, the two cities are very different - both excellent, but different - so it does depend on which sort of environment you see yourself living in for a few years.

[faber niger]

(Original post by Deiidara)
I would go for Manchester all the way, the rep is way higher, also £40k after graduation.

40k after graduation? I've been cheated, no one ever gave me graduation money.

[AnnabelLily]

(Original post by fbear)
Hey everyone, I hope I posted this in the right forum. Anyhow, I'm focusing on these two right now and wondering which you'd pick for Anthropology.

Oxford Brookes has the course I really like but I'm not sure if it has any reputation at all. It's far lower ranked and most people seem to only pick it as a reserve. The uni seems really nice, appears that they put a lot of thought into the academics or perhaps they simply have a nice/informative website.

Manchester is highly ranked and would definitely look better on a resume. However, since I'm currently gonna be doing undergrad perhaps I should worry about that for postgrad? The course is not bad but not as interesting as the one in Brookes. On the other hand, it seems to have very low student satisfaction.

I'm not from the UK so unfortunately I can't visit any of the unis.

Hello! I'm from Manchester and I'd say that it is a lovely university.. However, I have firmed OB because the course for me is much better. I've applied to do Primary teaching BA, so maybe I'm not the best person to listen to! But for the social side of things, OB (in my eyes) is much better than my home city of Manchester. OB just seems like a better atmosphere! Sorry if I'm no help, just thought I'd help by being from Manchester an having seen the uni millions of times

[fbear]

(Original post by AnnabelLily)
Hello! I'm from Manchester and I'd say that it is a lovely university.. However, I have firmed OB because the course for me is much better. I've applied to do Primary teaching BA, so maybe I'm not the best person to listen to! But for the social side of things, OB (in my eyes) is much better than my home city of Manchester. OB just seems like a better atmosphere! Sorry if I'm no help, just thought I'd help by being from Manchester an having seen the uni millions of times

don't worry all opinions are helpful. I'm surprised you say OB is better socially since I've heard the opposite usually.

[AnnabelLily]

(Original post by fbear)
don't worry all opinions are helpful. I'm surprised you say OB is better socially since I've heard the opposite usually.

I've heard that too, it's a shame you can't visit! But when I went they were making a new bar on campus and seemed really friendly! It depends what you're personally interested in. I'm just going to OB for the quality of the degree I'm going to get. What I did was I wrote down all the positives and negatives of each of my offers and made sacrifices