Is it worth going to a "bad" university?
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Is it worth going to a "bad" university?My son's in Year 12, about to apply to various unis to study physics. My question is: if he doesn't get enough A* and A at the end of Year 13, and has to apply to one of the unis at the bottom of the league tables, is it worth going at all? Is he going to have any decent career or research options if he's graduated from a uni that is held in low esteem?
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?Depends how much lower really. Just because he does not get straight A's and A*'s does not mean he will end up in a bottom of the table uni. Though what he actually gets in his degree and how competitive the industry he goes into are all going to play a huge factor. I honestly would't worry about this until you actually get his results.
Last edited by Aj12; 16-05-2012 at 16:36. -
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?As much as my name would not entitle me to marry the Queen or any other self respecting human being, my success in life does not depend on how bad my name is. Your question about a "Bad university" is analogous to the statement I began this response with.
You make the university and not the other way around unless you live in the US where pedigree is everything.
Many of the high achievers in life went to mediocre universities whilst some of the greatest failures, moron (George Bush Jnr at Yale, Michael Milken at Wharton, the entire Wall Street mess at Columbia, Harvard, Yale., Stanford, New York and Wharton).
Reputations are often about the good reputations. None of the above mentioned universityies boast George Bush Jnr, Fordham does not boast Bernie Madoff and so on and so forth. They only boast about their good ones. And these too are far and few.
So what university you choose is dependent on what outcomes you want in life. -
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?One of my friends is doing Physics at Manchester, apparently one of the best places to study it.(Original post by gaviano)
Yeah, guess we have to wait till August. Maybe he'll surprise us with all A*
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He's on the foundation year at the moment, unlike us he didn't get the grades he needed, but they put him onto that course.
It's intense, nonestop and stressful, especially for not even a first year course - but it will turn his <CCC grades into A*A*A* standard and beyond and allow him to enroll onto the Physics course next year. -
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?It won't affect his chances that much - it's more that the Top 100 companies look at the red brick unis more. They value the skills you learn at uni, the grade, and extra curricular activities more than simply where you go to uni.
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?A great piece of advice I recently received from my course leader is "it makes no difference what university you have graduated from, as long as you have a 2:1 or above and relevant experience."
Experience is key in all of this, make sure your son gets as much as possible! This particular tutors son was applying for graduate schemes and sat in the waiting room for interviews with Oxford grads, he graduated from Aston Uni. I'm not sure on the outcome, but at that stage of a grad scheme application its not a question of whether or not you are capable, its a question of whether your experience, interview technique and personality will put you above the rest. These are all factors a university cannot provide. -
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?Yep, and after your first job, your degree is even less important, it's your experience and how you performed.(Original post by hvh)
A great piece of advice I recently received from my course leader is "it makes no difference what university you have graduated from, as long as you have a 2:1 or above and relevant experience."
Experience is key in all of this, make sure your son gets as much as possible! This particular tutors son was applying for graduate schemes and sat in the waiting room for interviews with Oxford grads, he graduated from Aston Uni. I'm not sure on the outcome, but at that stage of a grad scheme application its not a question of whether or not you are capable, its a question of whether your experience, interview technique and personality will put you above the rest. These are all factors a university cannot provide. -
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Re: Is it worth going to a "bad" university?Do you think there is nothing between A*A*A* and a "bad" university?(Original post by gaviano)
My son's in Year 12, about to apply to various unis to study physics. My question is: if he doesn't get enough A* and A at the end of Year 13, and has to apply to one of the unis at the bottom of the league tables, is it worth going at all? Is he going to have any decent career or research options if he's graduated from a uni that is held in low esteem?
Any advice gratefully received...
Seriously?
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