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  1. m0man's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 713
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by G8D)
    UEA < Portsmouth < UEA ?

    lrn2maths
    Is your sig about Richard Dawkins meant to be sarcastic? I don't get how an old wrinkly man can make ANYTHING sexy... at all...
  2. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by grahamB)
    But in terms of employment, would Portsmouth be a better option than UEA or Sussex because of the tables?

    I was always led to believe that the higher the grade requirements, the better the course/higher the demand...
    No entirely true, in the case of me personally Strathclyde and Glasgow place a value of 4As and a B on their law course, however Edinburgh (arguably better than Strathclyde) set it at 4B's. This allows them to pick and choose if they like someone due to their PS and not purely their grades.

    I got 3A's and 2B's btw, that why I am left with an unconditional from Edi and not from Strathclyde. Don't even ask about Glasgows decisions o.O
  3. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    Is your sig about Richard Dawkins meant to be sarcastic? I don't get how an old wrinkly man can make ANYTHING sexy... at all...
    Then you are viewing his image through an ignorant veil of hatred and I want nothing to do with you.
  4. xlouisedoll's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
    • Location: Worcs
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    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    I definitely wouldn't base your decisions on league tables. They're ok for consideration, but really you should be thinking about which one you want to go to...not be going to a uni because some random you've never met says you should.
  5. m0man's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 713
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by G8D)
    Then you are viewing his image through an ignorant veil of hatred and I want nothing to do with you.
    So you are telling me you're turned on by that guy? 0_0
  6. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    So you are telling me you're turned on by that guy? 0_0
    Not quite. But I can appreciate beauty in most of its forms
  7. Subconscious Illusion's Avatar
    • Respected Member
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    If you base your knowledge purely on league tables, you are an idiot. But they can be helpful.
    But it's just another way to increase competition between unis.
  8. xlouisedoll's Avatar
    • Peer Of The TSR Realm
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    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by grahamB)
    But in terms of employment, would Portsmouth be a better option than UEA or Sussex because of the tables?
    To be honest I doubt companies really look at the tables thinking they're the be all and end all either. Recruiters in companies will most likely be subjective anyway, as inevitably most people are. Reputations of unis will be much more prominent in a recruiters mind than what some table says. So your Oxbridge and your main redbrick unis will naturally be the preferred choice, or indeed whatever universities are considered renowned in your chosen field.

    So to answer your question - in terms of employment, if YOU as a person stand out, have good references, a good degree result, plenty of experience etc etc then you will prosper. It's all good and well thinking about how a university will affect your chances, but you yourself and what you do at whatever uni you choose to go to are much more important.
    Last edited by xlouisedoll; 28-03-2010 at 21:19.
  9. bill-e's Avatar
    • Exalted and Worshipped Member
    • Posts: 1,100
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    League tables are for you to get a general view of where universities stands. Don't take them too literally, in the case for you studying mathematics, the mainstream league tables judge on a criteria which isn't that compatible with mathematics and therefore should be less relied on. Here's a league table which may be slightly more accurate for maths:
    http://www.maths.manchester.ac.uk/~b.../bigtable.html
    And this is where that table came from:
    http://www.maths.manchester.ac.uk/~b...s_league/2009/
  10. Picnic1's Avatar
    • Overlord in Training
    • Location: Stockton-on-Tees
    • Posts: 3,005
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by grahamB)
    I was looking today at the league tables for Maths.

    My offer from Sussex is AAB, Exeter AAA, UEA ABB, Portsmouth BBB

    Yet Portsmouth, according to the Times, is better than UEA and Sussex and only SLIGHTLY worse than Exeter?!


    So in terms of employment, would it be best to go to Portsmouth over Sussex and UEA?
    There are many problems with league tables in getting a general idea about the best place to go. Firstly, it is a matter of opinion as to how much weighting should be given to each thing that they measure but the newspaper does that deciding for you. Secondly, there are things that they can't measure - the social possibilities in the city and at the university, whether the type of university is your preferred kind (redbrick, campus etc), how good the accommodation and general architecture are (a bad campus can make a difference).

    However you can look at individual pieces of data and if they are WAY out of each other, ask some questions about that. Are the missing pieces of data in the Maths table because those universities don't teach that kind of Maths or because they didn't want to submit that data?

    Overall, Exeter has the best name for itself, followed by Sussex or UEA, then Portsmouth.

    http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_...rsityguide.php
    Last edited by Picnic1; 28-03-2010 at 21:29.
  11. m0man's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 713
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by G8D)
    Not quite. But I can appreciate beauty in most of its forms
    ...there is a difference between beautiful and sexy.
  12. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    ...there is a difference between beautiful and sexy.
    Making atheism beautiful really doesn't sounds as good as sexy though, does it?
  13. m0man's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 713
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by G8D)
    Making atheism beautiful really doesn't sounds as good as sexy though, does it?
    Crap doesn't sound as good as amazing.... they're still different things.
  14. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    Crap doesn't sound as good as amazing.... they're still different things.
    I don't even know why I'm pretending to take this seriously.
    It's just a joke maaaang.
  15. jarrett's Avatar
    • New Member
    • Posts: 11
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    if you care about employment, go to exeter
  16. m0man's Avatar
    • Benevolent Member
    • Location: Manchester
    • Posts: 713
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by G8D)
    I don't even know why I'm pretending to take this seriously.
    It's just a joke maaaang.
    So your sig is sarcastic?
  17. ByronicHero's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Deity
    • Posts: 36,605
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    In a word, no.
  18. G8D's Avatar
    • TSR Legend
    • Posts: 13,937
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    So your sig is sarcastic?
    A humourous reflection of my beliefs?

    EDIT: Or lack there of :ninja:
    Last edited by G8D; 28-03-2010 at 22:03.
  19. TheSownRose's Avatar
    • PS Helper
    • TSR Royalty
    • Location: Alone up on the hills and snow
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    (Original post by m0man)
    Is your sig about Richard Dawkins meant to be sarcastic? I don't get how an old wrinkly man can make ANYTHING sexy... at all...
    Oh, someone's clearly never heard him speaking...
  20. agolati's Avatar
    • Exalted and Worshipped Member
    Re: Are league tables completely pointless?
    The MAIN FLAW in League Tables:

    One year, a university is 9th place, next year, it goes to 13th place, then the year after, it goes to 11th place etc.
    They FLUCTUATE in such great magnitudes.

    I don't know HOW an employer can judge which is better..They surely should look at the content that the Universities teach and the general position in the league tables - i.e an average over 5 years.
    There's no other accurate way to do it.
    For example, Durham University for Business - their degree is relatively new, but it's relatively low ranked compared to universities at the same level of prestige. However, big 4 accounting firms warm to the content taught in the degree greatly and believe Durham University business graduates are top class.
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