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Does it matter which uni you go to for English?

tululabelle

I'm in the same position. Received offer from Leeds, which is looking more and more appealing now I've been rejected from Warwick without an interview :frown:

. First choices have always been Bristol, Durham and York though, just not feeling too hopeful now Warwick have shot me down!

Were you at the Leeds English Open Day by any chance?

Reply 21

notsoperfect

1

Zahra7fold

Were you at the Leeds English Open Day by any chance?

you weren't talking to me, but i was!

Reply 22

Toscar

11

what do you actually want to do after uni?

Reply 23

Apricot Fairy

16

tululabelle

I'm in the same position. Received offer from Leeds, which is looking more and more appealing now I've been rejected from Warwick without an interview :frown:

. First choices have always been Bristol, Durham and York though, just not feeling too hopeful now Warwick have shot me down!

I wouldn't worry about it. I got rejected from Warwick without interview last year but I got offers from Bristol and York, so just because you didn't get into Warwick doesn't mean you won't get into the others.

Reply 24

ladyportacabin

8

I don't think where you go matters 100% (although there will always be elitist employers). You need to consider what the course will give you as a person, not just how good your essays on 18th Century literature are going to be. If you want to get into journalism for example, employers will want to know that you've worked on the uni rag or done unpaid work experience. If you want to do PR or advertising, then a lot of it is based on networking, personality or luck. Not just an Oxbridge degree.

So relax, meet people, have fun, take part in activities and don't fret too much. You've got 40 odd years after uni to work!

Reply 25

wilbur

1

ladyportacabin

If you want to get into journalism for example, employers will want to know that you've worked on the uni rag or done unpaid work experience. QUOTE]

To an extent, although the quality of degree will far outway this. Plus, not everyone in journalism has an english degree, so I wouldn't try to tailor your degree course with that aim in mind.

Reply 26

bewithoutyou

wilbur

ladyportacabin

If you want to get into journalism for example, employers will want to know that you've worked on the uni rag or done unpaid work experience.

To an extent, although the quality of degree will far outway this. Plus, not everyone in journalism has an english degree, so I wouldn't try to tailor your degree course with that aim in mind.

From my experience I have to strongly disagree here. For journalism jobs specifically, a 1st in English (or anything else) with no work experience/portfolio of writing is not going to get you anywhere. If anything, the amount of work experience etc. you have will outweigh the quality of your degree. It's just the nature of the profession.

Reply 27

wilbur

1

I'm sorry but this isn't really the case.
Coming from a family of journalists I'm told that a reporting job at a newspaper will recieve hundreds of applicants, and the first criteria for rejection is the degree (regardless of subject). Work experience is highly desirable, and odds are a successful applicant will have it, but it is a secondary factor as not everyone will have had the opportunity to work in the profession.

Reply 28

ladyportacabin

8

But do you think it matters which uni you get that first from? Granted, there is a difference between getting a first at Oxbridge and a first from your local HE instituation. But with most of the unis inbetween I don't think it matters much where you went. For example, an employer wouldn't form opinions on a candidate based on whether they went to Kings vs Sussex for English.

Reply 29

tululabelle

Zahra7fold

Were you at the Leeds English Open Day by any chance?

No I wasn't, I'm going to one on the 1st of March though. I think it's the first... could be the third.

--------------

susiemakemeblue

I wouldn't worry about it. I got rejected from Warwick without interview last year but I got offers from Bristol and York, so just because you didn't get into Warwick doesn't mean you won't get into the others.

Thankyou for the reassurance! :smile:

I was really scared that if I didn't get one from there then no-one else would want me. I realllllllly want to go to Bristol.

Reply 30

violetviolin

OP

So between York and Leeds, for example, would it matter which uni you went to? I hear they're both really good for English. I mean, ignoring the fact that "you'll do well wherever you most happy" and all that. :smile:

Reply 31

bewithoutyou

wilbur

I'm sorry but this isn't really the case.
Coming from a family of journalists I'm told that a reporting job at a newspaper will recieve hundreds of applicants, and the first criteria for rejection is the degree (regardless of subject). Work experience is highly desirable, and odds are a successful applicant will have it, but it is a secondary factor as not everyone will have had the opportunity to work in the profession.

For graduate schemes and widely advertised reporting roles, I'm sure you're right. But I still think journalism, in its broadest sense, doesn't have minimum entry qualifications; it's more about who and what you know. At my last job I met a university drop-out who had worked her way up to a reasonably prestigious editorial position by the age of 22; at the same time I met a 23 year old Cambridge graduate with a superb degree who was coming to the end of several months of unpaid work experience and could not find a job for love nor money. I really think experience and contacts are on a par with a degree in this type of work. Not having the opportunity to work in the profession isn't really an excuse; you can forge your own opportunities for such things. It may take determination and tenacity, but these are the precise qualities a journalist needs.

Reply 32

Affectation

1

notsoperfect

you weren't talking to me, but i was!

Oh! Which one were you? :p:

Reply 33

hezzie28

People always forget Glasgow. They have a pretty good English department and are rated excellent when it comes to the teaching standards of English!! =P

Reply 34

notsoperfect

1

Zahra7fold

Oh! Which one were you? :p:

i was the blonde girl in black! i don't remember anyone, actually, except some really annoying boy who wouldn't shut up about oxford for the whole thing and was talking over the video! who were you? did you like it? i really liked it, the library was amazing (god that sounds geeky) and i just had a good feeling about it x

Reply 35

kateykat

hezzie28

People always forget Glasgow. They have a pretty good English department and are rated excellent when it comes to the teaching standards of English!! =P

Glasgow's a brilliant and well-respected university. I think it's the oldest in the UK (Medieval...such beautiful architecture) Plus there's loads going on there, I think employers probably really value a degree from Glasgow.

Reply 36

mrteacher

1

i dont think that it matters that much where u do the BA! the BA is always very general (i think that general BA are better) and then u specialise in your MA! I don't understand what's all the hustle with where u get ur BA from! the MA should come from a really good university though but the BA not that much. I got into Warwick, York, Leeds, Exeter but am still going to Keele because i like the course and i like the place. then i ll do my MA at Oxford or Yale or Whatever IVY - BRIDGE Uni! It isn't all about the degee... come on. Ok it looks impressive but when the sh*t hits the fan and u have to work ur best then it wont matter if you are from Oxford or from Derby!

Reply 37

The Lady Raven

2

mrteacher

i dont think that it matters that much where u do the BA! the BA is always very general (i think that general BA are better) and then u specialise in your MA! I don't understand what's all the hustle with where u get ur BA from! the MA should come from a really good university though but the BA not that much. I got into Warwick, York, Leeds, Exeter but am still going to Keele because i like the course and i like the place. then i ll do my MA at Oxford or Yale or Whatever IVY - BRIDGE Uni! It isn't all about the degee... come on. Ok it looks impressive but when the sh*t hits the fan and u have to work ur best then it wont matter if you are from Oxford or from Derby!

I have to disagree with you there. I was told the BA is one of the most important parts. It's the beginning of your higher education teaching and 'hustle' about where you get it from is that some courses prepare you far better than others, some are harder than others or study more complex texts. If you look at different courses there are so many differences between them that there is likely to be a difference in difficulty as well. There would be no need for league tables if it didn't matter where you went.

Ultimately your decision should be made on a combination of that and more importantly where you think you would be happiest, if you're not happy then you won't do as well as you could. Also, you can't guarantee that you will be able to do an MA at Oxford or Yale - again it's whether or not they want you.

Reply 38

LondonSteve181

Hmm, Keele may have a nice course and place but I still wouldn't go there. It does not bode well for you like it would if you went to York etc. I agree that where you do your BA is FAR more important than where you do your MA. Everyone doing an MA has a high intellectual standard and thus the university isn't really prescriptive of that but in the case of the BA the university will reflect on you.

This may sound so hypocritical from someone who is planning to give up a place at University College in Durham for KCL but Keele over York and Leeds, well....

Reply 39

Apricot Fairy

16

mrteacher

i dont think that it matters that much where u do the BA! the BA is always very general (i think that general BA are better) and then u specialise in your MA! I don't understand what's all the hustle with where u get ur BA from! the MA should come from a really good university though but the BA not that much. I got into Warwick, York, Leeds, Exeter but am still going to Keele because i like the course and i like the place. then i ll do my MA at Oxford or Yale or Whatever IVY - BRIDGE Uni! It isn't all about the degee... come on. Ok it looks impressive but when the sh*t hits the fan and u have to work ur best then it wont matter if you are from Oxford or from Derby!

I can see your point of view and agree to some extent that you should go where you'll be happiest, but the other universities you have offers from are in a completely different league to Keele. They are so, SO much better. What makes you think you'll be that much happier at Keele to justify turning down offers from the likes of York and Warwick?

Does it matter which uni you go to for English?

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