[christine27]

Hello,

I have offers from both University of Glasgow(Business Management and Sociology) and University of Strathclyde (Business Enterprise and Hospitality & Tourism), but I don't know what to choose as for every plus I found a minus and so on and I have only about one week left.

I would be very, very grateful if you could help me,

Thank you in advanced,

Christine

[Norton1]

(Original post by christine27)
X

How on earth can anyone help you? If you've visited the universities and familiarised yourself with the courses then I don't know how we're meant to know better than you. (but pick Glasgow; you don't want to be a techie, do you?)

[christine27]

Well, first of all I wasn't able to visit the universities, nor to get to know the courses other than reading their profiles on the websites, so I would be very grateful for some information from someone who actually saw the universities and knows something for certain as I believe that the uniwebs are purely marketing and for someone like me I could never know what is really behind the screen. Secondly, I found so many different rankings and I couldn't tell for sure which one is better for business as this is my main interest. And I know that nobody can tell me exactly do that or that, it's just that usually each opinion comes with an argument, which can help me see the problem from a different point of view and realize what is better for me. Thanks.

[Norton1]

(Original post by christine27)
Well, first of all I wasn't able to visit the universities, nor to get to know the courses other than reading their profiles on the websites, so I would be very grateful for some information from someone who actually saw the universities and knows something for certain as I believe that the uniwebs are purely marketing and for someone like me I could never know what is really behind the screen. Secondly, I found so many different rankings and I couldn't tell for sure which one is better for business as this is my main interest. And I know that nobody can tell me exactly do that or that, it's just that usually each opinion comes with an argument, which can help me see the problem from a different point of view and realize what is better for me. Thanks.

I honestly don't know much about the courses, Strathclyde is meant to be very good for Business, but I don't know if that includes business enterprise or whatever. I think Glasgow too probably has a good reputation for business and so I'm not sure there's a massive differentiation; although of course that's just my impression. The best thing to do would be to look at the league tables although as I say below they're not particularly useful. I think you would really need to consider the fact that it's highly unlikely that anyone would consider Glasgow to offer a bad course compared to Strathclyde's.

In general league tables aren't all that useful, as Universities both Glasgow and Strathclyde probably have similar reputations. In the Guardian league table Glasgow is 20 place above Strathclyde overall because they heavily focus on how happy students are. In other league tables Glasgow is in the top 30 for all of them, whereas Strathclyde is not. They're not all that useful however as if they take into account research spending etc then Glasgow will be boosted above Strathclyde more by size than quality.

So my conclusion would be that the two things you would need to make your decision on are (1) the culture of the University and (2) How you like the look of the course. Considering the look of the course first just have a look through the websites and see the sort of courses which are available in first and second year. See what's compulsory and what's optional, if neither really jump out at you as horrific or terrific then maybe that suggests you'd be happy at either.

Finally considering the culture of the University, my view is - and has always been - that it's not all that important. In any University you go to there will be people you'll find to be friends with, there will be studenty stuff to do and there will be essays to hand in and work to do. In terms of the 'feel' of Glasgow I think it might be a little more formal than some other Universities but it's not as if people are walking around in academic gowns discussing - in ancient Greek of course - the work of Homer.

[christine27]

(Original post by Norton1)
I honestly don't know much about the courses, Strathclyde is meant to be very good for Business, but I don't know if that includes business enterprise or whatever. I think Glasgow too probably has a good reputation for business and so I'm not sure there's a massive differentiation; although of course that's just my impression. The best thing to do would be to look at the league tables although as I say below they're not particularly useful. I think you would really need to consider the fact that it's highly unlikely that anyone would consider Glasgow to offer a bad course compared to Strathclyde's.

In general league tables aren't all that useful, as Universities both Glasgow and Strathclyde probably have similar reputations. In the Guardian league table Glasgow is 20 place above Strathclyde overall because they heavily focus on how happy students are. In other league tables Glasgow is in the top 30 for all of them, whereas Strathclyde is not. They're not all that useful however as if they take into account research spending etc then Glasgow will be boosted above Strathclyde more by size than quality.

So my conclusion would be that the two things you would need to make your decision on are (1) the culture of the University and (2) How you like the look of the course. Considering the look of the course first just have a look through the websites and see the sort of courses which are available in first and second year. See what's compulsory and what's optional, if neither really jump out at you as horrific or terrific then maybe that suggests you'd be happy at either.

Finally considering the culture of the University, my view is - and has always been - that it's not all that important. In any University you go to there will be people you'll find to be friends with, there will be studenty stuff to do and there will be essays to hand in and work to do. In terms of the 'feel' of Glasgow I think it might be a little more formal than some other Universities but it's not as if people are walking around in academic gowns discussing - in ancient Greek of course - the work of Homer.

I actually found myself between your lines so good as yes leagues tabels aren't very useful and I don't actually care so much about the culture of the university, but more about the courses and employability afterwards. (but also here both university have almost the same rate of emplyability.) I will go for having a deeper look into each course again, even if I already did that many times. Who knows maybe something else will pop-up now. Thank you for your answer

[Philosoraptor]

My friend doing business at Glasgow says apparently Strath are much better for business and management studies if that's any help?

Depends whether you want to use your degree as a degree or actually want to learn the business skills I'd say ?

[christine27]

(Original post by Philosoraptor)
My friend doing business at Glasgow says apparently Strath are much better for business and management studies if that's any help?

Depends whether you want to use your degree as a degree or actually want to learn the business skills I'd say ?

I definitely want to learn the business skills. Nobody is just waiting to hire me with a degree and no practical skills. So I want the best...Btw could you build on this "apparently Strath are much better"? Maybe you could ask your friend why he thinks they are better? I'll be very grateful. Thanks

[Catta]

I'd definitely go for Strath. Not only because I study there (I study Psychology though) I know a lot of students from Business School and I haven't heard any complaints about the quality of teaching. During the first year, you get to explore different subjects and this means you have a greater freedom to choose something for your 2nd year. In general, most students I've met just love Marketing, they say the main lecturer is an amazing guy.
Here at Strathclyde, business students have to do a lot of group assignments, some consider it to be a good thing and some just hate it. Anyway, you can meet other people and find friends Tourism students even had to go around Glasgow together in small groups and find out something (I don't know what exactly ).
There is a module which is compulsory for all business students and it's called MDP (Management Development Program). My flatmates said they had to work in groups there. Also, they had to do a lot of tasks with Excel
Another good thing about Strathclyde is the support from the University itself. The staff are very nice people here, they are ready to help you no matter what question/problem you have

[christine27]

(Original post by Catta)
I'd definitely go for Strath. Not only because I study there (I study Psychology though) I know a lot of students from Business School and I haven't heard any complaints about the quality of teaching. During the first year, you get to explore different subjects and this means you have a greater freedom to choose something for your 2nd year. In general, most students I've met just love Marketing, they say the main lecturer is an amazing guy.
Here at Strathclyde, business students have to do a lot of group assignments, some consider it to be a good thing and some just hate it. Anyway, you can meet other people and find friends Tourism students even had to go around Glasgow together in small groups and find out something (I don't know what exactly ).
There is a module which is compulsory for all business students and it's called MDP (Management Development Program). My flatmates said they had to work in groups there. Also, they had to do a lot of tasks with Excel
Another good thing about Strathclyde is the support from the University itself. The staff are very nice people here, they are ready to help you no matter what question/problem you have

Thank you very much for all this useful inside info. Btw do you know if I can take any elective in Psychology, with my course?? I couldn't find this on the site. Thanks again for the awesome info you gave me

[Catta]

Hey, no problem. I think you can take Psychology but this means you will have to choose less Business subjects. Each Business subject gives you 20 credits for an academic year while each social sciences subjects gives you 20 credits for one semester (you have to get 120 credits in total).
In Psychology class, I met people who study business. Some of them took Psychology only for the 1st semester, some of them took it for the whole year.

[alba13]

I just graduated from Glasgow Uni and I was so glad that I chose it over Strathclyde (for law). Although Strathclyde is a really good uni I just loved the campus and environment of Glasgow. A few of my Strathclyde graduate friends have gone on to study postgrads at Glasgow and have remarked on the difference in teaching quality, course organisation and student life between the two. Glasgow is one of the ancient universities so it's a really special place to be.

However, the Business School at Strathclyde is one of the best in Europe! So it's your decision really

Good luck!

[emmajwilson]

For what it is worth, I am studying BA Business Enterprise with Hospitality and Tourism Management at Strathclyde currently. I will be in 3rd year in September. I have found the course really good, and it covers a broad range of topics with a good inclusion of field/placement work.

If you have any questions please do message me and I can do my best to give you an insight into life and studies at Strathclyde!

Emma


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[christine27]

Hey guys,

I have chosen Strathclyde. Hope I made a good choice. Thank you for all your help again.