Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper

Discuss current events and changes in the education system and ways you'd like to see it improved, from secondary school through to postgraduate study.

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  1. py0alb's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by fortransexual)
    should be a rule that all courses requires a minimum of AAB (a reasonable set of grades for a reasonable student making a reasonable effort) - and there we go
    Achieving AAB in which three subjects would be a good guide for someone's suitability for a non-academic university course?


    What are we going to do with the majority of pupils who don't achieve AAB? Ban them from further education altogether? Confiscate their books and internet access? Chain them to a dustcart so they can fulfil their destiny as street cleaning technicians?
  2. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    (Original post by py0alb)
    Achieving AAB in which three subjects would be a good guide for someone's suitability for a non-academic university course?


    What are we going to do with the majority of pupils who don't achieve AAB? Ban them from further education altogether? Confiscate their books and internet access? Chain them to a dustcart so they can fulfil their destiny as street cleaning technicians?
    I totally agree its people like this that see only a few have select "right" to go uni, well if everyone thought that way we'd back in the elitist dark ages with only two universities


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  3. fortransexual's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by py0alb)
    Achieving AAB in which three subjects would be a good guide for someone's suitability for a non-academic university course?


    What are we going to do with the majority of pupils who don't achieve AAB? Ban them from further education altogether? Confiscate their books and internet access? Chain them to a dustcart so they can fulfil their destiny as street cleaning technicians?

    let them go to a polytechnic if they want, or alternatively start working.

    A lot of time could be saved
  4. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    And personally people with less than 70% a* at GCSE, no a*s at a2 shouldn't go. And whoops suddenly there's uproar because of all the middle class kids who thought they were better than others: oh but we have a right to education... Well so do those that go polys


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  5. laura130490's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by Trollolollol)
    Yeh that's what I said earlier, it's those going to decent not great unis who seem most sensitive about it.usually middle class kids ging to Leeds who feel they have right to look down on everyone else.


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    Exactly. I've never had anyone who actually goes or went to Oxbridge look down on me, it's usually people from Birmingham or Nottingham who have this superiority complex. I honestly believe it's because they don't like the competition, otherwise why would they care?
  6. fortransexual's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by Trollolollol)
    I totally agree its people like this that see only a few have select "right" to go uni, well if everyone thought that way we'd back in the elitist dark ages with only two universities


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    Do I have a right to have a place in a football academy despite being extremely average at football? No

    Does somebody have a right to academia if they have not done enough work towards it? No
  7. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    (Original post by laura130490)
    Exactly. I've never had anyone who actually goes or went to Oxbridge look down on me, it's usually people from Birmingham or Nottingham who have this superiority complex. I honestly believe it's because they don't like the competition, otherwise why would they care?
    Totally agree I live in a council estate where my local high school doesn't have a sixth form. I'm going Oxford next year but I know what it's like to have it hard and going any uni is a big achievement and will make your life different. It's all the middle class ****ers that haven't acheived who want to see others as beneath them. Fear of competition perhaps


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  8. TheWorldEndsWithMe's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by fortransexual)
    Well it would probably make more sense for you to do so yes, in terms of your career prospects. Employers are not going to guess that liverpool had a lower offer (I didn't know they had anything that low). I'd be going there but still trying to get the best A levels possible.

    I never said all RG universities are good so I don't have to defend liverpool but I would say that I went to a top 10 when I had offers from 2 places inside the top 4, and I'm constantly being told that my degree is worth less (some people even going as far to call it a 'different league') even though there is no difficulty differential between the courses.

    However when I compare my work to the work done by people at ex-polys in a similar subject - they really are not in the same league.
    In terms of my career prospects it doesn't matter which one I go to. I've applied for Optometry at AR, and Orthoptics at Liverpool. Both have high employment rates. Both have a similar pay scale. Really doesn't make a difference which one I go to.

    Like I said, I'm not going to argue that the courses are harder/easier in certain places than others, but I do dispute the view than all ex-polys are rubbish and not worth going to.
  9. py0alb's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by fortransexual)
    let them go to a polytechnic if they want, or alternatively start working.

    A lot of time could be saved
    So the thing that really offends you is the name of the institution? You want some kind of stigma attached to those with more practical skill sets and qualifications to remind you how much better you are than them? Does that make you feel good? I hope your toilet explodes and your plumber tells you to fix it your ****ing self.
  10. fortransexual's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by Trollolollol)
    Totally agree I live in a council estate where my local high school doesn't have a sixth form. I'm going Oxford next year but I know what it's like to have it hard and going any uni is a big achievement and will make your life different. It's all the middle class ****ers that haven't acheived who want to see others as beneath them. Fear of competition perhaps


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    (Original post by Trollolollol)
    And personally people with less than 70% a* at GCSE, no a*s at a2 shouldn't go. And whoops suddenly there's uproar because of all the middle class kids who thought they were better than others: oh but we have a right to education... Well so do those that go polys


    This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App



    eh?
  11. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    It's a slippery slope, those with BBB see everyone else as below them shouldn't go uni. So those with AAA think the same. Suddenly oops only 1 uni 500 places for the elite everyone else go work....


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  12. fortransexual's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by py0alb)
    So the thing that really offends you is the name of the institution? You want some kind of stigma attached to those with more practical skill sets and qualifications to remind you how much better you are than them? Does that make you feel good? I hope your toilet explodes and your plumber tells you to fix it your ****ing self.

    I didn't say there had to be a stigma, that was you.

    I just think it's overly PC to call two markedly different things the same thing

    What you are describing is if I wanted to called two things that were the same by different names
  13. outOfFayz's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    To all badmouthing polytechnic and other universities:

    Samsung's EHQ 2011-12 Interns were from:

    Oxford Brookes University
    Nottingham Trent University
    University of Portsmouth
    University of Brighton
    Brunel University

    A first class degree is not equivalent to a first class graduate.

    These guys are most likely more employable than you upon graduation.
    Last edited by outOfFayz; 21-06-2012 at 20:02.
  14. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    (Original post by py0alb)
    So the thing that really offends you is the name of the institution? You want some kind of stigma attached to those with more practical skill sets and qualifications to remind you how much better you are than them? Does that make you feel good? I hope your toilet explodes and your plumber tells you to fix it your ****ing self.
    Such a self righteous tone these wannabes have, most aren't even going that good unis


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  15. Presenttime's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    If employers are too stupid to discern between different degrees, then they deserve the candidates that they eventually employ. I got a 2:1 from a very good university, but haven't got a job as yet, as my abilities are only recognised in academia. Hence why I am now taking that route.
  16. laura130490's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by Trollolollol)
    Totally agree I live in a council estate where my local high school doesn't have a sixth form. I'm going Oxford next year but I know what it's like to have it hard and going any uni is a big achievement and will make your life different. It's all the middle class ****ers that haven't acheived who want to see others as beneath them. Fear of competition perhaps


    This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
    I come from a council estate as well, went to one of the worst schools in the country and got the highest GCSEs results, which would still be considered crap on here by many (5A, 5B and 2C). I tried my best, working as many hours as I could and commuting three hours a day to college and got into a middle ranking uni to study science. I'm not a genius by any means, but I'm not stupid, far from it. Now I have an offer for a top grad scheme, but according to some on here people like me don't deserve academia and would be better suited working in a shop.
  17. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    (Original post by fortransexual)
    I didn't say there had to be a stigma, that was you.

    I just think it's overly PC to call two markedly different things the same thing

    What you are describing is if I wanted to called two things that were the same by different names
    Explain how they're markedly different.


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  18. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    (Original post by laura130490)
    I come from a council estate as well, went to one of the worst schools in the country and got the highest GCSEs results, which would still be considered crap on here by many (5A, 5B and 2C). I tried my best, working as many hours as I could and commuting three hours a day to college and got into a middle ranking uni to study science. I'm not a genius by any means, but I'm not stupid, far from it. Now I have an offer for a top grad scheme, but according to some on here people like me don't deserve academia and would be better suited working in a shop.
    Yeh well daddy always said the commoners should stay where they are. They're like children we have to make their decisions for them....


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  19. Trollolollol's Avatar
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    But well done Laura and I hope you go far


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  20. SpicyStrawberry's Avatar
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    Re: Your undergraduate degree is nothing more than a piece of paper
    (Original post by Muscovite)
    and not even an apology from the lazy and/or thick Man met people for devaluing degrees of people who actually worked hard to get into good universities

    my point was more of an economic and principled one than any dig though tbh
    I got AAB at A-level and straight As at GCSE, I'm not lazy nor am I thick. You were having a dig and just made yourself look silly in the process.
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