Which UK universities apart from Oxbridge are comparable to the Ivy Leagues?
I'm currently an international student interested in applying to both sides of the atlantic for university. I was wondering apart from Oxbridge, which British universities can compete with the Ivy League schools in terms of:
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
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Imperial, LSE, UCL, and a few other Russell Group unis? In a foreign country though, the ones that people will know about are Oxbridge.
Why the negs? All of these unis are great, and comparable to Ivy League, the ones listed are pretty much the best in the UK. And its true, in a foreign country, Oxford and Cambridge are the universities known, even above Harvard/Prineton/Yale...
Why the negs? All of these unis are great, and comparable to Ivy League, the ones listed are pretty much the best in the UK. And its true, in a foreign country, Oxford and Cambridge are the universities known, even above Harvard/Prineton/Yale...
(edited 11 years ago)
Are you guys being serious!? Realistically only Imperial and LSE can be comparable. People don't understand, Ivy League has a globally famous name equivalent to Oxford and Cambridge, sure not everyone can name all the ivy leagues but they have heard if Ivy League as a whole. In terms of global prestige like the OP wanted only Imperial and LSE can compete.
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
Original post by Mierder
I'm currently an international student interested in applying to both sides of the atlantic for university. I was wondering apart from Oxbridge, which British universities can compete with the Ivy League schools in terms of:
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
There are a lot of UK unis that can easily compete with the Ivy League unis. Of course I am talking about undergraduate level here. The Ivy leagues are amazing for postgraduate (and probably the best in the world) but for undergraduate the top 8-10 UK unis are just as good although only Oxbridge have the international prestige of Harvard/Yale etc. But this shouldn't be the most important factor.
Those are (in no particular order):
Oxford
Cambridge
LSE
Imperial
UCL
Warwick
St. Andrews
Edinburgh
Durham
Although you could add others as well. But overall those are the best unis in the UK.
Original post by Aphalleon
Are you guys being serious!? Realistically only Imperial and LSE can be comparable. People don't understand, Ivy League has a globally famous name equivalent to Oxford and Cambridge, sure not everyone can name all the ivy leagues but they have heard if Ivy League as a whole. In terms of global prestige like the OP wanted only Imperial and LSE can compete.
To be honest I've only ever really heard of Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Brown.
I know most UK universities and plenty in Holland.
Maybe the name Ivy league means something, but I couldn't name them.
Original post by OSharp
Maybe the name Ivy league means something,
Maybe the name Ivy league means something,
It does - it is a sporting association - and has nothing whatever to do with academic excellence.
Original post by Mierder
I'm currently an international student interested in applying to both sides of the atlantic for university. I was wondering apart from Oxbridge, which British universities can compete with the Ivy League schools in terms of:
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
-Teaching Quality
-Job prospects (in general)
-International Prestige/Reputation/wow factor (whatever you wanna call it)
Teaching quality and job prospects, the likes of Imperial, UCL, LSE.
I don't think any apart from Oxbridge really have the international prestige or wow factor of the Ivies. Among employers places like Imperial and LSE will hold weight. But I doubt the layman will have heard of many UK universities outside of Oxbridge.
Original post by Good bloke
It does - it is a sporting association - and has nothing whatever to do with academic excellence.
It was originally a sporting association. None of them now play Division 1 sport in the US and there is no denying that the Ivy League are now known as the elite academic colleges.
Original post by nightmare91
The Ivy leagues are amazing for postgraduate (and probably the best in the world) but for undergraduate the top 8-10 UK unis are just as good although only Oxbridge have the international prestige of Harvard/Yale etc.
^ THIS. US unis may rule for postgrad, but they are no better than UK Russell Group unis at the undergrad level in terms of teaching. For reputation though, I guess only Oxbridge can compete, the other Russell Group ones won't raise as many eyebrows as Ivy League ones.
Just my opinion though.
Original post by Aphalleon
Are you guys being serious!? Realistically only Imperial and LSE can be comparable. People don't understand, Ivy League has a globally famous name equivalent to Oxford and Cambridge, sure not everyone can name all the ivy leagues but they have heard if Ivy League as a whole. In terms of global prestige like the OP wanted only Imperial and LSE can compete.
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
Tend to agree. The OP question is badly juxtaposed and asking a question like that in a place like this is well asking to be ' trolled and called a troll' ( oh, how I hate these Americanised words, is there no alternative ? ).
Original post by fudgesundae
It was originally a sporting association. None of them now play Division 1 sport in the US and there is no denying that the Ivy League are now known as the elite academic colleges.
In the North East, sure, go out west and there are a lot of uni's which top some of the Ivy league's. Heck, MIT is pretty much right next to Harvard and isn't Ivy League.
Original post by fudgesundae
It was originally a sporting association. None of them now play Division 1 sport in the US and there is no denying that the Ivy League are now known as the elite academic colleges.
Not the elite. Among the elite would be more accurate. There are at least as many US institutions in the US academic elite outside the league as there are in it.
Original post by Good bloke
Not the elite. Among the elite would be more accurate. There are at least as many US institutions in the US academic elite outside the league as there are in it.
Yes, I meant they are now known as elite academic institutions.
Original post by Helloworld_95
In the North East, sure, go out west and there are a lot of uni's which top some of the Ivy league's. Heck, MIT is pretty much right next to Harvard and isn't Ivy League.
Semantics. I could have phrased what I wrote better. I meant to say that they are elite academic institutions. Of course there are colleges which are just as good and in same cases better (the likes of Stanford, MIT).
Original post by Aphalleon
Are you guys being serious!? Realistically only Imperial and LSE can be comparable. People don't understand, Ivy League has a globally famous name equivalent to Oxford and Cambridge, sure not everyone can name all the ivy leagues but they have heard if Ivy League as a whole. In terms of global prestige like the OP wanted only Imperial and LSE can compete.
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
People don't realise British unis with the exception of Oxbridge,LSE, Imperial, St Andrews (thnx royal family) are the only ones who are VERY well known, Durham and UCL will barely raise any eyebrows
Not all americans will even have heard of Imperial and LSE.
If you were trying to formulate a list of universities which are globally recognised or immediately recognised by pretty much anyone it would probably be something like:
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge
There are a couple of others, but these are the most globally recognised brands.
Original post by fudgesundae
It was originally a sporting association. None of them now play Division 1 sport in the US and there is no denying that the Ivy League are now known as the elite academic colleges.
The Ivy League schools ceased to be the best sporting colleges long before the term Ivy League was coined. The key thing about the Ivy League in sporting terms is that there are no sports scholarships. Students have to get in on academic ability.
The Ivy League schools are not the elite academic schools. There are other research universities as renowned and difficult to enter outside the Ivy League such as Berkeley and MIT. There are other more renowned liberal arts colleges than Dartmouth outside the Ivy League.
No UK university is really comparable to a US Ivy League institution for teaching really because of the nature of the very different system which prizes independent learning over classes. The Ivy Leagues aren't the top schools in the US btw; they stopped being about sports a long time ago.
In terms of brand, the schoolchildren here aren't representative of employers in the UK in general. On both sides of the Atlantic, an Ivy League uni would provide a stronger brand name/better recognition for large companies than anything in the UK, except for Oxford and Cambridge. Oxbridge probably has a better reputation than most of the Ivy League. LSE and Imperial *might* be able to compete on brand name, in some countries more than others; but not necessarily.
In the case of LSE, it should be emphasised that it is really a non-institution. It is a living brand name. It's a marketing company, more than a real university. The student experience there is one of the worst at UK unis. It's a small, cramp campus often with foreign lecturers who don't give two ****s and the limited contact time with them is just the same as at other UK unis. It takes rich internationals, postgrads; charges them a truckload of money, and that's why it's a comparatively rich small institution which can afford to spend millions on self-promotion all over the world.
Most UK unis are good and we have a lot of them, but the American unis are simply much better and if you have the money you should definitely go. But the UK, even with the fee hike, offers a much cheaper alternative. It only competes on price, not student experience and all the rest of it.
Looking at your post, it seems you're from HK and had a choice between Imperial and LSE. If you had been that specific, from what I know about HK; both those unis are very well known and respected out there. And would probably look just as good as a US university. But it depends what you want to go into. I said the above generally. For instance, I don't reckon many American employers in New York really know about Bath uni.
In terms of brand, the schoolchildren here aren't representative of employers in the UK in general. On both sides of the Atlantic, an Ivy League uni would provide a stronger brand name/better recognition for large companies than anything in the UK, except for Oxford and Cambridge. Oxbridge probably has a better reputation than most of the Ivy League. LSE and Imperial *might* be able to compete on brand name, in some countries more than others; but not necessarily.
In the case of LSE, it should be emphasised that it is really a non-institution. It is a living brand name. It's a marketing company, more than a real university. The student experience there is one of the worst at UK unis. It's a small, cramp campus often with foreign lecturers who don't give two ****s and the limited contact time with them is just the same as at other UK unis. It takes rich internationals, postgrads; charges them a truckload of money, and that's why it's a comparatively rich small institution which can afford to spend millions on self-promotion all over the world.
Most UK unis are good and we have a lot of them, but the American unis are simply much better and if you have the money you should definitely go. But the UK, even with the fee hike, offers a much cheaper alternative. It only competes on price, not student experience and all the rest of it.
Looking at your post, it seems you're from HK and had a choice between Imperial and LSE. If you had been that specific, from what I know about HK; both those unis are very well known and respected out there. And would probably look just as good as a US university. But it depends what you want to go into. I said the above generally. For instance, I don't reckon many American employers in New York really know about Bath uni.
(edited 11 years ago)
In terms of international reputation obviously Harvard/Yale/Brown/Princeton are well known, but as are Oxbridge and possibly LSE and Imperial. However not all of the Ivy league are internationally known - if you said Dartmouth college of University of Pennsylvania to people across the world I doubt they would have heard of them, and these are both Ivy league schools.
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