russell group unis VS non-russell group unis

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There are some good unis which aren't part of Russell Group but in general yes I do think Russel are more likely to be employed.
A person from Uni of Bristol student has a bigger chance of being targetted by a firm than a Leeds Met student.

I agree but there are exceptions.

Jonathan Mildenhall Business and Finance, graduated from Manchester Met.

Vice-President, Global Marketing Strategy and Creative Communications, Coca-Cola Co.

Reply 21

the mezzil

Original post by naseem hossen

hellooo, is it true that if you go to a russel group uni, you are much more likely to be employed by a really good company/organisation? whereas, people from non russell group unis have a disadvantage?

On the whole yes, but there will always be exceptions. For example somebody from St Andrews Uni is not going to be binned simply because it is in the 1994 group and not Rg. Really, what employers want is a switched on graduate who works hard and usually has a 2.1 or above. Prestige counts for little ALTHOUGH it still counts. What is important and far more relevant to employers is the student goes to the uni that is best for them where they can achieve their best and develop in a intellectually stimulating environment suited to them.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 22

Hedgeman49

Original post by River85

Nope, Bath left in the autumn because our VC decided that the 1994 Group didn't match Bath's ambitions (ie. please let us in RG).

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

Reply 23

NW86

Original post by The Polymath

What area do you hire in? Obviously it's not the same in all areas.

So I work in Consulting/Advisory within the Big 4, not as "prestigious" as Banking or Law, for sure, but much more accessible in my opinion and still a great start to a career for the vast majority of graduates.

Banks and Law firms (and the top tier Strategy Houses to an even greater extent) will be more selective, but you have to appreciate they are really recruiting the highest quality percentile of graduates and what is applicable in those instances just isn't relevant for the majority of us! And, for those whom it is relevant, they are probably well aware of the requirements necessary for their chosen career and the academics required.

Reply 24

Luxray

Original post by Nia_Beth

What do you think about between Bristol and Bath graduates?

I don't think russell group is a factor that influences employers. Both are very good unis.

Reply 25

Nitrogen

Being in the Russell group doesn't mean anything. I can name quite a few university in the Russell group which aren't actually that good eg Liverpool. It's going to a top university that matters. In my opinion the universities below are the best of the best and they're the universities thats going to makes you stand out.
Cambridge
Oxford
Imperial
LSE
UCL
Warwick
Bristol
St Andrews
Durham

Then you've got other great universities like Birmingham, Nottingham, Edinburgh...

Reply 26

deedee123

This forum is the first time i've ever even heard of the term "russell group uni" so i can't imagine it's that important.

Reply 27

River85

Original post by Hedgeman49

Nope, Bath left in the autumn because our VC decided that the 1994 Group didn't match Bath's ambitions (ie. please let us in RG).

Yes, was a bit tired yesterday and had a vague recollection that Bath had left the 1994 Group but knew it wasn't one of the new members of the Russell Group so decided I must have imagined it.

So you believe the Vice Chancellor doesn't prefer to be unaffiliated? He wants Bath to join the RG?

Original post by Nitrogen

I have no idea what makes those universities "better" or their graduates are more likely to "stand out" than graduates from other Russell and 1994 Group universities.

Liverpool (and the other universities in the RG you feel aren't particularly good) are "good". Again, you'll find it very difficult to make any argument to the contrary.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 28

ExWunderkind

Original post by River85

Russell Group universities in bold (Durham being the newest member of those listed, having joined last summer). So this only leaves Bath, St Andrews and Aber. Bath and St Andrews are in the 1994 Group (as Durham and LSE were).

By Aber do you mean Aberwystwyth or Aberdeen? I assume the former. Either way neither are in the RG.

As a general rule the larger universities with medical schools, in major cities will be in the RG, given that the RG is based on research output and income, but there are exceptions (ie. universities with a smaller research income/universities without a medical school such as LSE)

The point stands. Even though most of the are Russell Group, it helps demonstrate that many don't know the exact membership of the Russell Group and that many (though not all) employers won't show any real bias.

Bath actually left the 1994 group in October 2012. A lot speculate that they will join RG in the coming months.

Reply 29

River85

Original post by ExWunderkind

Bath actually left the 1994 group in October 2012. A lot speculate that they will join RG in the coming months.

I know. See above.

Original post by dugdugdug

One of my colleagues interviewing thought a 2:2 was a made up degree class so what can you do?.

Why would they think a 2:2 is "made up"? Why did he or she think we have 2:1s for? It follows that if was have a classification such as 2:1. then we will have a 2:2 (and perhaps even 2:3....) otherwise we wouldn't subdivide and just call 2:1s, "2s" (as we used to). Seems a rather silly colleague.

Reply 30

Zenomorph

Original post by The Polymath

What area do you hire in? Obviously it's not the same in all areas.

- Investment banking -> Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial will have distinct advantages, with UCL/Warwick also being ahead of the pack. Outside of this group it has been widely stated by banks themselves that the remaining universities are not 'targets' to as much of an extent. Certainly at big banks like Deutsche Bank, they will have lists of universities which they view as ideal to hire from, and these will only be 4-5 in the UK.

- Law -> Top law firms are also dominated by top universities, with MC firms at ~40% Oxbridge, and MC barristers' chambers at close to 85% Oxbridge.

I doubt anyone actually cares about Russell Group unis per se, just that they look for the top universities, many which just happen to be RG.

I do agree.

The RG keeps changing all the time , soon there won't be a 94 group they will all migrate to RG. So it's irrelevant in the long run

Reply 31

Delphinus

Original post by linney

Nope. There are many excellent universities not part of the Russell Group - Bath for example. Being a RG uni is mostly about how much research the uni itself puts out, not about employability. RG uni's are fab, but there are a lot of other choices out there as well. In terms of rankings, which is an incredibly arbitrary system for determining universities merits anyway, RG unis usually dominate the top 30, but if you come out with a 2:1+ from a '94 group or another top 40-50 uni, it's not like your app is going to go straight in the incinerator.

hahaha 'straight in the incinerator' that made me laugh

Reply 32

HollieRiddell

I've often wondered about this too. At the moment I have an unconditional for Dundee which is I guess a fairly well regarded Uni in particular for my course (Biological Sciences) but I'm waiting on hearing back from Glasgow and Edinburgh. I'm not sure ill enjoy them more as I've heard Glasgow is spread out, it's hard to meet people and Edinburgh can be very pretentious. Also the halls in Glasgow are supposed to be disgusting. It's making my choice very difficult as they're both a Russell Uni whereas Dundee isn't!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 33

dugdugdug

Original post by River85

I know. See above.

Why would they think a 2:2 is "made up"? Why did he or she think we have 2:1s for? It follows that if was have a classification such as 2:1. then we will have a 2:2 (and perhaps even 2:3....) otherwise we wouldn't subdivide and just call 2:1s, "2s" (as we used to). Seems a rather silly colleague.

He was not a grad himself, just someone who worked (sucked?) his way up to a non-job (shifting paper, delegating and making other people's lives a misery).

He argued a degree in Music from Oxford was more suitable for a model validation job than physics from UCL. Needless to say, he was quickly removed from the recruiting process.

There was a time when there was no differentiation between 2:1 and 2:2, just plainly 2nd class but the present system would be a lot easier to comprehend if it were rebranded A to E.

Reply 34

River85

Original post by dugdugdug

There was a time when there was no differentiation between 2:1 and 2:2, just plainly 2nd class but the present system would be a lot easier to comprehend if it were rebranded A to E.

I know there was. It has only been with increasing number of graduates, and degree inflation, that we now have the subdivision. I could understand if this happened before the change, but I'm just puzzled as to why. if he didn't think 2:2s existed, he thought 2:1s weren't just called 2s.

Reply 35

dugdugdug

Original post by River85

Didn't question him, just laughed out very loudly and told everyone about it, :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 36

ap073

The important thing about the Russell Group is research.
Research can be a very important part of postgraduate study, but it is completely negligible in undergraduate study.
Being at a Russell Group university means that your teaching staff have to spend X% of their time involved in research, which means that they have only 100-X% of their time to help you achieve your best possible degree.
Personally speaking, I would say that it displays a great deal of common sense for a student to avoid a Russell Group uni at undergrad level.

Reply 37

SagarG

okay to be honest i think its unfair when you compare a RG uni to something lower then top 50 - it's a bit of an extreme comparison to be honest....

what about a top 20/30 university not a russel group, does consistently rank top 20 overall sometimes top 10/15 in subject etc... then what?