Russel Group VS Non

Yeah, I was comparing Russel Group universities to Ivy League unis. Thanks for clearing that up, for a moment I thought that not going to a RG uni will limit your chances for success in the future.

Out of curiosity, why did you say Leicester>QMUL ? And is it possible to do my post grad degree at any university ?

Ivy League Universities are a big deal in America because they are very rigorous in their selection process, entry requirements, teaching standards etc. Imagine Oxbridge x 8 basically (obviously, not all of them are that strict). They are also prestigious.

Russell Group Universities, on the other hand, are not consistently excellent. On one end of the spectrum are Oxford and Cambridge, on the other is [insert less amazing university here].

Going to a non-Russell Group University doesn't mean much to most employers if I'm being honest.

Because Leicester is higher up the league tables for Computer Science (your course) than QMUL, which is what matters. Also, I suspect you're going to like Leicester more than London anyway - you have to remember that whilst league tables are very useful, they don't give you all the information you need, such as how happy you're going to be, how many friends you're likely to make etc.

Thanks again ! I hear that lots of people go from lets say "Leicester" to "Warwick" to do their Msc's and PHD's.. Is that possible ? They said they got a 2.1...

Does where you get your grade from matter to other universities ? Like if i go to Leicester and graduate with a 2.1 will Warwick (They are asking for a 2.1) consider my application ?

Yeah, certainly, it is possible. You could even think bigger - Oxbridge, say - for your postgraduate studies. Just work hard during your undergraduate studies and aim for a strong 2:1 or better and you'll be fine.

I don't know about most universities, but Oxford created a scandal last year (if not the year before) for insinuating that a degree from certain universities isn't "hard to attain" and is therefore not worthy of consideration for postgraduate entry.
Warwick is much more 'fair' and 'friendlier' with their admissions, so they probably don't operate the same system which means you stand a good chance with a 2:1 from Leicester.

Thanks again. How can you tell if the university degree is hard to attain ? Because unistats show that 50% of Computer Scientists graduated with a 1st ?

There's that (how many people get a first), but then there's also the degree of research, credibility of the institution and rigour of assessment. Unfortunately, I don't know how the latter are measured at university-level.

Ah, btw if in two years time Leicester drops on the league tables would that mean that its a bad university ? There's no guarantee that it will stay in the top 20

No, and no-one other than prospective students will notice as they are the only ones that pay any attention to them.

Just from personal opinion, I'd base your choice of university depending on whether said university has a popular rating for the particular course you're applying for. For instance, even if Queen Mary is a Russel Group, another university which isn't a russel group may have a far better teaching style, graduate prospects and rating for the said degree - hope this helps!

It took me a while to realise this too lol, but honestly I do give credit to RG universities for being good universities overall, but it's a different matter altogether when you look at whether they teach a particular course well or not!

Thank you. I don't think its possible to find out which university is more popular than another... Especially if its for a specific course ?

Oh actually you can! There's this website called http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/ and you can search league tables for specific degrees, and it allows you to choose the region you search in, e.g. London, England, the UK - I found it very helpful!

Oh ive seen the league tables... Leicester is generally ranked 13-23 in every category, but this doesn't talk about the popularity

Ah I see, well you can still check the student satisfaction rankings and graduate prospects and see which are the highest if that helps?

Yes, seems that Leicester scores higher than QM in all except research. Yeah guess I'm going to do my undergrad studies at Leicester then... Thanks

Russell Groups get extra funding but it is not necessarily the be all and end all. It really depends what you want to gain from your degree and how closely your course content meets what you want to do. I have been to visit Leicester and really loved it. It really was different to what I had in my mind and everyone was just so friendly and helpful.