Confused about choices
I'm a Spanish student going to apply to the UK for mech eng, but im not to sure which Unis to apply too, my equivalent grade I think will be AAA, after doing some research, and checking rankings and entry requirements, I think I might stand a chance to get into one of these unis.
Which of these Unis are the best, academically speaking, and which of these are the hardests?
UCL
SHEFFIELD
HERIOT-WATT
DUNDEE
LOUGHBOROUH
LIVERPOOL
NOTTINGHAM
SURREY.
Also the minimum grade requirements for UCL are AAB, do you think I should apply considering the competition ? And does anyone recomend me any other Uni?
Which of these Unis are the best, academically speaking, and which of these are the hardests?
UCL
SHEFFIELD
HERIOT-WATT
DUNDEE
LOUGHBOROUH
LIVERPOOL
NOTTINGHAM
SURREY.
Also the minimum grade requirements for UCL are AAB, do you think I should apply considering the competition ? And does anyone recomend me any other Uni?
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Pedro.
Are you applying for the MEng or the BEng?
Manchester
Bath
Bristol
Southampton
There are lots more good universities to choose from,
Manchester
Bath
Bristol
Southampton
There are lots more good universities to choose from,
Some MEng and some BEng.
I don't really like Manchester even though its really good, and Bath, Bristol and Southampton grade requirements are really high, anyways, out of my list.
Academically speaking? They will all produce the course to the standards required by the engineering institutes. Just double check that each course is accredited (IET, IMechE, etc) and you'll know that they're teaching to the right standard... All but a few universities do this, so it shouldn't be an issue.
That's pretty much all that should really matter.
Which is the hardest? Well, why does that need to be a concern? I understand that you want to get the most out of your investment and come away with the "best" degree possible, but when you actually get to university, you'll probably realise that it doesn't matter very much. All of them will be teaching to a high standard and I bet the syllabus for each of those courses is over 90-95% the same. Look at the specific modules they teach and they should be pretty much identical (the name may be slightly different, but the underlying topic is the same).
The only major difference is the focus that the university takes. If they're doing a lot of research in one area, or have lots of links with industry in one area, they may shape the course around that. My course has an automotive direction, but some universities may shape it around aerospace, rail, oil, gas or nautical. That's really where the main difference comes between the courses, so send them an email or research the university (look on Youtube as well) and see which is the more appropriate for you.
League tables are NOT a good source of information when choosing a university. The data they use is really not that appropriate, so you should avoid using that when making your final choices. You can use unistats.direct.gov.uk as a somewhat better source of information. That will tell you what percentage of students come out with a particular grade, their average salary, the type of work on the course and how students liked it.
I know you want a hard course but the harsh truth is, a lot of employers in the UK (I'm not sure about Spain or elsewhere) are only interested in the grade you get and NOT where you get it. Some employers may prefer certain universities, but they want someone with a high grade. The reason for this is probably due to the accreditation - If 100 universities are teaching the same degree to the same professional standard, why would course difficulty or prestige really matter? You're doing pretty much the same course and so the final grade is usually the most important bit.
In my opinion, the look and feel of the place should be the most important bit. It might be hard to check all of them out if you're living in Spain, so do thorough research. Find out what the facilities are like and what the accommodation and local area is like. Live comfortably and enjoy the work and you'll do really well.
You'd do well to welcome other points of view, but since getting to university, my perspective and what I know about it really changed. You just need to be here to know what it's like and understand what's actually important and what's not so important when choosing a university. Go for the best of your ability, but tweak your expectations slightly and choose factors which will really matter in the long run. After one or two graduate jobs, they won't care about where you studied, so just get a solid education and good grade until then. After that, it's professional experience which counts.
That's pretty much all that should really matter.
Which is the hardest? Well, why does that need to be a concern? I understand that you want to get the most out of your investment and come away with the "best" degree possible, but when you actually get to university, you'll probably realise that it doesn't matter very much. All of them will be teaching to a high standard and I bet the syllabus for each of those courses is over 90-95% the same. Look at the specific modules they teach and they should be pretty much identical (the name may be slightly different, but the underlying topic is the same).
The only major difference is the focus that the university takes. If they're doing a lot of research in one area, or have lots of links with industry in one area, they may shape the course around that. My course has an automotive direction, but some universities may shape it around aerospace, rail, oil, gas or nautical. That's really where the main difference comes between the courses, so send them an email or research the university (look on Youtube as well) and see which is the more appropriate for you.
League tables are NOT a good source of information when choosing a university. The data they use is really not that appropriate, so you should avoid using that when making your final choices. You can use unistats.direct.gov.uk as a somewhat better source of information. That will tell you what percentage of students come out with a particular grade, their average salary, the type of work on the course and how students liked it.
I know you want a hard course but the harsh truth is, a lot of employers in the UK (I'm not sure about Spain or elsewhere) are only interested in the grade you get and NOT where you get it. Some employers may prefer certain universities, but they want someone with a high grade. The reason for this is probably due to the accreditation - If 100 universities are teaching the same degree to the same professional standard, why would course difficulty or prestige really matter? You're doing pretty much the same course and so the final grade is usually the most important bit.
In my opinion, the look and feel of the place should be the most important bit. It might be hard to check all of them out if you're living in Spain, so do thorough research. Find out what the facilities are like and what the accommodation and local area is like. Live comfortably and enjoy the work and you'll do really well.
You'd do well to welcome other points of view, but since getting to university, my perspective and what I know about it really changed. You just need to be here to know what it's like and understand what's actually important and what's not so important when choosing a university. Go for the best of your ability, but tweak your expectations slightly and choose factors which will really matter in the long run. After one or two graduate jobs, they won't care about where you studied, so just get a solid education and good grade until then. After that, it's professional experience which counts.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Looking to make muslim friends
- Any part-time students?
- How do i apply to a specific UoB accommodation?
- University of Sheffield accommodation email
- LSE accommodation
- LEIDEN 2022 - selection procedure (IRO)
- Should I withdraw from a choice so I can have priority booking for accommodation?
- University admissions
- UCAS 5th choice
- What'll happen if a uni told me that my application is given to other schools?
- Imperial College no rejection mail
- Adding more uni choices after UCAS app is sent
- Who to Choose? Accepting your University Offer
- Glasgow vs Exeter vs Bristol for 2 year LLB
- AS-Level or A-Level Maths?
- Stuck on which modules to choose for my second year
- Unsure - radiography/optometry
- qmul or warwick for law???
- Should I switch my Business AS level for English Language or History?
- Bristol offers
