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The Truth About The Russell Group.

But you in all likelihood beat other Oxbridge applicants to get there (assuming we're talking something like MC, BB, MBB, Big 4 etc.), surely that is how you prove yourself? Obviously the qualifications you had to be equal to them are higher (so a First for a 2.1 normally) but the firm saw you as their equal, otherwise you wouldn't be there.

Haha nooo! I don't have a degree yet! But I am working on a first.

But yes I did beat Oxbridge and ex poly candidates to get a place, and the "firm" did not see me as their equal, but better; which is why I have a deferred place. I don't even necessarily have to finish my degree (But I would be shouted and looked down upon at... a lot.)

Reply 81

Dr Alcoholic

14

Original post by gs1996

All in favour of re-naming this group 'RG Rejects', I.

It's 'aye' not 'I'.

Reply 82

Le Nombre

16

Original post by the mezzil

Haha nooo! I don't have a degree yet! But I am working on a first.

But yes I did beat Oxbridge and ex poly candidates to get a place, and the "firm" did not see me as their equal, but better; which is why I have a deferred place. I don't even necessarily have to finish my degree (But I would be shouted and looked down upon at... a lot.)

Your offer isn't dependent upon a 2.1 plus transcript plus A levels and so on?! Generous, we had to dig our GCSEs out just to get into the interview, though the degree's fair play, we can't do the job without that.

Reply 83

Dr Alcoholic

14

Original post by alow

Oxbridge, UCL, ICL and LSE are far better, especially in terms of international recognition and respect. And Oxford and Cambridge aren't even vaguely compareable to Bath or St. Andrews.

I know bath is much, much better. :wink:

In fact i heard oxford has gotten so bad these days they even let the working class in!!!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 84

the mezzil

3

Original post by Le Nombre

Your offer isn't dependent upon a 2.1 plus transcript plus A levels and so on?! Generous, we had to dig our GCSEs out just to get into the interview, though the degree's fair play, we can't do the job without that.

No not necessarily, but it is preferable you get a 2:1 at the very least. Plus you get more pay if you have a degree. Most have a degree, which is why I got deferred. But A levels were important and there is a minimum UCAS requirement, which basically all have far, far higher anyway due to a lot being from Oxbridge, or that type of University.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 85

Dr Alcoholic

14

Original post by gs1996

I know that, for my course I have just applied for top RG. There's more universities in the RG that deserve to be there, than the few floating around, ie. Bath, that truly deserve a spot. I haven't gone for them because they're Russell Group- I've gone for them because they're good and because of that- they're RG. I would never take Liverpool over Bath though- correct.
All I meant by my comment was that I would tend to sway to RG over non-RG, simply because I am studying and in terms of employment- that's how things have to be. I also didn't pick thinking, "I must go to a Russell Group university", it just happened.

Bath aren't in the russell group because bath gets a better deal going solo than it does being part of a research institution, as is the case for many other unis not in a research group. It's not case of who deserves and who doesn't. The RG is a lobby group that shares research funding, it's only 6th formers and potential undergrads that have this senstaionalised idea about it.

I hate how all these people on tsr argue over ranking and prestige etc yet they haven't even finished school yet. Once you're in uni, no one gives a **** where you go. When people talk about target unis for employment they are more often than not referring to a small group of professions such as banking, law and the likes (which make up a tiny fraction of the job market) where prestige of the uni may have a greater impact in your potential employment than other professions. However, this is not the only things that employers care about and it's certainly no where near the most important. Employers care far more about your work experience, what degree you studied, grade achieved, your ability to do the job than what uni you went to. And for the rest of the job market, your uni name in most cases is just a reference point for your potential employer.

People need to take their head out their backside and realise that uni rankings or reputations or research grouping is in the vast majority of cases, quite insignificant. The main thing you need to worry about when choosing your degree is, will it cater to the profession you want to go into then you need to worry about getting good grades during uni and getting some work experience before you graduate. Going to a uni ranked 30 instead of 10 an will make little to no difference for the vast majority of graduates. I mean seriously how do you think the thousands of graduates from the not so reputable unis get graduate entry jobs?

Seriously some people are going to get the shock of their lives one day when they leave uni and realise that the person that got the job instead of them went to a non RG uni ranked in the 30s. Worry more about building your CV/personal profile with work experience and relevant skills to make yourself more employable than which uni has a slightly better reputation in taiwan.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 86

TheTranshumanist

7

Original post by the mezzil

Don't you think it is odd that he is basically saying RG unis are crap. Something smells about him.

I didn't interpret it that way. The overall message of his opening post seems to be that not every RG university is better than all of its non-RG counterparts, and that people shouldn't worry so much about whether or not their prospective university is in the RG. That's quite a reasonable point in my opinion.

Reply 87

man i

3

Ive been wondering the same thing I applied for UoL to do economics BA, seeing that the uni was a top 20 uni it will be good but comments along the lines of its not RG is seriously got me thinking that Leicester a s**t uni and starting to doubt my choice

Reply 88

TheTranshumanist

7

Original post by man i

Ive been wondering the same thing I applied for UoL to do economics BA, seeing that the uni was a top 20 uni it will be good but comments along the lines of its not RG is seriously got me thinking that Leicester a s**t uni and starting to doubt my choice

Don't doubt your choice; Leicester is a very good university. It doesn't matter that it's not in the RG.

Reply 89

halliee

2

I picked UEA over Glasgow and have not regretted it once :smile:

I agree people care too much about whether it's Russell Group. Just go where you want to go!

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Reply 90

alow

19

Original post by Dr Alcoholic

I know bath is much, much better. :wink:

In fact i heard oxford has gotten so bad these days they even let the working class in!!!

Working class. Oxford. Oh you do make me chuckle. :lol:

Reply 91

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Quady

Bit confused...
Doing a chemistry degree at an ex-poly has no effect?

It wouldn't be accredited by the RSC.

I think you will find that the degrees at Huddersfield, Manchester Met, Northumbria and Plymouth are accredited.

However, so long as there are serious players in chemistry who are not accredited, such as Imperial, it is rather difficult to place any great weight on the fact of accreditation.

Reply 92

nulli tertius

21

Original post by the mezzil

Don't you think it is odd that he is basically saying RG unis are crap. Something smells about him.

He has made related threads all over TSR. He is a someone who lacks confidence in his own decision making and wants validation of his opinion by his peers. He really wants to accept his offer from Leicester but is frightened that the university is not in the Russell Group. Rather than backing his judgement, he wants other people to tell him that he is making the right choice.

It is obvious he is making the right choice, merely because he wants to go to Leicester and in no way is choosing Leicester an act of stubborn contrariness. However he cannot see that. He wants someone to do the impossible and state definitively that X is better than Y and that is why he should go to X.

Reply 93

Pro Crastination

19

Well, I agree that Bath is significantly better than a large number of RG members. But I guess I would as a Bath firmer :3

Reply 94

GrahamRodney

9

Original post by Le Nombre

Saying all degrees are treated equally by every employer is patently nonsense.

Saying Leicester, St Andrews or Bath are miles worse than Newcastle, Liverpool or Exeter purely due to the RG label is also patently nonsense.

The RG is a very effective lobbying group, but its reliance on research funding as an entrance test means it's not always going to be the most relevant to undergrads, again this shouldn't be too shocking.

Of all the comments in this thread, this is probably the most penetrating. RG universities describe themselves as 'large and research-intensive'. For 'research-intensive'. read 'external research income', the main criterion for membership. For example, Queen Mary is not a large university, but the research income of its medical school at over £60 million a year, which is about 70% of the entire university's external income, was the reason it qualified as a Russell Group member. What that has to say about the rest of the university, and its teaching quality, is anybody's guess. It certainly does not give it bragging rights over the likes of St Andrews, Bath, or even Leicester :smile:

Reply 95

Pro Crastination

19

I think I'd also like to point out the obvious - I'm sure it's already been done...

Typically, people who get into the top RGs are going to be more career-driven, more hard working, more able to succeed in interviews and under pressure.

This doesn't mean that one cannot develop or enhance these skills at a less reputable university, it just means, on average, your candidate from Warwick is going to outshine your candidate from Oxford Brookes.

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