Southampton for Electronics?

Having been predicted A* A* A* A* in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Electronics, and with a personal statement that's definitely coming together, (without getting my hopes too high) I feel that, with adequate interview preparation, I definitely have a chance of getting into the likes of Imperial for Electronic and Information Engineering.

Despite this, I am also considering University of Southampton for Electronic Engineering. It's ranked 77th worldwide compared to 7th, and ranked 15th in the UK compared to 5th. The entry requirements are also lower (A*AA) and there is no interview. By these statistics alone, it's obviously less prestigious than Imperial.

For Electronic Engineering, however, the Guardian ranks Southampton 1st (with the Guardian weighting student satisfaction, teaching quality, etc far more heavily). This is likely due to the workload at Southampton being less than Imperial (though it is still a demanding course). I also went to visit Southampton this weekend, and was very impressed by the campus and city. It is definitely somewhere I could see myself living.

I have yet to visit Imperial, but based on my prior experiences of London, I'm not sure it is somewhere I would necessarily like to live due to the pollution, busyness, noise, commute, etc. I may be proven wrong, however, as my sister is currently studying at UCL and loves it there!

I've also compared the course content of the two universities, there are a lot of similarities between the two and I like the look of both of them.

What I suppose I am asking is whether going to a more prestigious university is worthwhile, or whether a less prestigious but less demanding university would provide a better experience (whilst not being disadvantageous in job applications)?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 1

Elliebowles

it’s up to you but at the end of the day, you are the one studying there for a few years and once you leave people aren’t going to be that bothered about which uni it was if you did well, go where you want and what seems better for you and not what’s more prestigious :smile:

(also, i would definitely not recommend going to uni in london if you don’t like london, it’s a big step and also a very expensive place to live)

Reply 2

ajj2000

Southampton has been a big name in EEE/ ECE for years. I think there are Southampton student reps on this site who might be able to offer some advice. I suspect the offers are lower than Imperial as electronics has not been a heavily subscribed course for quite a while.

Reply 3

Sinnoh

You should apply for the best university course for you.
Looking that far into rankings isn't going to do you any favours.

Reply 4

GoKeys

I firmed southampton, and will probably get A* A* A* and an A in my A levels but the reason I chose it over unis like imperial or oxbridge was because of the course structure and international fees. Prestige is just one aspect of choosing the uni you want to go to. There are other factors that must be taken into account