Should you go to the same uni for your pg as your ug or is it better to go elsewhere?

Should you go to the same university for your postgraduate as your undergraduate or is it better to go elsewhere? Does anyone know the ratio for postgraduates staying at the same university or going elsewhere specifically for a master's?

Reply 1

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

It's going to vary massively from uni to uni and course to course, but for my department, probably less than 10% of our postgrads are returning students. (I work in postgrad admissions.) I imagine that figure would be higher but we attract a lot of international students.

Reply 2

ageshallnot

Do some unis still give their "own" students a discount on pg fees?

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by ageshallnot

Do some unis still give their "own" students a discount on pg fees?

Yes, alumni discounts are still a thing.

Reply 4

1582

Volunteer Team

I went to a different university for my postgrad. I went to the one I originally firmed for undergrad but failed to get into.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 5

UniOfLincolnStudent

Official Rep

Original post by CelaenSardothien

Hi there,

I would definitely reccomend attending the university's open days (particularly postgraduate), as it will give you a better understanding of how the course is run. Being in the same university for your postgraduate course could be beneficial as you already know the place and the lecturers and tutors already know you.

Here at the University of Lincoln, we have postgraduate open days as well! You can book your place here: https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/opendaysandvisits/postgraduateevents/ (the next one is for 14th October 2023). We have course hubs available and talks. It is definitely worth going and hopefully you will consider the University of Lincoln as one of your choices!

All the best,
Jennifer :smile:

Reply 6

ExeterStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by CelaenSardothien

Hi CelaenSardothien,

That's a great question - one I thought about too. There are pros to going to the same university as your undergraduate but also pros to going to a new university. I'm not sure whether this is the case for all universities, but you can get discounts on your tuition fees if you're alumni from that university. On top of that, if you go to the same university you don't have to worry about getting to know the place, the lecturers or the buildings etc (which can ease some initial stresses). These two factors were the main reasons I decided to stay at the same university as my undergraduate for my Master's (I also really liked my undergraduate experience so why not come back again :smile:

). I don't know the ratios specifically but there were a few people on my Master's course that were also on my Bachelor's course - but the majority of the people on the Master's course were new.

The benefit of going somewhere else though is that you get to experience a whole new place and university (which is really exciting!). There's an opportunity to go to universities you liked but didn't go to for your undergraduate. Or you could even look at somewhere entirely different.

I would definitely recommend going on Open Day visits as it's the best way to get a flavour of what universities have to offer.

I hope this helps! And if you're interested at all in going to Exeter, we have an online open day coming up soon.

Bethan
University of Exeter Student Ambassador