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Postgrad at a Russel group or resit? (Need advice ASAP)

Hey guys! I flopped my A Levels and got CDD due to some issues which made it difficult for me to revise. (I was 2 marks away from a B for one subject and 6 marks away from a C to other two).

I’m currently basically going to go SOAS for accounting and finance this year but I’ve been thinking that it might not even be worth it because a first from a uni like SOAS isn’t as worth it as other russel group unis.

Would you guys recommend me doing a postgrad at a better university once I’m done by undergrad or should I just resist?

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

That is 100% not how employers and even most graduate programmes see degrees. I cannot underscore just how completely mistaken you are in your assumption that "a first from a uni like SOAS isn't as worth it as RG unis".

Firstly, most generalist grad schemes (including accountancy schemes) not only accept any degree subject but are also agnostic to where you actually did the degree. This is becuase the degree is actually a tick box. You need to not think of it as a magic piece of paper that will get you a job, because it's not. They want to see you have a degree at 2:1 or above, they don't care what subject you did for generalist roles, they usually don't care where you did the degree, and getting a 1st vs a 2:1 makes no difference because a 2:1 ticks the box just as well as a first. It's a yes/no factor.

What employers are looking for is that, assuming you tick the box of a degree at 2:1 or above, relevant work experience, demonstrable transferable skills developed from that work experience and leadership roles in co-curricular activities, and how well you perform in their psychometric tests and assessment centre exercises.

In relation to this, doing a postgrad at another university is really neither here nor there because if you get the 2:1 or above from the first one you already ticked the "academics" box and they are looking for other things, not how many extra degrees you got (because by and large they don't care).

There are situations where the above don't hold true though, the first of which being for management consultancy and investment banking, which specifically do look for students to have done their degree from a target university. However note that not all RG unis are target universities. It can be that a masters from a target uni can ameliorate going to a semi-target or non-target for those areas, although this varies. Interestingly some years back one bank published their list of target universities and a SOAS masters was considered as a target...

The other situation is for "specialist" roles. This is normally for things requiring a specific degree area or sometimes a specifically accredited degree, and is typically for healthcare and STEM related positions. An A&F degree isn't going to put you in line for those roles from any uni so it's a moot point though.

If you otherwise like the course at SOAS, and the uni overall, go there. But you will need to make yourself employable, as you would at any uni, by obtaining relevant internships/vacation schemes/spring weeks/summer placements/etc, and taking on leadership/committee roles in societies and so on to develop your transferable skills.