The University of Leeds - your opinions

Pretty average in my book.

I applied there, and in-fact put it as reserve, but then for medicine where one goes is rather less important.

If you like the place, and they have a course you like don't discount it entirely because its not the most prestigious institution though.

Reply 2

I think it's a 'very good' university.
It has been slipping on the league tables though.

Reply 3

PurpleMonkeyDishwasher

13

jy9626

I think it's a 'very good' university.
It has been slipping on the league tables though.

I agree with this.

Cheeelsy goes there

to two above the post above me.
I really liked it when I visited it. :yep:

Reply 6

I think, and I've said it often enough, that there is Oxbridge, there is LSE/Imperial for their flagship courses, and there is arguably Warwick, UCL and Durham which seem to be near the top in teaching and research for all their courses. After that, you are getting into subject specific territory and thus can't really compare Universities on the whole. I'd say theres lots of Universities which could reasonably claim to be in the next tier behind those seven, and Leeds is one of them. The RAE and QAA rate it highly, its a nice city, entry is competitive and the top Leeds graduates are up there with the best in the country.

I'm not really sure what the OPs game is though, she seems to be obsessed with comparing universities, I'm not sure if shes a prospective Leeds student or what, her story changes so often... :confused:

Reply 7

Planto

16

As a student here, it's a very good university with very good lectures. I am a very able student. So I have the facilities and the ability to become a very good job candidate.

You don't get jobs based on what university you went to. A strong candidate from x will always do better than a weak candidate from y. You get jobs based on what you got out of it. At Leeds, you can get out a lot.

Having said that, I can only speak for the School of Computing, which seems to be one of the strongest schools.

Reply 8

0404343m

I think, and I've said it often enough, that there is Oxbridge, there is LSE/Imperial for their flagship courses, and there is arguably Warwick, UCL and Durham which seem to be near the top in teaching and research for all their courses. After that, you are getting into subject specific territory and thus can't really compare Universities on the whole. I'd say theres lots of Universities which could reasonably claim to be in the next tier behind those seven, and Leeds is one of them. The RAE and QAA rate it highly, its a nice city, entry is competitive and the top Leeds graduates are up there with the best in the country.

I'm not really sure what the OPs game is though, she seems to be obsessed with comparing universities, I'm not sure if shes a prospective Leeds student or what, her story changes so often... :confused:

I found out that apart from Oxbridge, every university reputation varies depending on courses.

Reply 9

jy9626

I found out that apart from Oxbridge, every university reputation varies depending on courses.

Not always, no. For employers in the know and academics, then yes, you are correct. For instance, engineering employers would know the strength of Strathclyde and Southampton. However, the research into this shows that most employers don't know course differences. They see a reputable name, they see a fairly well respected degree, and they look for a 2:1. So what you find is, there may be a million miles between a degree in X at Manchester and Leeds- but employers who aren't clued up on that sector won't know it. But at any rate, we're talking about how good a university is, not what employers think.

Looking at the main indicators of quality (taking out the student satisfaction and other such nonsense) Shows there are those seven universities which are pretty close to the top in nearly everything they do (even this is shoddy, but its the best we have), so I'd say if you were looking for a tier, then thats probably it. After that, theres loads of Universities- the big Russell Group ones in particular, who are relatively good across the board, excellent in some areas, merely above average in others. Leeds is certainly one of them, and I'd say it'd get bunged in with another 20 or so in the next echelon of Universities below those seven- if we were to look on the University as a whole. Of course they'll be excellent in some areas, which is the important thing, but you cannot expect everyone to know that about it, so (unfortunately) comparing them as institutions rather than subjects is here to stay. There is no definitive 'rank' though, there are too many good Universities to say Bath is definitively better than Leeds or similar.

Reply 10

T. Hereford

15

0404343m

I think, and I've said it often enough, that there is Oxbridge, there is LSE/Imperial for their flagship courses, and there is arguably Warwick, UCL and Durham which seem to be near the top in teaching and research for all their courses.

Would you include Bristol and Edinburgh amongst that list as well? :confused:

Reply 11

T. Hereford

Would you include Bristol and Edinburgh amongst that list as well? :confused:

No, I would not. Those particular large, multifaculty Universities are no different to a Manchester, Birmingham, Kings, Glasgow or Nottingham. Good in all areas, excellent in some. There are too many areas where they are not in the best grouping in the country, they are unlike Warwick in the sense that virtually all of its subject areas are amongst the very best group in the UK. St Andrews and York are also in this category- competitive to gain entry to, but doing nothing in research and teaching that Lancaster and Loughborough aren't. Really, I'd say even this tier of Warwick, Durham, UCL is debateable. But Leeds is amongst the best in the UK, I am convinced of that much, which after all, is what the topic is about.

Reply 12

SaintCaz#5

I'd say it's a Very Good University.

Reply 13

0404343m

No, I would not. Those particular large, multifaculty Universities are no different to a Manchester, Birmingham, Kings, Glasgow or Nottingham. Good in all areas, excellent in some. There are too many areas where they are not in the best grouping in the country, they are unlike Warwick in the sense that virtually all of its subject areas are amongst the very best group in the UK. St Andrews and York are also in this category- competitive to gain entry to, but doing nothing in research and teaching that Lancaster and Loughborough aren't. Really, I'd say even this tier of Warwick, Durham, UCL is debateable. But Leeds is amongst the best in the UK, I am convinced of that much, which after all, is what the topic is about.

I would surely add Bristol to the tier you made though. I mean, if there's Durham, there's no reason what so ever why Bristol shouldn't be included.
Durham's got the same domestic reputation as Bristol, but Bristol is more recognized internationally. Considering the rankings, Bristol has been ranked higher on more occasions historically.

Reply 14

jy9626

I would surely add Bristol to the tier you made though. I mean, if there's Durham, there's no reason what so ever why Bristol shouldn't be included.
Durham's got the same domestic reputation as Bristol, but Bristol is more recognized internationally. Considering the rankings, Bristol has been ranked higher on more occasions historically.

'Reputation' and 'recognition' have nothing to do with academic performance. You can't have it both ways.

Reply 15

Bagration

18

I'd say it's pretty good for a northern Uni.

Reply 16

T. Hereford

15

jy9626

I would surely add Bristol to the tier you made though. I mean, if there's Durham, there's no reason what so ever why Bristol shouldn't be included.
Durham's got the same domestic reputation as Bristol, but Bristol is more recognized internationally. Considering the rankings, Bristol has been ranked higher on more occasions historically.

Exactly, well said. I thought it was weird that he mentioned Durham, Warwick etc. in that group but excluded unis like Bristol which is equal to Durham and Warwick in terms of acdemic prestige and standing.

Reply 17

T. Hereford

Exactly, well said. I thought it was weird that he mentioned Durham, Warwick etc. in that group but excluded unis like Bristol which is equal to Durham and Warwick in terms of acdemic prestige and standing.

Do you people go around in a world where nothing matters about a University except what people think about it? 'Prestige' and 'standing' are wheeled out at every opportunity, but without any justification of the term. My point is, look at the academic performance of the Universities recently. In research and teaching, UCL, Warwick and Durham have been highly commended across the board, whereas everyone else has their strengths and weaknesses. This has nothing to do with 'reputation'. Bristol has done pretty poorly this year in gaining Arts and Humanities funding- Birmingham has almost twice as much. Therefore, in terms of sheer performance, those three have done better than the others recently, so if there was any tiering, Bristol would not be in it, because if you add them, then in would come a whole other bunch who have done equally as well.

Reply 18

0404343m

Do you people go around in a world where nothing matters about a University except what people think about it? 'Prestige' and 'standing' are wheeled out at every opportunity, but without any justification of the term. My point is, look at the academic performance of the Universities recently. In research and teaching, UCL, Warwick and Durham have been highly commended across the board, whereas everyone else has their strengths and weaknesses. This has nothing to do with 'reputation'. Bristol has done pretty poorly this year in gaining Arts and Humanities funding- Birmingham has almost twice as much. Therefore, in terms of sheer performance, those three have done better than the others recently, so if there was any tiering, Bristol would not be in it, because if you add them, then in would come a whole other bunch who have done equally as well.

If we're talking about postgrad studies specifically, you're right in bringing in the research quality, etc. If its about postgrad studies, i can't say anything. But I know that for undergrad studies, this research quality thing doesn't matter.
To be honest, I haven't seen anyone who ranks Durham higher than Bristol, especially so much that Durham is a 'tier' above it.

Reply 19