What unis have the poshest students?

Original post by Noble.

By what definition do you think private school students are "more aware" - there's at least one definition where I'd say they're generally much LESS aware. Also, as for going to a top private school having a good overall effect, it could do if you go to a top university - if not it could work against you and does beg the question why you weren't able to do well enough to go to a top university when a lot of your classmates were.

Was this reply at me? If so, yeah I get you. I didn't really mean private schools. I was just referring to myself. It's me I'm trying to talk about. Indeed, even within my own school I am actually far more cultured than most. I at least like to think of myself as so. There is a founding to this. At least half the people at where I am are simply not as knowledgeable as me, in certain respects. Knowledge isn't intelligence. Knowledge is anything anyone can gain. You don't necessarily need to be intelligent/capable/have a high IQ to be aware of a large array of vocabulary, persons from 'the institution' (i.e. 'famous' things and persons etc, and facts about them, current affairs and politics, and the opinions behind them, class, philosophy, and just the culture of the Western world in general). But that is what I'm getting at nonetheless. I just mean to say I am far less DULL and CLUELESS about many things, and moderately more opinionated and cautious with what I do and what I say, than most people I've encountered; and I've encountered a LOT of people in my time now. It irritates me when I see the number of people I and even OTHERS come to conclude are less bright than me within my year. There's a ton of simply very rich and connected upper-middle class people at my school, who'll be just fine with their business management degree from Surrey or Royal Holloway university or something like that. Take over daddy's businesses and investments. I've got no gripes. I'm not narrow-minded. What the **** can they do, those lucky guys; I'd lean towards the same goals if I were them. But hey, my point is: I AM BETTER than MANY, both within the SIX state schools I have been in, and this one private school I am in now. THAT is to my merit, and it's that I DESPERATELY want to make sure comes across to interviewers and employers...

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 502

Noble.

Original post by Mansun

By the same logic, you may as well have gone to Luton, who have an very good teaching university they say. Research does not matter. Harvard gets over £16 billion of private funding from industry for worldd class cutting edge research, yet that matters zilch for their students and their standing as a top 3 world leading university?

Goodness me, I was hoping better from a guy from Oxford!

Where did I say research doesn't matter? You can't seriously think cutting edge research trickles down into undergraduate work, especially not in the US where to do a PhD you usually spend two years having to take additional classes just to be able to get started with your own research after an undergraduate degree. Most undergraduate degrees constitute a solid underpinning in that area, so not only is it unlikely new research would be included in the syllabus, it'll also be rare that something is ground breaking enough that it deserves to be looked at at the undergrad (potentially even post-grad) level.

Reply 503

Original post by Noble.

By what definition do you think private school students are "more aware" - there's at least one definition where I'd say they're generally much LESS aware. Also, as for going to a top private school having a good overall effect, it could do if you go to a top university - if not it could work against you and does beg the question why you weren't able to do well enough to go to a top university when a lot of your classmates were.

So how would you define how good a university is, if none of the factors I have mentioned matter? I have in the main used RAE ratings and Russell Group membership as the main hallmarks of a top class university, as well as my own visits, which is commendable. None of what I have said is untrue, so how can I be promoting Nottingham beyond what it actually is and always was, an excellent university? I don't recall dozens of other unis having a top class medical and vet school, as well as amongst the very best Law, Economics and Psychology departments?

If you have actually studied at this uni for any length of time and felt it was overrated, then fine. But to have never even seen the university, how can anyone in this bracket criticise it? I've at least visited Exeter, and two of my friends went there, one of which works in the national tv/media arena. Yet I still have reservations about this uni in that I don't think it is anything more than a top 20 uni, and definitely not a top 10.

I'm sorry Noble, you have a high intellect clearly as you are studying at Oxford, but I just don't think you have shown it here a jot. To say Notts is no better than dozens of other UK unis is so bogus and misleading it is embarrassing. It is like saying Arsenal aren't one of the best clubs in the EPL. I find it hard to imagine, but it is like you are bitter and jealous of Nottingham stealing a lot of the limelight generally speaking, being a top 3 sought after University amongst students and employers alike. Nottingham does seem to be very popular generally in all circles, which may explain why some on the TSR get jealous over it. It is a bit like comparing this to football fans who are jealous over the global popularity of Manchester United. Get over it.

Nottingham is without doubt one of the most prestigious multi-facility universities in the UK, backed up by an excellent employment record with top graduate employers, and very high levels of private funding from Industry. Having a medical and vet school add extra prestige, as these are extremely sought after courses by the most gifted students. Some of the best schools in the land send their students to Nottingham each year, and the university boasts one of the finest and modern campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China. I'm extremely proud to have represented this elite RG university at BSc level, and I hope to come back for a PhD at the medical school shortly.

On that note, I am leaving this thread, I've said all there is to say on the subject.

(edited 9 years ago)

Mansun sound like an admissions officer from Nottingham haha. Where I am from the name Nottingham doesn't ring a bell to most people. Whereas mentioning that you went to a uni such as oxbridge ucl imperial lse will immediately gain you respect.

Reply 505

Film

13

Another indication of a good University, is where the top and brightest students go. For example, for students with an AAB or higher:

Durham 84.7%
UCL. 82.4%
Warwick 81.0%
Exeter 74.3%

Nottingham 56.8%

Reply 506

kkboyk

21

Original post by Film

Another indication of a good University, is where the top and brightest students go. For example, for students with an AAB or higher:

Durham 84.7%
UCL. 82.4%
Warwick 81.0%
Exeter 74.3%

Nottingham 56.8%

That's not particularly a good indication and is still indirect.

Reply 507

Noble.

Original post by Mansun

So how would you define how good a university is, if none of the factors I have mentioned matter? I have in the main used RAE ratings and Russell Group membership as the main hallmarks of a top class university, as well as my own visits, which is commendable. None of what I have said is untrue, so how can I be promoting Nottingham beyond what it actually is and always was, an excellent university? I don't recall dozens of other unis having a top class medical and vet school, as well as amongst the very best Law, Economics and Psychology departments?

If you have actually studied at this uni for any length of time and felt it was overrated, then fine. But to have never even seen the university, how can anyone in this bracket criticise it? I've at least visited Exeter, and two of my friends went there, one of which works in the national tv/media arena. Yet I still have reservations about this uni in that I don't think it is anything more than a top 20 uni, and definitely not a top 10.

I'm sorry Noble, you have a high intellect clearly as you are studying at Oxford, but I just don't think you have shown it here a jot. To say Notts is no better than dozens of other UK unis is so bogus and misleading it is embarrassing. It is like saying Arsenal aren't one of the best clubs in the EPL. I find it hard to imagine, but it is like you are bitter and jealous of Nottingham stealing a lot of the limelight generally speaking, being a top 3 sought after University amongst students and employers alike. Nottingham does seem to be very popular generally in all circles, which may explain why some on the TSR get jealous over it. It is a bit like comparing this to football fans who are jealous over the global popularity of Manchester United. Get over it.

Nottingham is without doubt one of the most prestigious multi-facility universities in the UK, backed up by an excellent employment record with top graduate employers, and very high levels of private funding from Industry. Having a medical and vet school add extra prestige, as these are extremely sought after courses by the most gifted students. Some of the best schools in the land send their students to Nottingham each year, and the university boasts one of the finest and modern campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China. I'm extremely proud to have represented this elite RG university at BSc level, and I hope to come back for a PhD at the medical school shortly.

On that note, I am leaving this thread, I've said all there is to say on the subject.

Good grief, you think I don't come across as intelligent on this thread? I'm not the one who is continually mentioning pointless statistics which put Nottingham in a good light and posted a picture of the university in an attempt to support an argument that it's better than most universities (or to put it in a way you'll understand, better than a large portion of RG universities). As I've mentioned before, trying to produce a 'general' league table is difficult and coming up with justification for those in the top 10-30 is usually nonsense - although not so much if you look at individual subjects.

Yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head - I'm jealous of Nottingham. I go to Oxford, never applied to Nottingham because the mathematics course isn't anything to write home about, I didn't like the campus when I spent a week there on a 'summer school' type course after GCSEs, I'd be in a much worse position for getting the career I hope to get had I attended Nottingham but for some reason I'm jealous of it :lol:

(Note: this is sarcasm) What Oxford student is going to be jealous of Nottingham's global image when it's non-existent compared to Oxford's?

The only reason I'm coming across as having a problem with Nottingham is because you have an ability of promoting Nottingham to such an extreme you resort to using utter rubbish statistics in an argument. It's also obvious from this post that you are sentimental towards Nottingham, which is fine, it just doesn't change anything. Granted, it's worth pointing out that when you try and compose a general university league table, there will pretty much be holes you can pick in every measure and criterion used - I will admit that in composing a general university league table using RAE/REF is probably one of the better things to look at, but that's not to say it's actually a useful measure of how good a university is compared to the things you can look at when doing a subject specific league table. Also, I hope you don't think I think Nottingham is a bad university, I don't; it is an excellent university.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 508

jcuon_mhk_n2_medium_1398.jpg129.1KB

Original post by HL1995

Mansun sound like an admissions officer from Nottingham haha. Where I am from the name Nottingham doesn't ring a bell to most people. Whereas mentioning that you went to a uni such as oxbridge ucl imperial lse will immediately gain you respect.

The picture speaks for itself, Notts otherwise is amongst the very best, world top 75, UK top 10 they claim on their homepage. :007:

Good night.

Reply 509

HL1995

3

So the picture immediately makes a mediocre university good? You said you are beyond the days of caring about rankings but clearly you are not...

Reply 510

Jenitaaa

1

Do people think that Exeter is a bit of a "posh" uni? I'm (hopefully) going there to study Medicine (please don't judge) but I'm most certainly not posh! I've lived in South London for most of my life and I'm a little worried I might not fit in :confused:

Reply 511

trent_building_350.jpg38.7KB

Original post by HL1995

So the picture immediately makes a mediocre university good? You said you are beyond the days of caring about rankings but clearly you are not...

What you have just said above sounds really thick. On what basis, other than delusional drivel, is Nottingham mediocre? If you are one of those fools who downloads the Times university rankings and sees Notts ranked around 20th and then decides it is no good, you have a lot to learn. At least the rankings Nottingham refers to on it's homepage places a lot of weight on academic credentials, and not the student satisfaction survey. The rankings alone are not the best way of choosing a university, but Nottingham advertises the Shanghai Jiao Tong and QS World rankings on their homepage, so they seem to respect them.

http://www.topuniversities.com/node/4274/ranking-details/world-university-rankings/2013

http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2013.html

''The UK universities in the top 100 are the University of Cambridge (5), the University of Oxford (10), University College London (21), Imperial College London (24), the University of Manchester (40), the University of Edinburgh (51), King’s College London (68), the University of Bristol (70) and the University of Nottingham (86)''.

Nottingham is a world top 1% university based on research capacity, and that is a fact.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 512

Original post by Jenitaaa

Do people think that Exeter is a bit of a "posh" uni? I'm (hopefully) going there to study Medicine (please don't judge) but I'm most certainly not posh! I've lived in South London for most of my life and I'm a little worried I might not fit in :confused:

Exeter is one of the top 10 poshest unis in terms of private school intake, but they still have twice as many state school kids going, you should be fine. I hear the students in the main are friendly and warm.

More students from private schools by number (not percentage) go to Nottingham each year than any other university, incidentally. Newcastle is in a dead heat with Notts on that front in at second.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 513

Meat is Murder

12

Original post by Film

Another indication of a good University, is where the top and brightest students go. For example, for students with an AAB or higher:

Durham 84.7%
UCL. 82.4%
Warwick 81.0%
Exeter 74.3%

Nottingham 56.8%

That percentage is skewed by unis offering courses like Nursing.

Reply 514

Meat is Murder

12

Original post by HL1995

Mansun sound like an admissions officer from Nottingham haha. Where I am from the name Nottingham doesn't ring a bell to most people. Whereas mentioning that you went to a uni such as oxbridge ucl imperial lse will immediately gain you respect.

Well, in my experience people know how good Leeds is, Sheffield, Bristol, Manchester etc, but have no idea what Imperial is, or what UCL stands for. People outside academia have little interest in unis.

p.s. coincidence that I go to Notts :biggrin:

Reply 515

Meat is Murder

12

People seriously need to stop masturbating over unis. Durham is just as good as Reading; UEA as good as KCL, and so on. People who think differently are deluded.

Lecturers and researchers go where the jobs are. When lecturers differ imperceptibly, the difference between unis is negligible.

Reply 516

Wisefire

Original post by Meat is Murder

People seriously need to stop masturbating over unis. Durham is just as good as Reading; UEA as good as KCL, and so on. People who think differently are deluded.

Lecturers and researchers go where the jobs are. When lecturers differ imperceptibly, the difference between unis is negligible.

In terms of teaching, the university itself and the academia within the universities' walls, I can't contend with you. However, in terms of employment and job/promotion prospects, from what I know, all I can say is... What the actual ****? Okay, I still don't know enough, but please elaborate? KCL is pretty damn good for employment, and you can definitely get a top job (six figures and above) if you went to KCL. But to say UEA gives you the same advantage in getting that job (be it negligible, which it may well be, or highly prominent) is surely nonsense? That said, a lot of people I know say that you can earn, hell, even £150K+ if you have a good degree from a good university. Bull**** in my eyes, considering the number of pretty glum and pessimistic viewpoints of peoples' future prospects from loads of people here on TSR. Honestly, I can't tell if the people on TSR are right, or if the people I know are right (i.e. are the optimisms of the people I know right and have a general founding, or do their optimisms only lie with themselves considering the fact that they go to a private school/are already middle-class and have 'contacts' and social and economic capital, which I do not have; I'm a scholarship kid).

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 517

Original post by Meat is Murder

People seriously need to stop masturbating over unis. Durham is just as good as Reading; UEA as good as KCL, and so on. People who think differently are deluded.

Lecturers and researchers go where the jobs are. When lecturers differ imperceptibly, the difference between unis is negligible.

There is not much difference between standards of teaching in unis, but there is a huge variation in many other areas. Reading is a very decent uni with a nice campus, but Durham is miles ahead in most categories, and will help land you a better job throughout your career.

Reply 518

Original post by Film

Another indication of a good University, is where the top and brightest students go. For example, for students with an AAB or higher:

Durham 84.7%
UCL. 82.4%
Warwick 81.0%
Exeter 74.3%

Nottingham 56.8%

This is actually not a great indicator of a top university. Nottingham has 22400 undergraduates, the others on the list have far less. The more students you admit, the less students will be admitted with AAB or higher. Also, Nottingham has worked hard over the last 15 years to ensure it reaches out to all walks of society, including the poorest, so they may well lower their grade requirements to some students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Bristol have also done this over the years, as have Edinburgh. One of my friends several years back got AABB at A level, and got accepted for Veterinary Science at Bristol, mainly due to her weak comprehensive school background. If the place was awarded purely on grades, she would never have even got an interview, as most applicants to Bristol for this course have from 3As to 6As.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 519

Wisefire