The whole 'LJMU' -v- 'University of Liverpool' debate...

Hi SomethingBeautiful,

I agree with a number of things you said, but there are a couple which i don't, lol

What makes you think that the snobbish attitude is mostly a localised issue? I think there is a big difference between someone from say Woolton being snobby and someone from Oxford being snobby - it's the whole north/south divide. It's very rare i'll meet someone from say Woolton or Allerton who is as snobby as someone from Oxford because liverpool people are definately more down to earth and friendly than those who come from privaleged backgrounds down south and it is the latter i am referring to who I believe give UoL it's elitist title.

I know a good few students from liverpool at our uni and from my awareness, there is no rivalry atall?....?

Are you from Liverpool, if so where are you from and what brought you to that conclusion?

I agree that Hope isn't academically as prestiguous than UoL, which I pointed out, but to say that the degree wouldn;t be taken seriously for the profession you enter into is rubbish I think.

My friend who went to Edge Hill (which is still a NW uni) is now earning £40k in the Financial Sector based up getting an English degree, so it kind of throws your theory out of the window.

No disrespect. I was saying that for certain professions such as Solicitor, Doctor, Vet, Bio-chemistry ....the professions which earn the most money then yes,it is important to chose a university that performs exceedingly well academically.

I'd be interested for you to elaborate on your comment: "In my opinion, the university you attend IS a reflection of yourself...".

in what way is it a reflection of yourself?

I may chose to go to Hope because it offers me a better tailored degree (i.e. Management compared to Business which covers every possible area), does going to a less prestiguous university reflect how i am as a person?Ie - doesn't put much effort into revising, not as ambitious, will not do as well in comparison to someone at UoL....?

Oh - SomethingBeautiful, i just found out that you are 19?... And in one of your posts you commented "I was much the same regarding the lack of arsed-ness concerning law!"

I thought people who had a "couldn't be arsed" attitude only went to Hope? LMAO Did you originally start Law and then change it?

Hi there,
Well, im a first year undergrad at University of Liverpool. Even though it's my first year at degree level, i in fact completed my Access course at the same Uni the year before so I do have the knowledge and experience to give my views of the institution.

I think that UoL is (from opinions of people who currently study there who are mature students) viewed as a very elitist University. There's no denying there are some exceptionally very bright students here who get straight A's from A-level, but with that comes mostly the class-ist issues. My view is that it is a very prestiguous University which excels itself in most of its departments, the facilities are excellent, the campus is great (I love it) and it is considered one of the better Universities in the North West aside from Manchester Uni. Now, as a mature student, and having already been here since 2008, I definitely notice the class issue. ALOT of the students in my tutorials/lectures are .....to put it bluntly - snobs, quick to judge and usually have an air of ignorance about them. Not ALL students are like that, but the snobby ones really seem to stand out to me. It does make me feel slightly uncomfortable only because ok, they are probably alot more intelligent than me but it's the whole snobby attitude. I'm a born and bred scouser who can get on with MOST people, im mega friendly, love a good laugh and can take the pi$$ out of myself - i dont take myself seriously. But it is hard to meet other students who are similar to me, not due to the age, but the class issue. Ive got 3 good uni friends who are 10 years younger than me and 1 of them is very mature for her age, incredibly funny and speaks alot of sense (teaches me a few things!) and she is Irish - maybe there's a conneciton there with scousers, haha. The other 2 are lovely aswell, but they have come from privaledged background and don't share the same sense of humour as me at times compared to the irish girl.

Anyway, so for me, whilst UoL is academically brilliant and much better on your CV, there is an elitist issue there and i find that it's not as down to earth as the other Uni's - JMU and Hope. It's not a BIG deal for me, im a grown girl, ive got my own mates at home but it's more slightly annoying/uncomfortable in lectures/tutorials when these snobs think they're either superior to everyone else or trying to be a smart ass. I did have the option of going to JMU but i stayed at UoL after my access course because i'd already settled in and it does look more impressive on your CV.

Now, a couple of my other friends who were on the same Access course at UoL went on to Hope and JMU. Their views are that JMU/Hope is alot more down to earth and non-elitist. They are not biased because they have experienced both Uni's - it's just their own view. I definately wouldn't have minded going to Hope or JMU because well, i like that idea of it being down to earth - makes it easier to settle in and meet more down to earth people. JMU's policy on the admission for Access students is 40%. My mate who went to Hope said that he only needed to get 40% to get into Hope - i was stunned. I slaved my ass off on the Access course at UoL to get over 60% because that's what you need to get accepted into the UoL... From one perspective, it's good that it's set at 40%, it gives those people who struggled doing an Access course a chance to do a degree. Doing an Access course is HARD WORK. I got 64% overall on my Access course - i still didn't feel happy with that because other people on my Access course were getting high 70's and even an 80%!!! That's what i feel about UoL that the view is to get a 1st - anything less isn't really that good. It's real pressure I tell ya! I did 5 essays, a Report and work on SSPS and it DEFINATLEY prepared me for degree level so I am really thankful for UoL for preparing me well through there own Access course. So for Hope and JMU to accept 40% for an Access course is really good - it opens lots of doors to those people who struggled at Access level but can still achieve a 2:1 if presented the opportunity which Hope and JMU have done. On the other hand, 40% is a very low mark and surely means that they're not setting any academic standards in comparision to UoL? You need to get over 60% for UoL because they want the best of the best and they will only accept the brightest of the bright - they have a reputation to uphold don't forget (based on the The Times /The Guardian Top 50 Universities) so I kind of feel privaledged because i have done well to succeed and it will of course............look good on my CV and i am proud to go to UoL because it offers the best of everything, ok, couple of blips in the teaching standards, but that depends on the department. I kind of wish I could have the down to earth feeling of Hope injected into UoL though.

Im doing Business and I could have done that at Hope or JMU but i was happy to stay at an institution that academically is performing better than Hope or JMU. If you want to do Law, Medicine, any Chemistry/Biology/Physics related degree, Engineering or Vetinary then UoL is your BEST bet if you want a career out of those areas. Any other subject then I believe (my own opinion) that it is not as important to go to UoL as it is Hope or JMU. Hope Uni can equally provide great teaching or social work degrees and graduates can get successful careers but when it comes to the hardcore professions that earn megabux, then UoL is your best bet - without a doubt.

Im starting again in September because I wasn't happy with my choice of degree (Business and Italian). I LOVE the Business aspect and do well in that, but the Italian is WAY too intense for me as a complete beginner no A-Level languages. They accepted me on the basis of enthusiasm, ability and the fact that i am a mature student whom was already at UoL doing an Access course. The general admission is that you HAVE to have an A-Level language, but that was overlooked so I was very lucky indeed. I really wanted to do Italian, ive been to Italy a few times, love the language the history etc, but the volume and pace of work was very stressful for me as a mature student and beginner (even in the beginners class!). Ive decided to stay at UoL in September 2010 because I really enjoyed studying the business modules and the level of teaching was brilliant in the lectures, i loved it - even if the snobs got on my nerves (snobs/smart asses were more evident in my Italian classes....). I did consider Hope because they have a Management degree which is RIGHT up my street but i am completely swayed by the whole 'what looks better on the CV' matter even though I would probably feel more comfortable at Hope as more mature students go there than UoL.....(same with JMU).

So if you are wanting a career in the previous named subjects go to UoL, other to that i don't think it really matters what Uni you go to as long as you are happy where you are and what you are studying. It depends what your priorities are and if you want a successful high flying career in top professions, then it is imperative that you go to the better performing Uni. Sad, but true.

When i hear or think of the students who go to JMU i TRY not to judge. i.e. Oh, they only went there because they didn't get the best marks and didn't get accepted into UoL, BUT, it could be that the offer better designed courses, i don't know. I don't want to be snobby because that's not who I am!! lol

By the way, it's quite amusing when I see/hear people say 'i'm at Liverpool Uni' and people usually assume it's JMU - when it's not - it's UoL. If you go to JMU, then people should say JMU.......lol

Another case study, my friend who did her degree at Edge Hill at 29 went on to work in London, then in Bermuda for 5 years doing incredibly well in her career. She did a degree in English. You see, she could have went to UoL and did English there, but she went to Edge Hill and STILL did incredibly well in her career and is now earning a very nice comfortable wage So it just goes to show....

Hi there,
Well, im a first year undergrad at University of Liverpool. Even though it's my first year at degree level, i in fact completed my Access course at the same Uni the year before so I do have the knowledge and experience to give my views of the institution..

I studied at LJMU for four years and achieved a first class masters degree in mechanical engineering. Really cannot fault the teaching and facilities, teaching staff ALWAYS present and on time +/- 5 mins!
I have heard that this is usually not the case at UoL.
I recieved two offers of well paid employment before I even graduated, and in fact turned down another interview. Everybody on my course who worked reasonably hard was in a similar situation.
My point is - FORGET ABOUT WHICH INSTITUTION IS RANKED HALF A POINT HIGHER AND CHOOSE A PROPER DEGREE SUBJECT! Business studies my eye!

Happy Studying,

Dan

EDIT: I seem to recall that JMU recently ranked 1 spot above UoL and 1 spot below manchester for engineering in the league tables. Has 'UoL been resting on their laurels?

Did you do a summer internship during your studies?

no - nor did I do a placement year or anything extra-curricular

very impressive, what companies where they if i may ask?

One was a utilities company, another was within powertrain engineering at a major Chinese auto manufacturers UK based technical centre. got rejected from sellafield after a horrendous video interview. turned down a phone interview with Parsons-Brikerhoff(spelling?), I think they do big civil projects like tunnels etc. but to be honest when I was offered the interview I didn't even remember applying there.

Never heard of the Parsons one... but I know of Sellafield! When do you start work then? I'm sure you accepted one of those offers lol

I take it you graduated with an MEng? Btw what would you say was the hardest year? I keep getting told that the MEng final year is hell and second year...

Yes it was an MEng, I accepted the Utilities one, I start next week.

Without a shadow of a doubt second year felt the most difficult.

If anything fourth year was possibly slightly easier than third year, the biggest difference being that you do a year long industrial group project usually with a fairly big local company.

Congratulations on getting the job ! Did you have any part time jobs during uni at all? Did you also include your projects in your CV to make up for lack of experience?

i did minimum wage type weekend work during maybe half my degree. yes i put a special short section in cv for 3rd and 4th year projects. i think the best thing to do is to very much tailor the cv and especially the covering letter to the company and role i was applying for. i think i also mentioned my interests include tinkering with old cars and stuff - to show maybe some more technical knowledge and interests.