The Student Room Group

Overrated Universities.

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Hulkamaniac
Places which people claim are good or elite but are hardly prestigious beyond UK shores and are nowhere near the level of Oxbridge or the big 5.

They're pretentious and exist just massage the ego of so-called "Oxbridge Rejects". I detest that title because it somehow suggests those students were good enough to gain admission to Oxbridge but the reality is they weren't, they never were. They were simply "Oxbridge Applicants". Many people can be Oxbridge rejects.

But yeah such universities which seem to have inflated their own self-worth but let's be honest, nobody considers them prestigious or selective or exclusive or as a breeding ground for future leaders in their field:

- St Andrew's

- Manchester

- Exeter

- Durham

- York

- Leeds

- Sheffield

- Birmingham

- Newcastle

- Southampton

- Sussex

- Bath

- Loughborough

- Surrey



All incredibly overrated moronic institutions which anyone with half a brain cell i.e. AAB-ABB could gain entry to. Not exactly an exclusive society that lives and breathes academia, steeped in history or inspirational for the next batch of corporate, academic, political, scientific leaders.

Apart from Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial, King's College London, and possibly Edinburgh, Bristol and Nottingham (and the odd specialist college or institution like LSHTM), the rest are a bit rubbish aren't they?


I actually go to one of the universities you've listed as overrated. And I must say, I agree with everything you've just said :tongue:
Original post by LordPhylogeny
This is only one example cause I don't want to single people out but seriously...are we really laughing out loud in the faces of people because they aren't as intelligent as us?


Last time I applied for Uni I applied to Brooks and Cambridge. I must be that rare one ha
Seriously this person Hulkamaniac is just posting this thread to make it seem as if his alma mater Nottingham is a good university or something. Its one of his obsessions, creating multiple accounts like "Hulk Hogan", its always the same message, something something these are the best uni and Nottingham is always included...
Original post by Okorange
Seriously this person Hulkamaniac is just posting this thread to make it seem as if his alma mater Nottingham is a good university or something. Its one of his obsessions, creating multiple accounts like "Hulk Hogan", its always the same message, something something these are the best uni and Nottingham is always included...


Finally someone who wasn't completely manipulated by the idea that they are better than everyone
Reply 104
Original post by solarplexus
Oxbridge
Imperial
UCL
LSE
Edinburgh for medicine and vetmedicine only.
KCL and Barts for medicine and dentistry only.
RVC for vetmed obvs.
Perhaps Warwick for Mathematics/Economics/Business/Finance etc. Perhaps. Perhaps.
These places above are Tier 1 maybe verging on to Tier 2 as the Americans say. Comparable to the Ivies, Stanford, Berekeley, MIT and Caltech etc. (Edinburgh Medicine is comparable to UPenn Medicine for example).

that's it IMO...everything else tries to be 'elite' as the OP said but they don't really carry the same weight as these institutions. I know some arty farty person will say that Durham (and its pathetic 'comparable to oxbridge' collegiate system) carries weight - maybe it does. I would say between tier 1 and tier 2.


I notice places like Bristol, Exeter, St Andrews and Edinburgh (except for medicine) especially are typically for the public schooled 'clever but not that clever' people who wanted to go somewhere 'good but not elite'. These are deffo tier 2 institutions - like NYU or Washington lol.

Places like Birmingham are just plain run of the mill mediocrity (apart from med and dent). Universities like that are in reach of the general population (not the elite), thus anyone can get in. Tier 3.

Tier 4 are places like Manchester Met or even Oxford Brookes. Now that is going to university just for the sake of going to university. LOLZZZZZZZ


I don't really understand how you think you are in the right to give this opinion about these universities i.e. Manchester Met and Oxford Brookes? It's just incredibly offensive?!
Original post by solarplexus
Oxbridge
Imperial
UCL
LSE
Edinburgh for medicine and vetmedicine only.
KCL and Barts for medicine and dentistry only.
RVC for vetmed obvs.
Perhaps Warwick for Mathematics/Economics/Business/Finance etc. Perhaps. Perhaps.
These places above are Tier 1 maybe verging on to Tier 2 as the Americans say. Comparable to the Ivies, Stanford, Berekeley, MIT and Caltech etc. (Edinburgh Medicine is comparable to UPenn Medicine for example).

that's it IMO...everything else tries to be 'elite' as the OP said but they don't really carry the same weight as these institutions. I know some arty farty person will say that Durham (and its pathetic 'comparable to oxbridge' collegiate system) carries weight - maybe it does. I would say between tier 1 and tier 2.


I notice places like Bristol, Exeter, St Andrews and Edinburgh (except for medicine) especially are typically for the public schooled 'clever but not that clever' people who wanted to go somewhere 'good but not elite'. These are deffo tier 2 institutions - like NYU or Washington lol.

Places like Birmingham are just plain run of the mill mediocrity (apart from med and dent). Universities like that are in reach of the general population (not the elite), thus anyone can get in. Tier 3.

Tier 4 are places like Manchester Met or even Oxford Brookes. Now that is going to university just for the sake of going to university. LOLZZZZZZZ


Considering Oxford Brookes was only formed around 20 years ago, to be how good they are as a university now already is very impressive you shouldn't mock that. I know they're not a big uni but they've been growing rapidly don't disregard that.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 106
Places like Birmingham are just plain run of the mill mediocrity (apart from med and dent)

What is the evidence for selecting med and dent here? Not from the ucas points in intake for certain.
Reply 107
Original post by solarplexus


Places like Birmingham are just plain run of the mill mediocrity (apart from med and dent). Universities like that are in reach of the general population (not the elite), thus anyone can get in. Tier 3.

Z


What is evidence for med/dent at Bham being only non-mediocre s
subjects?
Reply 108
Original post by LordPhylogeny
The fact that everyone seems to agree with Hulk infuriates me, The fact is that most of these people have not experienced whether or not going to a top university will get you in to a better job, it is about who you are as a person which will get you the job.

I do agree with OP in the sense that going to some of the lower league universities won't stand you in as good stead as others but comparing say Nottingham with Warwick...What is wrong with everyone here!!

going to Oxford or Cambridge is great but the fact is most people can get the same jobs they can by going to uni's that offer AAB-AAA. You aren't going to get a job purely based on the fact you got a first from Oxford. If you aren't an employable person like the OP sounds like then you won't get that particular job.

Besides, not that I'm endorsing it as a living but footballers, singers and so on have all had very minimal educations and make way more than the average Oxbridge graduate. Because they have a talent, a skill that most other people cannot do.

If more people spent their time doing stuff for charity/helping others rather than criticizing those they feel are beneath them, this country would be a much better place...

Almost every person here has made me lose a bit of faith in humanity cause sometimes you think this world could be so much better but it is elitists like you that will make that ever impossible#



This is only one example cause I don't want to single people out but seriously...are we really laughing out loud in the faces of people because they aren't as intelligent as us?

Agree with everything you've said. The OP appears to be an elitist, intellectual-snob
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Hulkamaniac
Places which people claim are good or elite but are hardly prestigious beyond UK shores and are nowhere near the level of Oxbridge or the big 5.

They're pretentious and exist just massage the ego of so-called "Oxbridge Rejects". I detest that title because it somehow suggests those students were good enough to gain admission to Oxbridge but the reality is they weren't, they never were. They were simply "Oxbridge Applicants". Many people can be Oxbridge rejects.

But yeah such universities which seem to have inflated their own self-worth but let's be honest, nobody considers them prestigious or selective or exclusive or as a breeding ground for future leaders in their field:

- St Andrew's

- Manchester

- Exeter

- Durham

- York

- Leeds

- Sheffield

- Birmingham

- Newcastle

- Southampton

- Sussex

- Bath

- Loughborough

- Surrey



All incredibly overrated moronic institutions which anyone with half a brain cell i.e. AAB-ABB could gain entry to. Not exactly an exclusive society that lives and breathes academia, steeped in history or inspirational for the next batch of corporate, academic, political, scientific leaders.

Apart from Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial, King's College London, and possibly Edinburgh, Bristol and Nottingham (and the odd specialist college or institution like LSHTM), the rest are a bit rubbish aren't they?


It would be any universities with hardly any achievements in their histories where many of their current students tend to attempt to claim their university is comparable, or second tier, to Oxbridge due to the fact of some league table they saw and many of these students are eager to always spread this falsehood.
Original post by TroyAndAbed
Not to the extent of Oxbridge though. Oxbridge are frequently mentioned in mainstream US media & known to the majority of people whereas I've not heard LSE mentioned once and doubt many would know it was a university.


The smart, intellectual President Barlett of the West Wing series was written to have attended LSE.
Original post by Hulkamaniac
Leicester

UEA

Dundee

Cardiff

Queen's Belfast

Liverpool

Lancaster

All make the crud list


I'm surprised you say UEA, simply because I know so many people that have never heard of it!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Wait... Nottingham is perhaps on OP's list... but Durham is not?

As I am a Finance guy I will speak in terms of that. Investment banking is one of the top jobs you can get. Fact. Thus using this as the template, they target certain universities as to hand pluck the best for their institutions.

The top 10 universities as of recently are:

1. LSE
2. UCL
=3. University of Cambridge
=3. University of Oxford
5. University of Warwick
6. Durham University
7. University of Manchester
8. University of Nottingham
9. University of Bath
10. University of Bristol

Source (If you have linkedIn):
https://www.linkedin.com/edu/rankings/gb/undergraduate-investment-banking?trk=edu-rankings-ctg-card

And before you say anything about it's to do with the business school, no. They pick university > course. You can get in with a language degree, law degree, history degree... etc.
Unless a university is in the World top 20 of a major ranking (QS, THES, ARWU), it has no weight to call itself as prestigious. That includes the Ivy League universities in the USA and the Russell Group universities in the UK.
@Hulkamaniac

Hi OP. I agree with you with many of the unis on your list as being overrated but I have to disagree with you on Durham. I also saw that you touched on the prestige level of the unis beyond UK's shores? Well let me let you in on a few secrets.

1) Most international students from real proper first world countries will always and only apply to Oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, SOAS, Queen Mary, KCL, Nottingham, Warwick, Bristol and Durham.

2) Many students from second world countries will usually apply to the Russell Group unis because many of these unis have student agencies in those countries to recruit these students. Also these RG unis have affiliations to schools in these second world countries where students do the first year of their degree in their home country and finish the remaining two years in UK at the RG uni.

3) Students from third world countries will simply apply to just any British uni that they can get into. Most of them are not interested to study. They merely want to get into UK, study at the uni for a few weeks and then link up with their relatives who're either in UK running small businesses or have set up shop in Europe.

The other group of students from these third world countries enter UK on a student visa, go for classes at uni for a few weeks and then disappear to join the British military because you get British citizenship after you finish your contract with the army, along with many other perks.

Ok. I see that you've been banned :frown: Why do all the good forum members who add value to this forum with their good productive posts always get banned?
Universities just keep the economy going, stop being elitist non thinking entities.
Original post by Blur Ella
@Hulkamaniac

Hi OP. I agree with you with many of the unis on your list as being overrated but I have to disagree with you on Durham. I also saw that you touched on the prestige level of the unis beyond UK's shores? Well let me let you in on a few secrets.

1) Most international students from real proper first world countries will always and only apply to Oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, SOAS, Queen Mary, KCL, Nottingham, Warwick, Bristol and Durham.

2) Many students from second world countries will usually apply to the Russell Group unis because many of these unis have student agencies in those countries to recruit these students. Also these RG unis have affiliations to schools in these second world countries where students do the first year of their degree in their home country and finish the remaining two years in UK at the RG uni.

3) Students from third world countries will simply apply to just any British uni that they can get into. Most of them are not interested to study. They merely want to get into UK, study at the uni for a few weeks and then link up with their relatives who're either in UK running small businesses or have set up shop in Europe.

The other group of students from these third world countries enter UK on a student visa, go for classes at uni for a few weeks and then disappear to join the British military because you get British citizenship after you finish your contract with the army, along with many other perks.

Ok. I see that you've been banned :frown: Why do all the good forum members who add value to this forum with their good productive posts always get banned?


1. I applied to St Andrews... for Medicine and I am from a first world country. North Americans comprise 15% of the student body. Mind blown...
Original post by Okorange
1. I applied to St Andrews... for Medicine and I am from a first world country. North Americans comprise 15% of the student body. Mind blown...


I said 'most', 1) Most international students from real proper first world countries will always and only apply to Oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, SOAS, Queen Mary, KCL, Nottingham, Warwick, Bristol and Durham.
Original post by Blur Ella
I said 'most', 1) Most international students from real proper first world countries will always and only apply to Oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, SOAS, Queen Mary, KCL, Nottingham, Warwick, Bristol and Durham.


I'd replace Durham with Birmingham for sure. Who in India or China has heard of Durham?
Original post by King of the Ring
I'd replace Durham with Birmingham for sure. Who in India or China has heard of Durham?


That is your view and I respect your right to have a view. Anyways most Indian students apply to Russell Group unis with an eye to secure a job and then hopefully British citizenship. Most Chinese students apply to almost any British uni that is willing to accept them. After they complete their degrees they then cross over to America or Canada to do their Masters and settle down there. There don't want to return to China because they can't stand being ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Quick Reply

Latest