Mechanical Engineering at Exeter

I really like Exeter Uni as a place but am worried about the Mechanical Engineering course as it does not rank well compared to other courses and am worried about employability after the course. I also have Loughborough, Birmingham and Nottingham but prefer Exeter as a place. Does anyone know about the reputation of the Exeter engineering dept?

Reply 1

Doones

Original post by osc12

Go to Exeter.

The employability is absolutely fine, and will be even better if you do your year in industry. Engineering companies are not that interested in your uni. They are interested in you.

(And rankingwise there's not much to choose between the top 30 - they jump around from year to year. And different rankings say different things. THE puts Exeter at #9 in the UK for Engineering and Technology : https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/subject-ranking/engineering-and-IT-0#!/page/0/length/25 )

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 2

osc12

Thanks for this. Is it a problem that the Meng at Exeter comes only with 8-12 weeks industrial experience rather than a full year in Industry? would that effect employability?

Reply 3

Doones

Original post by osc12

Thanks for this. Is it a problem that the Meng at Exeter comes only with 8-12 weeks industrial experience rather than a full year in Industry? would that effect employability?

Well a full year would be better... (I actually thought it was a full year when I glanced at it on unistats.) ... but it's not a deal breaker.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 4

osc12

Just feeling quite wary as keep reading negative stuff about teaching and facilities on forums, not sure what to do......

Reply 5

Doones

Original post by osc12

Just feeling quite wary as keep reading negative stuff about teaching and facilities on forums, not sure what to do......

Such as? This opinion of 1 student - or more...?
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3927591

Unistats says 91% student satisfaction.

Have you visited? Spoken to current students (they may not necessarily be representative but still worth doing...)?

Reply 6

osc12

You're right. Its just hard to ignore negative comments and I am not sure how to reach the current students?

Reply 7

Doones

Original post by osc12

You're right. Its just hard to ignore negative comments and I am not sure how to reach the current students?

By visiting. Do they have an offer holder day?

Reply 8

Doones

Exeter Engineering reviews:
http://www.whatuni.com/university-course-reviews/search/?university-name=university-of-exeter&collegeId=3740&subject=X&keyword=

Reply 9

robbor

Original post by osc12

You're right. Its just hard to ignore negative comments and I am not sure how to reach the current students?

Just found that my thread was quoted, and even after that bad 'review', I still ended up accepting my offer from Exeter, so I'll be going there in a month!

I figured the following:

1. Engineering in general is treated in a rather old fashioned way throughout most UK universities, so most building s and facilities will be quite old, and the lecturers may well be smart but not communicative. This is a fundamental problem with Engineering in the UK, and unfortunately something one has to deal with.
2. Even with the odd other uni with a really good engineering department, you need to consider other aspects. If you go to a uni with an amazing engineering department, but with the downside that it's in the middle of nowhere, you hate the area etc. then you'll more than likely dislike your time there. If you go somewhere like Exeter, with a decent engineering department, you have all the other amazing aspects of life that Exeter has to offer (in my case that is Surfing, Mountain Biking, Climbing etc.) and although my studies are my priority, without these other luxuries I would really struggle to keep motivated.
3. Who really knows what's going to happen so screw it and throw the dice a little.
4. Engineering, as said above, is more judgmental on the experience you have rather than the uni you went to. And even if they are looking at the uni, Exeter is still Russel group so it looks good anyway, as well as being in the top 100 for engineering in the world.

At the end of the day different people have very different reasons for applying to whichever University the went for. Other people should only have a small input to your decision, especially people who are reviewing something from the inside. You'll find that the may well be biased for one reason or another, which isn't necessarily healthy for someone trying to make a decision about a place for themselves.

I know this reply is a bit late but I hope you are happy with whichever university you applied for, and if that was Exeter, I wish you the best in your exams and I'll see you in September!