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Did you intentionally choose RG unis?

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Original post by Maths is Life
I'm lost - Are you doing STEP?

Good Unis for Maths I thought would be Durham and Lancaster. O well.

Tbh Manchester may be high on the league tables but I cannot be bothered with the city itself...
I am preparing for the possibility of doing STEP next year. If I do get an offer from UCL then I certainly have to. Also there's the possibilty of Nottingham offering me their rare STEP offer that I'll need to meet. If these offers don't occur and I find that I'm more than ready to take the STEP exams, I will. Err yeah Lancaster, Manchester, Nottingham, UCL etc are good unis for Maths. Durham, not necessarily...
Original post by Yaboi
This can't be serious.


This completely serious. Why wouldn't it be?

The RG unis aren't the best unis. I applied for the top 5 unis for physics outside of London (and excluding Birmingham and Warwick because they were too close to home). I ended up with Oxford, Lancaster, York, Durham and Exeter. I honestly can't tell you which are RG.

Using whether a uni is in the RG or not to determine whether it is good is complete rubbish. Like I said, Lancaster is not in the RG (it was too small a university), but it is one of only 6 universities to be in the top ten across all 3 major league tables (the Times, Complete University Guide, the Guardian.)

Compare this to Liverpool, which is 38th, or Cardiff, which is 35th, or Glasgow, which is 29th (according to the complete university guide). Do you honestly think a university which is ranked 38th is better than a uni ranked in the top ten, just because the uni ranked 38th belongs to some old self selecting research partnership....? :confused:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by loveire&song
This completely serious. Why wouldn't it be?

The RG unis aren't the best unis. I applied for the top 5 unis for physics outside of London (and excluding Birmingham and Warwick because they were too close to home). I ended up with Oxford, Lancaster, York, Durham and Exeter. I honestly can't tell you which are RG.

Using whether a uni is in the RG or not to determine whether it is good is complete rubbish. Like I said, Lancaster is not in the RG (it was too small a university), but it is one of only 6 universities to be in the top ten across all 3 major league tables (the Times, Complete University Guide, the Guardian.)

Compare this to Liverpool, which is 38th, or Cardiff, which is 35th, or Glasgow, which is 29th (according to the complete university guide). Do you honestly think a university which is ranked 38th is better than a uni ranked in the top ten, just because the uni ranked 38th belongs to some old self selecting research partnership....? :confused:


Tremendous post.

The Russell Group is a bunch of ******** and should be forced to disband. Certainly it is not your friend.

I love my (as it happens, RG) Universities and hate the RG like I love football and hate FIFA.
Original post by cambio wechsel
Tremendous post.

The Russell Group is a bunch of ******** and should be forced to disband. Certainly it is not your friend.

I love my (as it happens, RG) Universities and hate the RG like I love football and hate FIFA.


Haha relate to the last bit! :tongue: Also thank you very much! (I've run out of rep to give you, so have the thought of rep instead)

Also, in case it wasn't clear - I also don't think people should *not* pick a RG uni. Obviously, some RG unis are fantastic! But choosing a uni because it's in the RG just seems bizarre (and a very student room!) thing to do. My shortlist was just the best places for my subject where I thought I'd be happiest :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Princepieman
What opportunities?

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was referencing the extra-curricular things Jneill mentioned in his previous post. As we were discussing, Cambridge might not have as good industry links/opportunities as some less academically prestigous uni's, so in context of employers removing uni names this would surely mean that actually those at "lesser" uni's would actually have better graduate opportunities

if you read through the rest of my other messages should get the general gist of the point i was trying to make, cant really remember now, that was yesterday and im still shot from the haa test this morning lol
Original post by Strimpy
was referencing the extra-curricular things Jneill mentioned in his previous post. As we were discussing, Cambridge might not have as good industry links/opportunities as some less academically prestigous uni's, so in context of employers removing uni names this would surely mean that actually those at "lesser" uni's would actually have better graduate opportunities

if you read through the rest of my other messages should get the general gist of the point i was trying to make, cant really remember now, that was yesterday and im still shot from the haa test this morning lol


Don't worry, Cambridge has plenty of industry links, and regular recruitment fairs etc etc.
Original post by jneill
Don't worry, Cambridge has plenty of industry links, and regular recruitment fairs etc etc.


yeah but that doesnt detract from the fact that many of these links are more than equaled at other uni's which are easier to get into, less stress generally and easier to get a good degree classification - to me at least cambridge's main selling point (apart from getting tutorials/amazing courses) is the weight it carries on your CV - which is completely negated if employers choose to ignore which uni you attended

and yes i am just being difficult by this point :tongue:
Original post by Dynamic_Vicz
You could've applied to kent or leicester for mathematics depending on your predicted grades?


Kent (i think liecester is the same) is AAB. i am NOT getting that high, i have confidence but not that much confidence. My two sciences are notroriously hard to get A's in (chemistry and physics, chem i scraped a B and physics i got a D :/)
Original post by Strimpy
and yes i am just being difficult by this point :tongue:


^this

:smile:
Original post by Toasticide
Kent (i think liecester is the same) is AAB. i am NOT getting that high, i have confidence but not that much confidence. My two sciences are notroriously hard to get A's in (chemistry and physics, chem i scraped a B and physics i got a D :/)
Sorry what were your predicted grades again? I mean AS grades aren't the only things universities are looking for in a UCAS application.
Original post by Dynamic_Vicz
Sorry what were your predicted grades again? I mean AS grades aren't the only things universities are looking for in a UCAS application.


well for maths A, chemistry a B (teacher thinks i can get an A but i doubt it, its VERY hard and i scraped a B in the AS) for physics a B (again im thinking a C, got a D at AS but purely cause exam was horrible)
for further maths AS i think my targets an A, im finding it really easy
so yeh my personal targets are ABCa but my teachers are convinced ill get AABa
Original post by Toasticide
well for maths A, chemistry a B (teacher thinks i can get an A but i doubt it, its VERY hard and i scraped a B in the AS) for physics a B (again im thinking a C, got a D at AS but purely cause exam was horrible)
for further maths AS i think my targets an A, im finding it really easy
so yeh my personal targets are ABCa but my teachers are convinced ill get AABa
I believe that a strong PS combined with your AABa prediction can certainly get you an offer from them. I suggest you think about your situation in a positive light and use it as a drive for you to achieve/exceed your teachers predictions. I got a D at AS for Chemistry. I'm predicted a C at A2 due to my college's grade policy but I know that it is well within my ability to achieve an A at A2.
Reply 152
Original post by loveire&song
This completely serious. Why wouldn't it be?

The RG unis aren't the best unis. I applied for the top 5 unis for physics outside of London (and excluding Birmingham and Warwick because they were too close to home). I ended up with Oxford, Lancaster, York, Durham and Exeter. I honestly can't tell you which are RG.

Using whether a uni is in the RG or not to determine whether it is good is complete rubbish. Like I said, Lancaster is not in the RG (it was too small a university), but it is one of only 6 universities to be in the top ten across all 3 major league tables (the Times, Complete University Guide, the Guardian.)

Compare this to Liverpool, which is 38th, or Cardiff, which is 35th, or Glasgow, which is 29th (according to the complete university guide). Do you honestly think a university which is ranked 38th is better than a uni ranked in the top ten, just because the uni ranked 38th belongs to some old self selecting research partnership....? :confused:


Rankings don't mean much, being in the RG doesn't mean much but prestige counts. Just never heard of someone with your grades choosing to go to Lancaster over the others.
Original post by Yaboi
Rankings don't mean much, being in the RG doesn't mean much but prestige counts. Just never heard of someone with your grades choosing to go to Lancaster over the others.


Everyone on my course has A*AA or better, so you clearly haven't met many people who go to Lancaster. Lancaster is a fantastic university, with fantastic world-leading research. Just because it's not "old" or full of people who went to private schools - basically what seems to make a university qualify as prestigious - doesn't make it any worse.

Also, rankings mean a lot more than "prestige", in terms of postgrad prospects. If you want to go into employment rather than a postgrad, a good degree in a strong subject from a top 20 university is virtually indistinguishable from a good degree in the same subject from another top 20 university. Work experience and degree classifcation matter so much more than the university you went to.

Outside of thestudentroom, nobody cares whether you chose Bath or Durham or Liverpool etc. People here get way too hung up on it. You should choose somewhere good for your course, with good quality research if you want to do an undergrad masters degree, with the kind of course structure and content that you want, and an atmosphere that you like. Choosing based on anything else, like whether it's in the RG or not, is stupid.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Yaboi
Rankings don't mean much, being in the RG doesn't mean much but prestige counts. Just never heard of someone with your grades choosing to go to Lancaster over the others.


Tbh, you'd be surprised. A lot of people on my course at Swansea got A*AA-AAA, ditto Law, Maths and Engineering.

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Original post by izpenguin
I didn't care about russell group. I applied for one Russell group which I got into (Exeter) but instead went to a non-RG (Lancaster).


Woo snap! I also had an offer from Exeter haha!
Which college are you in / which subject are you doing?
I'm Furness, first year physics :smile:
Original post by Princepieman
Tbh, you'd be surprised. A lot of people on my course at Swansea got A*AA-AAA, ditto Law, Maths and Engineering.

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Mind me asking what you're studying at Swansea?


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Original post by Dynamic_Vicz
I am preparing for the possibility of doing STEP next year. If I do get an offer from UCL then I certainly have to. Also there's the possibilty of Nottingham offering me their rare STEP offer that I'll need to meet. If these offers don't occur and I find that I'm more than ready to take the STEP exams, I will. Err yeah Lancaster, Manchester, Nottingham, UCL etc are good unis for Maths. Durham, not necessarily...


Not necessarily Durham? Looks too boring?
Which admissions test have you done/are preparing for?

Guessing you're also taking the AEA?
Original post by nemanuel96
Mind me asking what you're studying at Swansea?


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CompSci

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Nice, are you set on a career in IB or open to alternatives?


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