Aerospace Engineering

I have been looking at Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, Loughborough, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol and Coventry. Which out of these offer the best aerospace courses?

All of the courses seem similar and have the same entry requirements of AAB-ABB. I am likely to be predicted BBB-BBC, which out of the above 8 unis should I apply for? Taking in mind job prospects afterwards, should I apply for a year in industry as well?

Is a mechanical engineering degree better than an aerospace degree?

Both aerospace and mechanical engineering degrees are highly valued and I think it would be unfair to attempt to classify one as better than the other.

An aerospace engineering degree is usually much more broader than a mechanical engineering degree, in the sense that the topics covered will usually widely range from electrical engineering to mechanical engineering to control systems engineering and so on. For that reason, aerospace engineering is sometimes classified the harder degree but in reality, both of them are difficult courses.

When it comes to job prospects, aerospace engineering has both it's pros and cons when compared to mechanical engineering. Some companies will want pure mechanical engineering graduates and therefore may not accept aerospace engineering students, however the flexibility and broadness of the aerospace engineering degree will usually mean you can apply for a much broader range of jobs than one would expect. Despite aerospace engineering being a specialised discipline, it will not shoe horn you into a corner whereby you can only apply for aerospace related jobs, and in a sense, that's the beauty of it.

From the universities you listed, the ones that jumped out at me as the ones I recognized for engineering were Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, Loughborough and Nottingham, but quite frankly, they're all good universities. One other university that I would throw into the mix is Swansea University which appears to be on the rise, and has very competitive entry requirements.

A sandwich degree (year in industry) will definitely help towards future employment, as employers do often look for experience, and graduates with a history of internships/year in industry, will definitely stand out.

If you are going to be predicted a BBB/BBC then do make sure you are pragmatic and realistic when it comes to the universities you apply for. Whilst a lot of universities these days will usually accept students who achieved below-offer, it's never a guarantee and therefore it is always a good idea to ensure that your insurance offer at minimum, is a university with requirements that don't exceed your predicted grades.