The Student Room Group

Does it actually matter what university you go to?

There are lots of rankings and by the looks of it everyone seems to be obsessed with them and use them as a guidance when applying to university.Does it really matter whether the university is very reputable or not?Also if someone applies for the same course at different universities with very different entry requirements will the course be up to the same standard?Or does it not matter at all which university you attend and it only matters whether you get a 2:1 minimum?
Reply 1
Avatar for Sataris
Sataris
21
Academia cares about academia the most. If you're looking for further study, the reputation of the university will be much more nuanced in the academic sphere, so where you went matters more to the people looking over your application. Employers, on the other hand, tend not to know their Leeds from their Lincoln, and as such the name isn't so important. Obviously Oxbridge / London elite will make your CV stand out, but beyond that...
Original post by Anonymous1502
There are lots of rankings and by the looks of it everyone seems to be obsessed with them and use them as a guidance when applying to university.Does it really matter whether the university is very reputable or not?Also if someone applies for the same course at different universities with very different entry requirements will the course be up to the same standard?Or does it not matter at all which university you attend and it only matters whether you get a 2:1 minimum?

When taken to extremes, it obviously does matter. Differences of a few places in rankings aren't going to.

Do you think that someone scraping three 'A' levels will, in 3 years, achieve the same academic standard as someone that got four A*s? Whilst it's not impossible, it's not going to be common. Having said that, it's not just academics that matter for most careers.

Some courses have nationwide standards to meet. Many don't.
(edited 5 years ago)
It really depends what field you want to go into. For instance, if you want to work in a city law firm, youl'll have an easier time with a 2:2 in History from Oxbridge/Cambridge than you would do if you had a law degree from London Met or somewhere.
Original post by Anonymous1502
There are lots of rankings and by the looks of it everyone seems to be obsessed with them and use them as a guidance when applying to university.Does it really matter whether the university is very reputable or not?Also if someone applies for the same course at different universities with very different entry requirements will the course be up to the same standard?Or does it not matter at all which university you attend and it only matters whether you get a 2:1 minimum?

Very much depends on what course you are doing? The league tables are flawed in some ways but they do at least give applicants some idea about which Unis they should be researching
Reply 5
Avatar for Molseh
Molseh
19
As a side note to this, what rankings are viewed as the most accurate/reliable/informative?
Original post by Molseh
As a side note to this, what rankings are viewed as the most accurate/reliable/informative?

The Complete University Guide or The Times/Sunday Times. The one that people often find a bit odd is the Guardian one but they are more focussed on student satisfaction so weaker Unis could perform well on that measure

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