Are universities with low entry requirements bad?

Hi!i finished High School (EU,non UK)3 years ago and now i am planing to take my Exam and apply to Mechanical Engineering or Computer Science . I am not sure about my result in the exam and i don t know what to do.Should i apply to a university with lower entry requirements or at a uni with high entry req. But with foundation year?

Does it means that a university with low entry requirements is bad,or it means that the uni is designed to take you from a lower level and bring you to a high level as an uni with high entry requirements?

I am also afraid that i may meet the entry requirements but i will not be prepared for uni an i will struggle trying to keep up.But i also don t want to go to a bad university,i want to get the best from uni even if it means that i have to make a year more if the difference between the quality of courses is too big.I really don t know what to do and i don t have to much time left to make a decision,please help me with some opinions experiences...Do unis have programs for student suport if they have problems with courses or language?

Reply 1

kkboyk

Well... it's true to an extent mostly with those generally right at the bottom (in league tables and entry requirement) when you compare it with those with stronger reputation in the field with higher entry requirement, but in general entry requirement

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quality. Many unis inflate their entry requirement to stay competitive, so not all unis with high entry requirement will have a good course or facilities. One thing to know is that those with higher entry requirement will generally attract brighter and more motivated students.

The factors you should focus on are:

If the engineering school is well known: schools that are well known have better connection to the industry, thus are recruited far more than those without connection.

If your uni offers area of speciality you're interested in: each uni specialises in different things and tend to have more connection with companies related to their specialty.

If the engineering school offers internship or work experience opportunities: includes year in placement, workshops, work experience module etc.

The balance between theory and practical: generally speaking many unis with lower entry requirement have a more practical approach aimed in improving graduate prospect by teaching industry related skills. A good example are Swansea, Strathclyde and Heriot Watt, strongly focusing on vocational training. Their research tends to be closely linked to industry (thus why their graduate prospect are high despite their entry requirement being lower).

Course accreditation: accreditation of your Engineering degree is very important, because if it is not accredited you may not be able to legally work as an Engineer, not only in your own country but in most countries in the World

If you can afford that uni: course fees and living costs vary between uni.

Other opportunities available at the uni: this includes societies and clubs, local social opportunities and others.

My take is, choose the uni with grades that are realistic for you to achieve and meets all the other points above. Its worth to research them properly.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 2

Baleroc

Original post by Ejdnsjss

I would recommend taking a foundation year at a university that has high entry requirements, rather than taking a place at a lower ranked university.

Depending on your field, taking a place at a lower entry level university is almost never worth it. In Computer Science, the content you learn would be no more difficult than A-level computer science - which would be a waste of money.

I have seen vast differences in difficulty between computer science degrees, and the ones that are at low entry level universities, are almost never worth it. I would recommend taking a place at a higher entry-level university for a engineering or computer science related degree, or, you could go back to school and get your grades up if that's an option.

Overall, my advice is: get a place at a highly ranked university. If you can't, get a foundation year for that university. Otherwise, perhaps resit a year and get your grades up to get into the desired university. Only if absolutely desperate, would you need a degree at a lower ranked university in a computer science or engineering related-degree.

Note: for most other fields (e.g History, Journalism, English, etc), this does not apply. However, for STEM-related degrees, the university matters a lot.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

trapking

Original post by Baleroc

How many more threads do you want to see of so called students at these "high ranking" universities posting about how they are jobless for X years post graduation?

All of this is pointless post graduation, it really is. To OP don't let online stigmas dictate your choices, just go where you like best and work hard when you're there.

Reply 4

trapking

There are people who went to Manchester Met (for example) and are having some of the most successful careers around but if you listen to TSR you'll think your degree is useless (to be fair all degrees are pointless even I'm starting to see that but that's another debate for another day).

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 5

v1ctorvoorh33s

Original post by Baleroc

I disagree. engineering and computer science are the fields where your knowledge and experience matters a lot and your university reputation doesn't matter in most cases. There are many software engineering jobs where employers don't even ask for a degree but ask for knowledge in broad areas and projects that you have made or contributed in the past. For more academic subjects like physics and maths, university reputation matters but not that much.

I also disagree with the other statement where you said for history, english etc, university does not matter. University matters a lot for such academic subjects. Law, economics and finance are perfect examples where unless you're from Oxbridge, Imperial, LSE, Durham or Warwick, you will not find post graduation easy.