Easiest degree to do (@ a top 20 uni)

Not necessarily for a top 20 university, where they have to reject many top-quality applicants. If the OP really does manage to write an incredible personal statement they may squeeze out a more deserving candidate.

That's why I don't like academia, there's not the same sort of competition, or powerplay, or clear set goal. If I got a 1st in Mathematics from Cambridge - I haven't beaten anyone. If I solve some mathematic formula, well there's another one just around the corner. I could write literature forever and never hit a bestseller. The lawyer I was talking to bought himself a mansion with a ballroom and a massive swimming pool with the bonus he got. That's competing for something. That's winning.

And they will squeeze less out of the ones who don't strive for a 2.1.

They don't reject many top quality applicants lol - if you can't get into a top 20 university you're not quality, tbh a top quality applicant is an Oxford probable, not someone who scrapes into Bath.

What's deserving - university isn't like a big playpark for people to selfishly indulge in a bit of education and self experimentation on the taxpayer - which is how you seem to see it anyway (well the first part tbh, not the self experimentation).

Are you on the same planet as me?! When I went for my Oxford interviews there were no applicants for my course who were noticeably weaker than the rest. They were all "top quality," any of them could probably have done well, yet the majority of them won't have got in due to the number of places on offer.

And yes, I do see university as primarily academic (shock horror!). That's sort of the point, particularly at a top 20 university. There's nothing wrong with the taxpayer contributing to education (we'll all be taxpayers ourselves in a few years anyway). Drinking and partying WITHOUT any work is a different matter.

i don't have a problem with the OPs attitude/reason for wanting a degree. 'as a means to an end' is as good a reason as 'interest in the subject'. what's the issue? he's not hurting anyone, he's aiming for a 2.1 and he plans to pay it back. why is that so offensive?

We're probably all overreacting somewhat. But when you've worked really hard to get into your university of choice the idea of someone who doesn't even particularly want to study just waltzing in is pretty aggravating.

Personally, I dislike the OP's attitude- only wanting to put in the bare minimum of effort and expecting to walk away into a decent job. I know it's perfectly possible and a lot of people probably have the same attitude, but it really bugs me

Only to your unexperienced eye, not the Oxford interviewers

To a brilliant person it's probably pretty aggravating that a mediocre person can study hard and just 'have a passion' and on paper seem to be equally clever.

Honestly, if you don't have a drive to study a subject I doubt anything is going to be "easy".

Personally I don't see the point of incurring a debt of £20,000 or so if you're not motivated to study a subject. Do you know how tough it is to get a job even with a 2:1 from a top twenty uni? Even Oxbridge grads sometimes have to spend a few years hunting for employment.

Not to mention how difficult it is to get into a top twenty uni in the first place, even if you are genuinely passionate about the subject.

Sorry if I sound bitter. I've wanted to study Classics for ages, and have to face the very real possibility that I will be rejected from my top two choices regardless of the fact that I've worked my arse off to get the required grades etc. So the idea of someone walking into a top twenty uni with no real drive to study a subject kind of annoys me. It's more anger with the state of the world, and the notion that everyone "must" have degrees to be of value. But arrrrgh.

To be honest, I'm not convinced that they tell the truth when they say that.
I had a friend that "would turn Cambridge down for Durham anyway, because Durham's where I really want to go..." and then changed her tune once she got in to Cambridge.

Urgh.

Basically, I'm a slimy green pool of jealousy.

I can't believe people are overreacting like this.Though it's not exactly ethical, and it would be ideal to actually be passionate about what you're about to study at university, the op's attitude is common with many people. Some of them are not even fairly smart, but do get out of university with a degree, work their way up into a company and boss other other people around.

Don't tell me all those who study Marketing or Management, Media Studies or Social Studies are pursuing a lifelong dream. And if you are at least mediocre academically, society does expect you to attend higher education, so it's understandable that if your family went thourgh it, all your friends go to university, you'll want to go too.

That is why I tend to look down on Humanities and other easy subjects, but I'm not being unreasonable.I know people who are doing or planning to do exactly like the op, and some of them are pretty clever and fun to be around.I just find it hard to believe that those degrees carry any weight in the real world or that most students have much beside a vague interest in such degrees, compared to uni life, broadly speaking. Anyway, not everyone can decide what they'd like to do and what they are best at doing at this age. Personally, I'm planning to do a "serious" degree, and I've proved I am passionate about the subject, but I too have been through a phase where I'd lost all motivation and didn't feel very "academical".

I think many of us are feeling the stress of the whole UCAS thing and the OP's sort of attitude is particularly irritating right now What you say is true, but it's such a shame it's so commonplace

Out of interest, what subject are you applying for?

I know, I know.I've been more radical about this in the past actually but I toned down.
This time next year, I might be proud to be either a Mathematics and Computer Science or a Medical Physics student.

I think it was a joke