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Students at Cornwall campus, University of Exeter
University of Exeter
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Exeter Uni - Full of posh people?

Ive heard from a few different places that exeter uni is overrun with/has lots of posh people (sloanes or whatever you wanna call them) although some of those reviews were quite dated (2001)

Im considering accepting them as my firm choice for this september, so it would be helpful if a current/recent student of exeter uni could help me out

Cheers :smile: x

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Reply 1
In short...No
Students at Cornwall campus, University of Exeter
University of Exeter
Exeter
i've got cousins down at exeter. stayed over there for few days.
gosh did i hate the people there...suck outs
think they kno everythin
Reply 3
TheSpecialOne
i've got cousins down at exeter. stayed over there for few days.
gosh did i hate the people there...suck outs
think they kno everythin


I went down there a few weeks ago to see a couple of friends (staying in their halls).
It's like every uni, there will be people you will have and won't have time for.
It's a very good university on a beautiful campus, close to the city with a good night-life.
The Image of the "Middle class fortress" is no longer visible!
You'll love it!
Espley123
Ive heard from a few different places that exeter uni is overrun with/has lots of posh people (sloanes or whatever you wanna call them) although some of those reviews were quite dated (2001)

Im considering accepting them as my firm choice for this september, so it would be helpful if a current/recent student of exeter uni could help me out

Cheers :smile: x


Thing is with this, you'll get some people going "no it's not full of posh people they're just normal like me" and other people going "yeah it's full of them they're really irritating" so it's something you'll have to decide for yourself really.

I'm a 3rd year and I've got to be honest, I'm so glad I'm nearly done with uni. Exeter the place is lovely, the campus is lovely (although they are building a new thing which means they've knocked down loads of trees) but I come from up north (manchester) and to me, there are so many sloane clones. I've never seen a group of people look so exactly the same. (Someone from the guardian who went to Exeter years ago came back in october and then wrote an article mentioning a kind of Jack willis hooded uniform everyone seems to wear which is spot on).

I'm sure that the vast majority of people are lovely but I'm so aware of class issues now (to the point that i'm an inverted snob) and this didn't even occur to me before uni.
It's full of white middle class racists according to some people.
Reply 6
Nooo,
Of course there are some,
But where aren't there?
Reply 7
When I went to my brothers open day there, I was with all the guests i.e. parents of applicants... they seemed very middle class and snobby :x Cant say much for the applicants thoughhh. Professors were nice!
But where aren't there?


Tiverton Polytechnic
Reply 9
There are quite a few of 'that type' here, but to be honest I imagine you're going to get that at any top uni. Yes they are here, yes they're irritating, but you can avoid them very easily if you want. Also, they're not all bad! (well some are nice :p:)
The majority of people you'll meet will have gone to public school and this will be quite evident on your first day when a lot of people already know each other/know each other's friends. I don't see why this would stop you from coming here though. I don't really see why it's a problem.
Reply 11
Check out the "overheard exeter uni" group on facebook. A lot of the humour is directed at "rahs" - sure, there are plenty of pony-riding-well-off-young-gentlemen, but with thousands of students there's a great mix of people :smile:
i attended a post-offer open day on wednesday and i spent about 10 hours on the campus. majority of the people i saw were white, but still, i saw LOADS of asian people, a few from india and even quite a few black people.. so the social mix really isn't THAT bad.. besides they told us that the amount of international applications has increased a LOT this year. and they told us a few numbers about international students and it included a lot of people from china, US and other countries too.

as for the rah/posh thing, i didn't feel like the people there were particularly posh. i saw a few girls with uggs, but honestly, they didn't seem THAT bad. every guy i saw was nicely dressed and normal. every single one of the people i talked to was super friendly and i really felt so welcome! anyway, a HUGE majority looked normal and nice people :biggrin: i even met a holland hall resident during the accommodation tour and honestly, he seemed quite nice and i saw a few other holland hall residents and they seemed totally alright.

but i guess in the end it depends on how you see other people and if you judge them by the way they look. anyway, i suggest you go there before you firm it, it's the best way to see if it's the place for you.
i attended a post-offer open day on wednesday and i spent about 10 hours on the campus. majority of the people i saw were white, but still, i saw LOADS of asian people, a few from india and even quite a few black people.. so the social mix really isn't THAT bad.. besides they told us that the amount of international applications has increased a LOT this year. and they told us a few numbers about international students and it included a lot of people from china, US and other countries too.


Props for the excellent post. Why people are surprised the place is mostly white is always a mystery to me... so is the country overwhelmingly 'white' (whatever that means in terms of diversity, eg, almost nothing). And as for diversity, you are quite right, we have lots of Chinese students, especially because of the strength of the School of Business. But they are white, so perhaps it's the wrong kind of diversity? Pace Emma Thompson, Nick Griffin would absolutely hate it here. But then again, he's an Oxbridge boy.
Original post by Doctorate st.
Add to this that Exeter is the worst place to be for a doctorate in Education (TESOL) course. The lecturers are busy doing anything but providing timely feedback. You can spend your life doing a doctorate (as a full-time) idiot with occasional feedback and when you do get feedback, you feel the lecturer was looking at someone else's paper and wrote their comments on your paper, totally irrelevant!


There are numerous mechanisms for expressing your displeasure with this situation, all of them better and more productive than resurrecting a dead, irrelevant thread.

That said, you do acknowledge being

a full-time) idiot


:biggrin:
Reply 15
I don't see why this is a problem for people...
Reply 16
Original post by ed-
I don't see why this is a problem for people...


If you are from a working class background then it is obviously an issue

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Reply 17
Original post by yg95
If you are from a working class background then it is obviously an issue

Posted from TSR Mobile


If you make it an issue
Original post by ed-
If you make it an issue


I think you may be underestimating the culture shock experienced by students who come to elite universities from particularly working class areas of the country.

An 'issue' doesn't have to be a chip on the shoulder. There's nothing ideological about feeling out of your element when you suddenly start learning and socialising with a peer group whose background, wealth, and life experience has been so totally different to your own. The same would go for a student who transferred from a top private school to a 200 UCAS point degree at an inner-city new university.

The challenge is this: the social make-up of Exeter and other 'top' universities is very different to that of the newer universities. The thing that worries me about the number of enquiries you get re: class is that if students from working class backgrounds decide that they'd rather go to a university where the social mix will be more like the one they have grown up with, that excludes most of the 'top' and 'elite' universities. And there is a chance that will hinder their ability to excel at university.

I'm NOT saying that you can't excel at a former polytechnic or similar new university. Similarly success is not guaranteed at Oxbridge or in the Russell Group. However, it's a shame that many students are being swayed by this important social factor when making their decision.

In case anyone wonders about the source for this view: I've worked at a Russell Group university, and at a university completely at the other end of the spectrum. Until you have sat in a seminar room in front of a group of students from each, it's impossible to comprehend the practical implications of the social and economic gap that exists. The students even look different.
Reply 19
Original post by nonswimmer
I think you may be underestimating the culture shock experienced by students who come to elite universities from particularly working class areas of the country.

An 'issue' doesn't have to be a chip on the shoulder. There's nothing ideological about feeling out of your element when you suddenly start learning and socialising with a peer group whose background, wealth, and life experience has been so totally different to your own. The same would go for a student who transferred from a top private school to a 200 UCAS point degree at an inner-city new university.

The challenge is this: the social make-up of Exeter and other 'top' universities is very different to that of the newer universities. The thing that worries me about the number of enquiries you get re: class is that if students from working class backgrounds decide that they'd rather go to a university where the social mix will be more like the one they have grown up with, that excludes most of the 'top' and 'elite' universities. And there is a chance that will hinder their ability to excel at university.

I'm NOT saying that you can't excel at a former polytechnic or similar new university. Similarly success is not guaranteed at Oxbridge or in the Russell Group. However, it's a shame that many students are being swayed by this important social factor when making their decision.

In case anyone wonders about the source for this view: I've worked at a Russell Group university, and at a university completely at the other end of the spectrum. Until you have sat in a seminar room in front of a group of students from each, it's impossible to comprehend the practical implications of the social and economic gap that exists. The students even look different.


I'm sorry but I think this is ridiculous. People moan that there aren't enough opportunities for social mobility and then squander the opportunities that they are given because they feel they think don't fit in?

I get the comparison you make to someone from Shrewsbury or Teddies (etc.) ending up at BCU or Bolton (etc.) in that it's also a culture shock but I think that's as far as similarities go. Someone from a deprived comprehensive who ends up at a Russell group has an amazing opportunity to better themselves. Not just academically, but they can also climb the social ladder and make useful contacts for after graduation. The person at the bottom 10 university doesn't have these opportunities so I think the comparison is unfair.

It does come down to a chip on the shoulder when a person doesn't seize these opportunities because they don't feel good enough. What else is it? Although it's probably not their own fault that they have it; it is their own fault if they don't get rid of it and put aside their inferiority complex for the sake of improving their future prospects!

edit; Also, do you not think that this is quite offensive?

Original post by Espley123
Ive heard from a few different places that exeter uni is overrun with/has lots of posh people (sloanes or whatever you wanna call them) although some of those reviews were quite dated (2001)


If someone said they didn't want to go to a uni because it was overrun with paupers and plebs they'd be absolutely hammered.
(edited 10 years ago)

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