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UCL vs Warwick vs Bristol (vs Imperial)?

ILIGAN

I don't think so.

The latest Times' ranking placed Warwick Maths at #3 just behind Cam and Ox. It has an Entry Standard points of 542. Imperial is tied with Durham at #7. It has an Entry Standard of 508. That's a huge drop right there. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php?AC_sub=Mathematics&x=15&y=9&sub=42

The Guardian ranked Warwick maths #3, as well. It also has the 3rd highest Entry Standard scores having 539 points. Imperial, on the other hand, ranked #11 with an Entry Standard of 506. Again, huge difference that separates between the two. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2009/may/12/university-guide-mathematics

That's why I personally don't think there's such a thing a COWI outside of research standard. I think that for maths, there's either a COW or COWIMB, which stands for Cam, Ox, Warwick, Imperial, Manchester and Bristol. Cambridge, Oxford and Warwick are inseparable in terms of maths. Imperial is quite good too. But it's not on the league of COW. Going there maybe.

The greatest information than the other (not so helpful) posts... rep rep

halfoflessthan50p

Ive never heard the acronym cow before :biggrin:

that made me chuckle.

OP said he wanted to be an actuary not an academic so I presume overall reputation and prestige is more important than ranking for the maths course. The sad truth is Oxbridge is always considered a cut above the rest by big employers even if some of their courses arent the best. Similarly big firms often have a thing for the london unis - LSE,IC,(UCL).

But ive never done any research into career opportunities as an actuary so you might be right :dontknow:

PEOPLE! Click HERE For Actuarial Employers' Satisfaction Statistics.. It seems like LSE has the lowest there

@OP Hahahahas I see we're in the exact same situation here..Hi5

Reply 21

.:excel4100%:.

14

In my opinion, for relative strength of maths courses with employers:

Imperial > Warwick >>> UCL > Bristol

But when it comes to social and night life:

UCL > Warwick > Bristol >>>>>> Imperial (you will have hardly any time to do anything)

However, I think you need to visit all the places in question and see whether you prefer city life to countryside

Reply 22

BillLionheart

7

.:excel4100%:.

In my opinion, for relative strength of maths courses with employers:

Imperial > Warwick >>> UCL > Bristol

But when it comes to social and night life:

UCL > Warwick > Bristol >>>>>> Imperial (you will have hardly any time to do anything)

However, I think you need to visit all the places in question and see whether you prefer city life to countryside

Probably others have already said most of what I can say. But for mathematics reputation yes it is COWI with the order debatable after Cambridge! This goups them not just by research ranking but also reputation for the academic standard of their maths degrees and their entry requirements. Bristol overlaps with COWI on some research measures even though it does not ask for the same grades for undergrads. It is undoubtedly a very strong university for Maths and having and Engineering Maths Dept as well as a Maths dept makes it distinctive.

UCL is a very highly rated university in which the maths department lags behind. There is a whole cluster of maths departments with clear water between them and COWI+B including Edinborough, Manchester, Nottingham and Southampton all with different strengths and flavors. UCL just about gets into the tail end of this cluster (but I think is on an upward trend).

As for employers -- well the difference is insignificant compared with what you make of the opportunities yourself. Being in London seems to make it easier for people to get internships on the whole -- but perhaps thats just as you know your way around better. London is a day trip from Manchester even these days so its not as if it is hard to go to an interview from Warwick or Bristol!

But having said what their reputation is, now here is the case for ignoring that! You do best on a course, at a university, in a city, where you are happy. See eg my advice here

Reply 23

silent ninja

19

I think employment prospects are a little overrated on here. Certainly if you went to Imp or Warwick, either will get you to the interview stage if your application is good enough-- the London location makes little difference. The rest is down to you to perform. Some people have this strange idea that you'll walk in to a job if you went to a certain uni. That is not the case.

In terms of actuary, I can only talk about my course (Morse). It has provided the most number of graduates to this career over the last couple of years (of all degrees in UK). So again, the London edge is not significant. I know a lot of students here going into investment banking also (many having secured internships); its probably the most popular path. All recruiters visit campus anyway, as do they most unis.

Reply 24

andy12691

10

.:excel4100%:.

In my opinion, for relative strength of maths courses with employers:

Imperial > Warwick >>> UCL > Bristol

But when it comes to social and night life:

UCL > Warwick > Bristol >>>>>> Imperial (you will have hardly any time to do anything)

However, I think you need to visit all the places in question and see whether you prefer city life to countryside

You clearly don't know what you're talking about :rolleyes:

Reply 25

silent ninja

19

.:excel4100%:.

UCL > Warwick > Bristol >>>>>> Imperial (you will have hardly any time to do anything)

However, I think you need to visit all the places in question and see whether you prefer city life to countryside

What gives you this idea that's Imperial has the biggest workload?

You are totally speculating about employment prospects.

Ucl

.:excel4100%:.

In my opinion, for relative strength of maths courses with employers:

Imperial > Warwick >>> UCL > Bristol

Why comment on things you have absolutely no experience of? I guess you did state that it was your "opinion" but you haven't been to university yet, let alone applied for a graduate job. I'm not trying to be condescending and I'm sorry for picking on you in particular, but it seems that the vast majority of people who replied to this thread are sixth formers, most of which aren't even applying for maths at university, and they all seem to know the job sector and the maths courses inside out. I know a bit about a number of maths departments, have worked in the financial secotr for a bit and couldn't give a clear cut answer to OP's question. Ridiculous...

Rant over.

Anyway, from my experience, I strongly doubt Imperial would be seen as having a "stronger" (whatever that means) maths department than Warwick by employers in the know. Because it simply isn't true.

Reply 28

.:excel4100%:.

14

andy12691

You clearly don't know what you're talking about :rolleyes:

silent ninja

What gives you this idea that's Imperial has the biggest workload?

You are totally speculating about employment prospects.

Krush

Why comment on things you have absolutely no experience of? I guess you did state that it was your "opinion" but you haven't been to university yet, let alone applied for a graduate job. I'm not trying to be condescending and I'm sorry for picking on you in particular, but it seems that the vast majority of people who replied to this thread are sixth formers, most of which aren't even applying for maths at university, and they all seem to know the job sector and the maths courses inside out. I know a bit about a number of maths departments, have worked in the financial secotr for a bit and couldn't give a clear cut answer to OP's question. Ridiculous...

Rant over.

Anyway, from my experience, I strongly doubt Imperial would be seen as having a "stronger" (whatever that means) maths department than Warwick by employers in the know. Because it simply isn't true.

Well I'm sorry for having an opinion but yes of course there will always be people that will have more knowledge than me on this but it doesn't mean I can't share my OPINION on an online forum :erm:

My OPINION is obviously not 100% right but it is partly backed up by people who I know who are already in university and who have spoken with different employers on their views about different university's weightings so I wouldn't mention it if I didn't feel there was some sort of truth in there!

Reply 29

Krush

10

.:excel4100%:.

Well I'm sorry for having an opinion but yes of course there will always be people that will have more knowledge than me on this but it doesn't mean I can't share my OPINION on an online forum :erm:

My OPINION is obviously not 100% right but it is partly backed up by people who I know who are already in university and who have spoken with different employers on their views about different university's weightings so I wouldn't mention it if I didn't feel there was some sort of truth in there!

I should have seen that others have quoted you, so I should have picked on someone else! :wink:

Fair enough I guess, you are obviously entitled to an opinion and that's what an internet forum is for. Might just be me, but it would take much more than speaking to a couple of undergrads for me to express an opinion.

I recently spoke to a quant headhunter about my academic career options and which one he would recommend, and he never gives clear cut answers about which department is better than which, mainly because he believes that he doesn't know enough to comment. And this guy has worked in many different departments and helped thousands of PhD maths/quantitative finance/physics graduates from all over the world get jobs in investment banks, hedge funds and the likes.

UCL vs Warwick vs Bristol (vs Imperial)?

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