How university students perceive other universities.

The purpose of universities is twofold: both to teach content to a high level and perform research. It cannot be claimed that one is more important than others.

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All degrees require some research to be conducted in the final year, and those doing Science and Engineering degrees in particular would be better off at a research intensive university.

Research-led universities like to shape undergraduate and postgraduate courses in line with the research the Associate Professor and above have led. That is the case in the sciences at least. All ex-poly claim to be good teaching universities, but where they fall flat on their face is the little or no research carried out.

I find it... intriguing that Bath is very high up all/most of the UK rankings (especially satisfaction), yet I get too bored from scrolling when trying to find it on the international rankings.

Rankings are funny.

Bath is not a large research intensive university, and suffers in international rankings as they assess mainly on research and academic criteria.

The UK rankings are based on anything but academic criteria, but on things like student satisfaction and teaching/spending per student, which favours the smaller universities like Bath.

Still, league tables are only one indicator.

I think lack of research money just comes from it being a relatively young university. There's still interesting research going on there.



I don't understand why student satisfaction is such a bad measurement. Sure, it might be easier to swing smaller groups of students, but I wouldn't exactly say that the classes in Bath are small.

I don't think very many students choose a university based solely on rankings, that would be incredibly naive.

Student satisfaction is open to bias and abuse. There have been enough scandals with ex-polys telling their students to give good scores to help propel their ranking. It is superficial and worthless.

At what point did I state that they did?



Of course it's open to bias, but students are not always pushed against the wall and forced to score highly. I know for a fact that my friends were told that they should score highly in the satisfaction test, but in the end of the day they still scored as they saw appropriate and kinda shrugged off what the head of dept said.

Student satisfaction is open to bias and abuse. There have been enough scandals with ex-polys telling their students to give good scores to help propel their ranking. It is superficial and worthless.

If you know of any other university bar Kingston who did this (about 5 years ago, I believe) then please make us aware of it.

How does this relate to my post?

Meh I go to newcastle, and I think all the other big city ones like Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham etc are on par in employer's eyes.

And I have no reason to be bias as I am doing dentistry so the uni I go to kinda doesn't matter. ;p

I have made a compilation of conversations between universities that sums this all up.

Aberdeen: We're totes as good as Edinburgh! Yeah!
Edinburgh: Ewww, step away from us, plebs.


Aston: Birmingham is just like us! We're essentially Siamese twins that are joined at certain vital appendages. What do you think, big brother?
Birmingham: GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF ME!!


Bangor: We're like Aberystwyth, except you can actually pronounce us.


Bath: Bristol! I'll take you to the stars, babe.
Bristol: Nah, we can fangirl about books and art with Durham, physics nerd.


Birmingham: Oi! Manc! Look, we've had our differences on the football field, but do you want to join in holy matrimony of slightly jarring regional accents?
Manchester: Meh, maybe.


Bradford: Screw matches, do you see that guy who legitimately thinks we're the same as York? Haha! Haha! Hahahahahaha! Poor shmuck, clearly the banner ads worked on him.


Bristol: Durham! I'm the most oversubscribed uni in the country, I'm drowning in clunge, but nothing makes me happier that your icy isolated form. Love me!
Durham: Oh, Bristol, look at our matched vague sense of Oxbridge reject-ery and annoyingly high grade requirements! I'm yours!


Cambridge: You and me against the world, pal.
Oxford: Word.


Cardiff: ...Bristol? I left three voicemails about getting that coffee on Monday and you still haven't replied...You know, we could talk, I'm very convincing with my jovial Welsh lilt -
Bristol: Nope.
Cardiff: Fine, I'll take Leeds.
Leeds: Nuh-uh.
Cardiff: Manchester?!
Manchester: I'm not being your sloppy thirds!
Cardiff: Ah, well, back to my sheep.


City: Queen Mary, becometh my true sovereign.
Queen Mary: You'll 'becometh' guillotined if you don't get out of my throne room.


Coventry: Somehow we think we're similar to both Derby and Birmingham, which is like saying you're similar to both pecan pie and foie gras. Not that Birmingham is foie gras. Also, we're still revelling in that we inexplicably are placed higher than Bristol.


Durham: Bristol is our soulmate *swoon*
Bristol: Marry me, you lovely freezing bastard.


Edinburgh: We're practically Durham's twin!
Durham: Meh, fair enough. We like Bristol better than you, though.


Exeter: Bristol, are you suuuuure you don't have Saturday night free? I want to get cocktails! It's so BORING up here! So many freaking HILLS!
Bristol: Sorry, doll, I've got a busy work schedule.


Glasgow: Edinburgh! Love me!!!
Edinburgh: Urgh, man, way too regionalistic, man. I'm trying to explore the world, man! Get out of that haggisfest, man.


Goldsmiths: Bristol! Cambridge!
Bristol and Cambridge: Do you hear something? It sounds a bit like a flea, or some annoyingly high-pitched mouse.


Hull: Leeds, are you -
Leeds: WE GOT A RESTRAINING ORDER. GO BACK TO YOUR CULTURAL HAVEN, YOU ****.


Imperial: Cambridge, sing with me! We're in the business of misery...
Cambridge: ...let's take it from the top.


Keele: Aston, we think we're just like you. You agree?
Aston: Who even are you?!


Kent: Reading!
Reading: No!


KCL: University College is literally across the road from us. We have similar grade requirements, a similar clientele, and the occasional spat but whatever. We're basically their hip younger sister.
UCL: And we're their much more prestigious big brother.
KCL: Nuh-uh!
UCL: Guardian league tables, we're 11, you're 40. Suck it.


Lancaster: York, I know there's still some, aha, *tensions* between us, but I think we can put aside our differences and work together -
York: KNIFE TO THE FACE! *stab*


Leeds: Manc. Bruv.
Manchester: Leeds. Bruv.


Leicester: Birmingham, we are superior to you on all other levels, but I would begrudgingly concede that our universities are about equal.
Birmingham: We're four places higher than you, bitch!


Liverpool: Manc. Bruv.
Manchester: If I'm your brother, I was clearly adopted from a much handsomer family.


London Met: That one guy who thinks we're the same as Cambridge is either a masterful troll or studying Waste Management.


LSE: Oxford, we know you've got that weird incestuous cult thing going with Cambridge, but spare us some time?
Oxford: You can have my Saturdays from 1-4, and you're paying for lunch.
LSE: Deal.


Loughborough: Bath, we'd like to Bath-e in you, heh heh heh.
Bath: THE JACUZZI IS NOW CLOSED.


Manchester Met: ...Sheffield?
Sheffield: HAHAHAHAHAHA OH GOD I'M DYING
Manchester Met: But, Sheffield! We came all the way over here! We brought muffins!
Sheffield: Security!


Newcastle: Hey, Leeds, you're looking damn good today.
Leeds: GODSAKE WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME


Nottingham: You lookin' fiiiiine, Manchester.
Manchester: GODSAKE WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME


Oxford Brookes: Hey, Leicester, how about it?
Leicester: Much as I'd like to have a 22-year-old toy-boy, I'll pass.
Oxford Brookes: Hey, I was founded as a polytechnic in 1970!
Leicester: It's still gross.


Queen Mary: We are matrimonially tied, King's! Let us build empires!
KCL: Um, I'd rather abdicate.


Reading: Cardiff, you don't have to be alone! I love you!
Cardiff: Eh, think I prefer the sheep.


Royal Holloway: I need a regal partner! Come on, King's, we're practically neighbours and I have some really pretty gardens.
KCL: Nah, go screw Queen Mary.
Queen Mary: I don't want it either.


Sheffield: Manchester, you're looking damn -
Manchester: FOR GOD'S SAKE I'm just TRYING to buy a PANINI look I'm AWARE of my FABULOUS but can I GET THROUGH MY DAY without having any more STREET HARASSMENT PLEASE
Sheffield: - fine?
Manchester: Actually, on second thought, nice tits. I'm sold.


SOAS: Hey LSE, you got a thing for Asians?
LSE: Only in paper boxes.

Southampton: Bristol! Niiice!
Bristol: GODDAMMIT WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT ME


St Andrew's: Hey, Durham! We're both cold and pretentious! Marry me!
Durham: You can be my bit on the side.
St Andrew's: Deal.


Surrey: Lonely, I am so lonely, I have nobody, all on my own *mournfully plays banjo*


Sussex: Manchester! Hey! Haven't seen you in so -
Manchester: *threateningly brandishes pepper spray*


UCL: Hey, Imperial. We're neighbours, we're both insanely prestigious and a little bit douchey. Want to hook up?
Imperial: Nah, I'm still trying to get into that cool cult thing Oxbridge has going on. I mean, they're like one entity. It's insane.


UEA: *loud and phlegmy sobbing*


UAL: Hey, Goldsmiths! Want to play some jazz at my contemporary art exhibition? It's a picture of a dead frog and half a rotting lemon surrounded by a thousand ping-pong balls. Really speaks to me, y'know?
Goldsmiths: Sure, but only if I can do that cool mix of blues and ska that's been circulating lately. I call it blueska.
UAL: Yeah, sure, whatever.


Warwick: Durham?
Durham: No.
Warwick: UCL?
Durham: No.
Warwick: LSE?
LSE: No.
Warwick: Christ, it's like being in Clearing.


York: Durham, I hear you're marrying Bristol and keeping St Andrew's as a bit on the side. I can be your casual hookup!
Durham: Nah, I can get my own prostitutes.

This is hilarious! Did you write these?

I think Nottingham is the best of the civic universities, closely followed by Manchester and Birmingham. Notts, after all, is described as a prime alternative to Oxbridge.

Not sure if you're a troll for Nottingham. Nottingham is a top 20 school but not an Oxbridge reject school.

It depends what era you grew up in as to how you rate Nottingham today. If you are one of these 17-18 year olds with nothing to go by other than newspaper league tables, and a few conversations within your inner circle at school, and a few internet searches, then you would probably have the view that you have described.

If you are like me at 30, and with many years of business experience and postgraduate experience, only then do you get a really informed view of how highly regarded a university is by the circles that actually matter, such as in government, in academia, the City, Law Chambers etc.

Nottingham was always rated top 10-12 by everyone in my school and college days on merit, and not just because of the high ranking in the newspaper rankings. Back then Durham was ranked quite low, yet was always rightfully seen as one of the leading alternatives to Oxbridge. The Times has described Nottingham as a prime alternative to Oxbridge for the last 25 years, and I see no reason to change that view now.

If you don't agree about the status that Nottingham has, that isn't my problem. I do still rate it top 10-12, and some reasons to justify that view are:-

- It came 7th in the 2008 RAE, the next is due later this year;
- It was ranked 14th in the UK and 75 in the World in the latest QS World Rankings (these rankings were brought in consultation with the UK government);
- It is the 5th most sponsored UK university by industry;
- It was the single most targeted UK university for the top 100 graduate employers in 2013/2014;
- It is a top 10 target university as targeted by some of the best performing independent schools in the UK, including Harrow and Sevenoaks (I checked their websites);
- My BSc from Notts got me my offer from UCL for my medical sciences MSc (a nice bonus);
- It has really proper nice campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China, with top class facilities;
- It has Europe's largest teaching hospital as part of the Medical school;
- It has a Vet School (always a nice bonus);
- It is ranked 2nd for being the most environmentally friendly campus university in the World;
- It makes £22 million plus surplus net income every year, which it re-invests back into the university.
- It is the 3rd most applied to UK university, with over 49,000 applications per year.
- It is a long time member of the Russell Group.

And you get the message. It is a top class UK university. Apart from a handful of better universities like UCL and Oxbridge, I can only think of Durham and Edinburgh that I would have possibly considered as better places to go. So in my view, and in the view of the University itself, it can rightfully claim to be UK top 10 and Word top 75 without too much argument. The name ''Nottingham'' will always have that extra gloss about it so long as they keep doing what they have been.

Ok if you say top 10-12 I can accept, but for me "prime alternative to Oxbridge" means 3-5th in the country and I can't accept that at all.

I don't think your BSc from Notts got you an offer at UCL for med sci, it was likely your grades from your BSc. If you got that same BSc at any of the other top 30 or so unis you would still have gotten in. I don't want to be too rude, but MSc in Med Sci at UCL isn't particularly that difficult to get into. MSc is generally a lot easier to get into compared to BSc especially in a field that isn't competitive.

Having external campuses doesn't make your uni any better, in fact in my opinion it can make your uni look worse. St George's has campuses in Cyprus, and it has really resulted in a headache with the debate over the PMQ of that campus. RCSI has a campus in Bahrain and it has also resulted in headaches over the Irish governments threat to pull the plug on the school due to Bahrain's government's possible interference with the school. Yes there are plenty of successful campuses like Cornell-Qatar, Duke-NUS but out of the biggest name unis in the world (Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton) none of them have campuses.

Out of the reasons you listed the only things that imo help Nottingham's case that it is a top 10-12 uni are its RAE ranking, its world ranking in QS, its targeting by grad employers.

Your point about it having a large teaching hospital isn't true anymore, it got replaced by the Royal London in 2012. Even then, as a medic i can tell you that the size of the hospital has nothing to do with anything about medicine. The only negative I can think of having a small teaching hospital is lack of speciality services, but most medical schools have more than enough.

It depends what era you grew up in as to how you rate Nottingham today. If you are one of these 17-18 year olds with nothing to go by other than newspaper league tables, and a few conversations within your inner circle at school, and a few internet searches, then you would probably have the narrow and ill-informed view that you have described.

If you are like me at 30, and with many years of business experience and postgraduate experience, only then do you get a really informed view of how highly regarded a university is by the circles that actually matter, such as in government, in academia, the City, Law Chambers etc.

Nottingham was always rated top 10-12 by everyone in my school and college days on merit, and not just because of the high ranking in the newspaper rankings. Back then Durham was ranked quite low, yet was always rightfully seen as one of the leading alternatives to Oxbridge. The Times has described Nottingham as a prime alternative to Oxbridge for the last 25 years, and I see no reason to change that view now.

If you don't agree about the status that Nottingham has, that isn't my problem. I do still rate it top 10-12, as I do with KCL and Edinburgh, and some reasons to justify that view are:-

- It came 7th in the 2008 RAE, the next is due later this year;
- It was ranked 14th in the UK and 75th in the World in the latest QS World Rankings (these rankings were brought in consultation with the UK government);
- It is the 5th most sponsored UK university by industry;
- It was the single most targeted UK university for the top 100 graduate employers in 2013/2014;
- It is a top 10 target university as targeted by some of the best performing independent schools in the UK, including Harrow and Sevenoaks (I checked their websites);
- My BSc from Notts got me my offer from UCL for my medical sciences MSc (a nice bonus);
- It has really proper nice campuses in the UK, Malaysia and China, with top class facilities;
- It has Europe's largest teaching hospital as part of the Medical school;
- It has a Vet School (always a nice bonus);
- It is ranked 2nd for being the most environmentally friendly campus university in the World;
- It makes £22 million plus surplus net income every year, which it re-invests back into the university.
- It is the 3rd most applied to UK university, with over 49,000 applications per year.
- It is a long time member of the Russell Group.

And you get the message. It is a top class UK university. Apart from a handful of better universities like UCL and Oxbridge, I can only think of Durham and Edinburgh that I would have possibly considered as better places to go. So in my view, and in the view of the University itself, it can rightfully claim to be UK top 10 and Word top 75 without too much argument. The name ''Nottingham'' will always have that extra gloss about it so long as they keep doing what they have been.

Let me guess... you went to Nottingham?