Why is the University of Southampton so underrated?

Ok, so I'm going UoS this September and I guess it kinda pisses me off how most people here seem to think that the likes of KCL, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham are better universities when they clearly ain't.

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguid...ables/rankings

Yet these universities still manage to find their way into posts that list highly respected universities that aren't Oxbridge, while Southampton is nowhere to be seen. Even Sheffield gets a mention sometimes.

The same people would also likely choose UCL over Southampton for EEE even though Southampton completely roflstomps them and the vast majority for all things engineering. I don't get it. Seriously, Southampton has to be the most understated university in the UK.

Reply 1

godd

Well a lot of those uni's you mention come in 2 categories

1) The University of London umbrella- which holds its own prestige
2) Major cities in the UK- likewise have their own prestige

Southampton is probably not a large enough city to hold a similar gravitas, though it is still a very major port. So that helps it somewhat in prestige.

Reply 2

Okorange

17

To be perfectly honestly with you I would also assume KCL, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham are better universities than Soton.

A number of these universities are ranked within the top 50 of universities world wide, have strong world wide reputations whereas Soton doesn't.

I have heard something of Soton's engineering now that you mention it, but in every other category these universities are better. My guess is you will study engineering, but the reality is most students don't study engineering, won't know of the reputation of your subject at your school. All you need to care about is that employers know it, you won't be turning heads when you name drop your school but you'll have to just learn to accept it The general reputation is what sticks among most people and in some cases whether or not they've even heard of your school (schools with big city names are going to get benefits in this case).

Reply 3

Paralove

21

Southampton was my insurance after Cambridge

I loved it and certainly wouldn't have been (too) disappointed had I not met my Cambridge offer.

Reply 4

Okorange

17

Original post by godd

Well a lot of those uni's you mention come in 2 categories

1) The University of London umbrella- which holds its own prestige
2) Major cities in the UK- likewise have their own prestige

Southampton is probably not a large enough city to hold a similar gravitas, though it is still a very major port. So that helps it somewhat in prestige.

Only two of those unis are a UoL uni. Honestly, I would argue that not all University of London universities are prestigious at all. To those not in the know University of London will sound prestigious, but its the same as University of Paris, if you don't know it sounds prestigious, but when you realize it encompasses unis of various calibre, you don't associate prestige with it anymore. By saying University of London in your resume, it makes people assume you went to one of their less prestigious schools and are trying to hide it under the London name.

I agree fully with your second point. If you tell people you went to the University of Manchester in a foreign country, you'll get nods of approval. Not because any of them actually know Manchester Uni, but because they know Manchester is a big city possibly because of its football teams, and assume that its a good school. In many countries, the best university takes the name of their largest cities.

Reply 5

InadequateJusticex

18

Southampton beating these universities in one year doesn't mean it's suddenly better than them. University league tables vary so much and have so many stupid criteria used to fabricate them that I wouldn't consider them reliable. If you want to use league tables then use subject specific ones which are a bit more reliable.

You're right, in that Southampton is much better than UCL for EEE, but have you thought about the other departments? Just because a university specialises in one subject doesn't mean it's suddenly better than another. Some universities will be stronger in some departments than other universities.

Reply 6

Sanctimonious

3

Anyone with a brain does see the University of Southampton as prestigious. Its rated 75th in the WORLD for engineering and IT related courses and only 7 UK universities are above it.

Reply 7

HandmadeTurnip

17

Original post by Okorange

I agree fully with your second point. If you tell people you went to the University of Manchester in a foreign country, you'll get nods of approval. Not because any of them actually know Manchester Uni, but because they know Manchester is a big city possibly because of its football teams, and assume that its a good school. In many countries, the best university takes the name of their largest cities.

That's not entirely true. The University of Manchester's international reputation (as a university) is unusually good compared to most UK universities.

To answer the OP; I agree that Southampton is an excellent university, particularly for engineering. I don't understand why it bothers you that purely name-dropping it doesn't get you loads of admiration though. That's an incredibly immature and superficial attitude to have.

Reply 8

Revel

14

Original post by Sex God

Ok, so I'm going UoS this September and I guess it kinda pisses me off how most people here seem to think that the likes of KCL, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham are better universities when they clearly ain't.

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguid...ables/rankings

Yet these universities still manage to find their way into posts that list highly respected universities that aren't Oxbridge, while Southampton is nowhere to be seen. Even Sheffield gets a mention sometimes.

The same people would also likely choose UCL over Southampton for EEE even though Southampton completely roflstomps them and the vast majority for all things engineering. I don't get it. Seriously, Southampton has to be the most understated university in the UK.

Why are you so bothered? Do you feel you have to prove to people that you went to a better university than them? Oh, and UCL is a better university than Southampton. I'd say the same about all the others you mentioned to.

Reply 9

Eboracum

18

It's a very banal topic isn't it. And one that often comes round at this time of the year. You should always be sceptical of rankings, because one can only truly judge the quality of an institution if they have studied there. People will come on to TSR and 90% of them will (either knowingly or unknowingly) deliver opinions biased to their institutions. I've seen LSE, Imperial, UCL, Durham, Warwick and Bristol all described as the third best UK university. And you can probably guess most of those who described it either studied at those universities or had aspirations to.

There are many league tables, people will quote the ones their university does best in. But even then, others will argue it's based on reputation, as rankings seem to move as frequently as shares on the stock market. So you might argue 'traditional big city' universities like Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh are better than say Exeter, Lancaster and Loughborough, even though the former three rank lower than the later three in the Complete University Guide.

My friend's brother studied at Southampton and thoroughly enjoyed it. Best of luck.

Reply 10

brendonbackflip

18

Southampton was my insurance as well, I wonder if the reason you think this is because of where you live? I say this because I come from Manchester - so Southampton is about 7 hours away - and so its just not a university many people near me would consider because of the distance. It might be more popular with students who live in the south anyway.

Although I think the fact its not a big city like London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc. will also be a factor, either in recognisability or in judgements on its nightlife etc. (from what I remember Southampton was actually OK but I guess not as much as other cities)

It was certainly very good for my course, it had lower requirements than my other options but was in many ways quite clearly better.

Reply 11

samba

6

Original post by Sanctimonious

Anyone with a brain does see the University of Southampton as prestigious. Its rated 75th in the WORLD for engineering and IT related courses and only 7 UK universities are above it.

This. Maritime industries also hold it in extremely high regard. Think it's one of the top universities for shipbroking, and the top [undergrad] university in the UK for caltech postgrads iirc.

I don't think Southampton is underrated here - especially not for engineering. In fact I think a lot of people here actually overrate it for engineering - why does it "roflmstomp" over UCL, or almost any other decent engineering university in the UK?

Reply 13

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Sex God

Ok, so I'm going UoS this September and I guess it kinda pisses me off how most people here seem to think that the likes of KCL, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Birmingham are better universities when they clearly ain't.

I don't think this isn't so much a function of the university but of the city.

Look at the Southampton tourism website

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk/visit/things-to-do

Tell me would you rather spend a day in Southampton or in Winchester or Portsmouth or the New Forest or the Downs?

There is nothing to grab either the average 17 year old or his or her parents.

Southampton's issue is not unique. Reading, Guildford, Uxbridge and Colchester are very similar. There is little distinctive about them.

Reply 14

LostGear

19

Original post by Smack

I don't think Southampton is underrated here - especially not for engineering. In fact I think a lot of people here actually overrate it for engineering - why does it "roflmstomp" over UCL, or almost any other decent engineering university in the UK?

Welcome back :smile:

Reply 15

~ Aquamarine ~

17

I agree that its probably because it isn't a major city. I got offers from Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds and chose Southampton and don't regret my decision. Am looking forward to going there in September :redface:

Personally after Oxford/Cambridge/Durham/(maybe Bristol)and some of the big London universities, i don't think there's much difference between the universities left in the Russell Group category. I don't see why someone would choose one university over the other purely because its a couple of spaces higher in the league tables (which change every year). People should just go to the university they like best :^_^:

Reply 16

whitenoise

7

These threads always smell strongly of "my university is better than yours"...

Reply 17

mynameisntdoug

14

Original post by nulli tertius

I don't think this isn't so much a function of the university but of the city.

Look at the Southampton tourism website

http://www.discoversouthampton.co.uk/visit/things-to-do

Tell me would you rather spend a day in Southampton or in Winchester or Portsmouth or the New Forest or the Downs?

There is nothing to grab either the average 17 year old or his or her parents.

Southampton's issue is not unique. Reading, Guildford, Uxbridge and Colchester are very similar. There is little distinctive about them.

Southampton University is miles away from town center, that's one of the hugest problems... There's not much that far out in Southampton with the university, but fortunately for Solent, they are in the center of the city with student accommodation very close too.

Reply 18

Zoeannmcmillan

I went to Southampton University and it is absolutely fantastic, aside from the fact that the nightlife there is buzzing and super cheap (wait until you get acquainted with Jesters and The Hobbit!) the actual uni is amazing and I am sure you will love it. Since I have left uni, most people have been impressed that I attended UoS so don't worry if other people think the other uni's you listed are better, it is part of the Russell Group after all! I hope you have an amazing time! (also the uni buses are awesome so getting about is easy)