How much does it matter?

My point is that a First at Oxbridge is a better degree than a first at Bristol. Therefore it is not a good idea to give up on that opportunity. Good graduates should be able to cope with a rigorous programme of studies and do plenty of relevant extra curricular stuff. Oxbridge doesn't make you the best if you don't use the opportunity, but it does produce the best graduates overall, and provide the best opportunities.

The point is that it will be harder for the Bristol graduate to get the job in the first instance.

Not necessarily. Once again, this varies from subject to subject and from student to student, but if you achieved your First at Oxbridge through doing absolutely nothing except sitting on your behind with a book in your hand 24 hours a day, your overall knowledge of your subject area may be poorer than that of a Bristol grad, simply because he or she may have had more time to gain professional experience outside of class. Let's face it - out there in the real world, no one's going to care if you can cite half of Aristotle. What employers will consider, however, is how well you can use the skills you've gained through various means, and all of this is so individual and so dependent on your specific subject area that you simply can't generalise the way you're trying to do now.

If we're bringing figures into this, Cambridge came below Nottingham, Bath, Sheffield, York, Warwick and a handful of others in this year's Times ranking for politics, for instance, and recieved only a 4A for research quality along with a 23/24 for teaching quality. Does that make it a worse university? Of course not. Still, it's something to consider if rankings really do matter that much to you.

Yes but employers don't pick all Oxbridge students.
They have that bit of edge over other graduates but graduates from universities still have a chance. Otherwise what would be the point in other universities?
By not going to Oxbridge it doesn't mean you will have less job prospects.

Which is why you apply to Oxford for PPE instead. Duh, there are two of them for a reason. There are very few subjects for which either oxford or cambridge isn't top. You can always make generalisations. For most careers and most subjects, Oxbridge is the best place you can go. Simple as.

As for the first situation. No-one does that unless they are intending to stay in academia anyway. People at Oxbridge do not all sit with their noses in a book 24/7, they are very aware of their career plans, and do get the experience required. They are also in an extremely good position to get that experience, and are usually pretty well-connected.

Although I have told you that at least in one industry, which pays the highest graduate salaries, several firms DO NOT prefer Oxbridge graduates. You just don't like that industry so you choose to disregard it.

A degree is not the only thing that matters though.

An Oxbridge student with no work experience and a Bristol student with work experience in the career they are going for? I would say both have an equal chance.
Work experience and other things are quite important.

Oxbridge students do have more of a chance , I'm not denying that, but I just don't think that the university you go to will cause you to suffer in the long run. The uni you go to isn't the be all and end all. (if that's the right phrase lol)

Which is why you apply to Oxford for PPE instead. Duh, there are two of them for a reason. There are very few subjects for which either oxford or cambridge isn't top. You can always make generalisations. For most careers and most subjects, Oxbridge is the best place you can go. Simple as.

As for the first situation. No-one does that unless they are intending to stay in academia anyway. People at Oxbridge do not all sit with their noses in a book 24/7, they are very aware of their career plans, and do get the experience required. They are also in an extremely good position to get that experience, and are usually pretty well-connected.

1) That doesn't in any way mean degrees issued by other top universities are in any way inferior to Oxbridge ones. Once you're given a degree, it's up to you to prove how well you can use it.

2) Well-connected how? Through mom and pop? If so, that has nothing to do with Oxbridge per se. Yes, they're in a great position to gain that experience, but their rivals from other top schools may be in the very same great position. All I'm asking of you is to stop dismissing other students from other universities as somehow intellectually or professionally inferior, as they are neither.

The degrees issued by other top universities simply are inferior to Oxbridge ones. Yes, your degree is not the be all and end all, but the degree is better if it comes from Oxbridge.

Oxbridge has at least the same connections with top companies and professionals, speakers etc as other universities, if not better. They are also well connected in terms of the access the careers service has to ex-students, which all universities have, but Oxbridge are naturally going to have a better network of ex-students because they used to have more of an advantage over other universities historically.

People at universities outside Oxbridge are, on average, intellectually and professionally inferior. I will continue to hold that belief, because its true.

When Ally goes out into the career world, she will realize that her attitude is not going to get her very far. When you're at the bottom of some firm or company and someone has it out for you because they went to Southampton and they are your boss, and you think you are superior because you went to Oxford, it won't be pretty.

Ally...it's not true. Seriously. Trust me when I tell you this from personal experience. The undergraduates at LSE, particularly in the Government and IR departments, are some of the brightest people I have come across--and they are from countries around the world. I met very few people at Oxford who could engage in conversation in such a diversity of topics, but I meet them at LSE every single day. I would imagine at Imperial, most students can outperform or equal Oxbridge scientists, even on a bad day.

When Ally goes out into the career world, she will realize that her attitude is not going to get her very far. When you're at the bottom of some firm or company and someone has it out for you because they went to Southampton and they are your boss, and you think you are superior because you went to Oxford, it won't be pretty.

No. That is just because LSE has more international students, and therefore have been exposed to different environments and experiences. Thats nice, but it doesn't make them cleverer. I think you would be wrong on both counts.

How many people have you met at LSE who rejected Oxbridge? Because pretty much everyone going for the relevant subjects here declined imperial or LSE.