Wtf is wrong with uni rankings??!

Hi everyone I've had a look at the rankings recently and I can't understand how the bloody system works! Take Manchester for example; on complete university guide it can't even get into the top 30 for accounting and finance, yet on the qs WORLD rankings it's ranked 19th for the same subject, the 4th uk uni after Oxbridge and LSE. When making application choices can rankings really be trusted with discrepancies like these. What should one keep in mind when applying?

Reply 1

Mabuzahatata

3

Original post by oliverg1313

Hi everyone I've had a look at the rankings recently and I can't understand how the bloody system works! Take Manchester for example; on complete university guide it can't even get into the top 30 for accounting and finance, yet on the qs WORLD rankings it's ranked 19th for the same subject, the 4th uk uni after Oxbridge and LSE. When making application choices can rankings really be trusted with discrepancies like these. What should one keep in mind when applying?

UK rankings focus more on undergraduate experience e.g. student satisfaction, quality of teaching. World rankings are much more focused on research.

Reply 2

999tigger

19

Original post by oliverg1313

Hi everyone I've had a look at the rankings recently and I can't understand how the bloody system works! Take Manchester for example; on complete university guide it can't even get into the top 30 for accounting and finance, yet on the qs WORLD rankings it's ranked 19th for the same subject, the 4th uk uni after Oxbridge and LSE. When making application choices can rankings really be trusted with discrepancies like these. What should one keep in mind when applying?

You need to understand the formula for deciding the ranking and then consider the merits of it. If they use a different formula then they will get different results. I wouldnt get hung up on them.

Reply 3

Aph

22

Original post by oliverg1313

Hi everyone I've had a look at the rankings recently and I can't understand how the bloody system works! Take Manchester for example; on complete university guide it can't even get into the top 30 for accounting and finance, yet on the qs WORLD rankings it's ranked 19th for the same subject, the 4th uk uni after Oxbridge and LSE. When making application choices can rankings really be trusted with discrepancies like these. What should one keep in mind when applying?

World rankings are all over the place and mean very little. Some focus on student numbers and size and others how well known of number of citations. National rankings are often better.

Reply 4

oliverg1313

OP

7

Original post by 999tigger

You need to understand the formula for deciding the ranking and then consider the merits of it. If they use a different formula then they will get different results. I wouldnt get hung up on them.