What is the point of lower-ranked universities?

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All universities have similar statistics and market them as if they are some big achievement. What does in work even mean?

Those who graduate and then go on to work in a pub probably contribute to that 95% stat.

If you'd bother researching, they go specifically into what type of work graduates go into.

Reply 41

nulli tertius

Original post by quackers2003

this happened when TONY BLAIR turned all the Polys into Uni's.

Which was a remarkable achievement given that he was the Shadow Secretary of State for Employment at the time.

Reply 42

Notoriety

Original post by nulli tertius

Which was a remarkable achievement given that he was the Shadow Secretary of State for Employment at the time.

He was known to be quite persuasive.

Reply 43

gymkana3000

Some people simply aren't fab at exams. Practical side - could be fantastic but when it comes to sitting exams then maybe that's where things go wrong - it could be anything from exam stress to simply not knowing how to revise. A lot of the lower ranked universities offer coursework based degrees. At the end of the day, not every single university can be the best and frankly the ranking system is a bit rubbish in my opinion as many places offer a variety of courses. Just because not everyone can apply to Oxbridge doesn't mean that these Unis should be scrapped. For your argument, it's effectively like saying "Well what's the point in lower ranked hospitals/schoos/colleges." All of which we need. Like Uni's different hospitals offer different departments and so I don't particularly feel that this is a balanced discussion point as there's a lot of evidence as for why they shouldn't be scrapped.

Reply 44

jkls92

To educate poor or unacademic people who lack drive. I'd rather live in a country where everyone is educated (some at top unis some not) than one where only 5% has a degree, but from good unis.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 45

Bernadette04

Original post by DJKL

Not sure about that, you have forgotten about the Scottish Universities.

Apols. I meant England and Wales, not U.K.,

Reply 46

Arran90

1. Universities are in the money game nowadays.

2. There are plenty of young people prepared to spend £9000 a year to go to university even though they are clearly academically unsuitable for a proper university.

3. Apprenticeships and short vocational courses are sadly not profitable like degrees are.

Reply 47

username2094811

Original post by MathMan+C

mate dont be butthurt

university "prestige" is almost irrelevant in my honest opinion. at university you gain skills employers need and (hence) why people that do go to those unis get good jobs and compete with graduates from "top" unis. the only exception is (potentially) oxbridge where they really stretch their students far. acedemia is only a small part of why an amployer will offer you a job. your other skills (social skills, logical/analytical skills) are 9 times out of 10 FAR more relevent than if you went to a uni that is "accepted" socially by a bunch of 12 year olds on TSR.

BTW before people say i just am saying this because i go to one of the unis on your list, I go to Warwick and study Maths/Stats

But obviously, it's still better to go to a decent RG uni than one ending with 'City' or 'Met', not even necessarily because of employment prospects (which do tend to be better as statistics consistently show), but because the courses tend to be more rigorous and you're more likely to have a better education. They are generally recognised as being 'good' universities by employers which is always an advantage, if perhaps not as vitally essential for getting a job as some people on here make out.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 48

MrSuavetopia

Original post by ImSuperiorToYou

I made a point back at you which refuted your false statement that Lampeter was the oldest uni after oxbridge hahahahah idiot

Given your plea for less 'snide' remarks, you would do well to follow your own advice.

I'll leave this thread open for the sake of some attempt at actual discussion/debate from you. Though given your posts I'll probably end up closing it/banning you by the time I get home from work so we'll see.

Reply 49

username2997138

why are y'all falling for such obvious bait?

Reply 50

username2094811

Original post by bobby147

Pus,just because a university is a russell group does not make it is better than a non russell group.

You're right, being a Russell Group university does not make it better than a non-Russell Group. The Russell Group label itself doesn't mean 'better'.

But it happens to be the case that most/all Russell Group universities, even the supposed 'lesser' ones, are more 'reputable' than most non-Russell Groups, with the possible exception of St Andrews and Bath.

They tend to be the country's older institutions with more Nobel laureates, greater endowments, higher entry requirements, global recognition etc. Even the highest-ranked non-Russell Group universities don't have these things.

I would much rather have a degree from Queen Mary or Liverpool than Surrey, Lancaster or UEA. 18 year olds who choose to go to the former over the latter are making a smart decision by not listening to people on here.

Reply 51

Undergrado666

Im at.leeds beckett and doing safety,health and enviromental mangment degree. There is only like a handfull of places worldwide that run my cource so doing it in leeds near where im from is a godsend. So sorry im not at a posh uni but LB is brilliant for me and i love the facilities

Reply 52

sln07

I believe that a range of universities can give everyone a chance to study in Higher Education. My friend in Leeds was feeling emotionally sad whether she could study at uni. With the non- Russell universities present, it made her dream possible to study at her aspired course.

Reply 53

TheMathsTeacher

Original post by ImSuperiorToYou

I'm talking about London Metropolitan University, Leeds Beckett, London South Bank, University of Suffolk (opened in 2016 ffs), and so on and so forth.

What purpose do they serve? Are their degrees even valuable? Surely the graduate prospects for such universities is incredibly low.

If you ask me, I think we should scrap them.

Hey OP,

I think anybody trying to further their education and knowledge can only be a good thing, so I definitely do think their degrees are valuable. I know lots of people who have gone to lower ranked universities like Man Met and Leeds Beckett, etc, who have gone on to do brilliantly well in their respective fields.

I guess it's more about the person behind the degree, not the university. That's not to say that citing a prestigious universities on a job application doesn't help, because it almost certainly will. If I applied for a job with a third class maths degree from Manchester University and somebody else applied with a first from Manchester Metropolitan University, who do you think would have a better chance of selection?

So yeah, I don't think it's fair to say the degrees are pointless but props to you for starting a conversation that most of us wouldn't! :smile:

Reply 54

gman999

The most pointless degree oxford offers is probably classics

Reply 55

itsfantanoo

Lot's of ppl are attacking OP. Reality is he's right. With maintenance loan people have debt of 40k, even more and doing a pointless degree is really not gonna help them in future.

Reply 56

nulli tertius

Original post by ImSuperiorToYou

Lets look of Suffolk's homepage. First course mentioned is accounting and financial management, next one is adult nursing, next undergrad one is architectural technology, the next one is architecture and the next one is bioscience.

Do you think these are courses with low graduate prospects?

Original post by seanbruce

For the record I agree that people put waaay too much emphasis on university. But imo it's worth keeping in mind that it does matter for some courses more than others. Things like medicine or nursing it doesn't matter in any way shape or form. However for Law or Investment banking for example it'd matter a bit.

Aside from a few exceptions, it's such a silly thing to argue about.