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Original post by Kambu
Hi everyone,
just a quick question! Which of the following universities would you say is the most prestigious: Leeds, Bath, Southampton, Bristol

Thank you in advance for any responses :biggrin:


Probably all the same...
Bristol, imo
Original post by Kambu
Hi everyone,
just a quick question! Which of the following universities would you say is the most prestigious: Leeds, Bath, Southampton, Bristol

Thank you in advance for any responses :biggrin:


It depends on the course you're applying for but overall I'd say Bristol is the most prestigious then it's Bath/Southampton, Leeds
Original post by Kambu
Hi everyone,
just a quick question! Which of the following universities would you say is the most prestigious: Leeds, Bath, Southampton, Bristol

Thank you in advance for any responses :biggrin:


Either Bath or Bristol I'd say!
Reply 5
Original post by RoseRouge
It depends on the course you're applying for but overall I'd say Bristol is the most prestigious then it's Bath/Southampton, Leeds


Thanks for the reply, i'm looking to do Aerospace Engineering if it makes any difference :s-smilie:
Reply 6
Original post by Kambu
Thanks for the reply, i'm looking to do Aerospace Engineering if it makes any difference :s-smilie:


Bath is really good for aerospace.

It also offers a year in industry unlike bristols course.
Original post by Kambu
Thanks for the reply, i'm looking to do Aerospace Engineering if it makes any difference :s-smilie:


For that, Bath, Bristol and Southampton (alphabetical order!) are all top notch and consistently in the top 5.
Reply 8
Original post by Shaanv
Bath is really good for aerospace.

It also offers a year in industry unlike bristols course.


It seems it's between bath and Bristol :/

I think Bristol also offers a course with a year in industry though - although that's not something i'm too interested in. They do however have a a 4 year course with study abroad which is very appealing. Unfortunately the link on their site which supposedly gives you more information about where you can study abroad seems to be broken. Would love to know whereabouts they will let you go.
Reply 9
Original post by Crumpet1
For that, Bath, Bristol and Southampton (alphabetical order!) are all top notch and consistently in the top 5.


hehe thanks for clarifying it was alphabetical >_< noticing a common theme for both Bath and Bristol.
not much difference but given that prestige is based on consensus and impression I would say Bristol if I had to choose
Original post by Kambu
hehe thanks for clarifying it was alphabetical >_< noticing a common theme for both Bath and Bristol.


Southampton has great reputation for most engineering disciplines, worth noting.
Original post by Kambu
Hi everyone,
just a quick question! Which of the following universities would you say is the most prestigious: Leeds, Bath, Southampton, Bristol

Thank you in advance for any responses :biggrin:


As it has been mentioned, it depends on the course.

Outside the Big 8 unis i.e. Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, Oxford, Manchester, Kings College London, UCL and Edinburgh, the rest are very subjective in their prestige.

On an overall level, i would say Bristol because their Engineering is very good.
Reply 13
Original post by Wired_1800
As it has been mentioned, it depends on the course.

Outside the Big 8 unis i.e. Cambridge, Imperial, LSE, Oxford, Manchester, Kings College London, UCL and Edinburgh, the rest are very subjective in their prestige.

On an overall level, i would say Bristol because their Engineering is very good.


I wasn't aware Manchester was considered a top university. If that's the case would that be a better choice than Bristol?
My qualification is BTEC in engineering D*D*D* and an A in A-level maths.

Universities like cambridge and imperial are obviously out of the question and most of the other top ones don't offer aerospace engineering except Manchester.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Kambu
I wasn't aware Manchester was considered a top university. If that's the case would that be a better choice than Bristol?
My qualification is BTEC in engineering D*D*D* and an A in A-level maths.

Universities like cambridge and imperial are obviously out of the question and most of the other top ones don't offer aerospace engineering except Manchester.


No, your three choices are all more renowned for engineering.
Original post by Kambu
I wasn't aware Manchester was considered a top university. If that's the case would that be a better choice than Bristol?
My qualification is BTEC in engineering D*D*D* and an A in A-level maths.

Universities like cambridge and imperial are obviously out of the question and most of the other top ones don't offer aerospace engineering except Manchester.


My advice will be to spread your application. Cambridge, Imperial, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.
They're all a very similar par. Manchester is below that par, Cambridge and Imperial don't accept BTECs.

Go Leeds if you like the mechanical/manufacturing side, go Bristol if you like the electronic/control/programming side, go Bath if you want a year in industry, go Southampton if you want space. Alternatively, apply to all of them, you have 5 spaces...

Honestly, prestige has basically no effect on reputation of an engineering degree. I remember when I was starting my degree (so 4 years back) that Bournemouth's Engineering course had 100% employment prospects, even now it's prospects within engineering happily compete with the best. Use unistats to get an idea of degree prospects, not rankings, as unistats gives a much better overview of the situation. 90% of grads being employed isn't much use if only 30% go into Engineering related professions, compared to somewhere with 80% employed but 60% are in Engineering.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Helloworld_95
They're all a very similar par. Manchester is below that par, Cambridge and Imperial don't accept BTECs.

Go Leeds if you like the mechanical/manufacturing side, go Bristol if you like the electronic/control/programming side, go Bath if you want a year in industry, go Southampton if you want space. Alternatively, apply to all of them you have 5 spaces...

Honestly, prestige has basically no effect on reputation of an engineering degree. I remember when I was starting my degree (so 4 years back) that Bournemouth's Engineering course had 100% employment prospects, even now it's prospects within engineering happily compete with the best. Use unistats to get an idea of degree prospects, not rankings, as unistats gives a much better overview of the situation. 90% of grads being employed isn't much use if only 30% go into Engineering related professions, compared to somewhere with 80% employed but 60% are in Engineering.

This poster is right. Whether a uni is prestigious or not is just an argument used on this forum by people who like the smell of their own farts. Check the stats.
Reply 18
Original post by Helloworld_95
They're all a very similar par. Manchester is below that par, Cambridge and Imperial don't accept BTECs.

Go Leeds if you like the mechanical/manufacturing side, go Bristol if you like the electronic/control/programming side, go Bath if you want a year in industry, go Southampton if you want space. Alternatively, apply to all of them, you have 5 spaces...

Honestly, prestige has basically no effect on reputation of an engineering degree. I remember when I was starting my degree (so 4 years back) that Bournemouth's Engineering course had 100% employment prospects, even now it's prospects within engineering happily compete with the best. Use unistats to get an idea of degree prospects, not rankings, as unistats gives a much better overview of the situation. 90% of grads being employed isn't much use if only 30% go into Engineering related professions, compared to somewhere with 80% employed but 60% are in Engineering.


Thanks for the detailed response it's much appreciated :biggrin: i'll definitely use that unistats site you mentioned to do some more research.
Original post by Kambu
It seems it's between bath and Bristol :/

I think Bristol also offers a course with a year in industry though - although that's not something i'm too interested in. They do however have a a 4 year course with study abroad which is very appealing. Unfortunately the link on their site which supposedly gives you more information about where you can study abroad seems to be broken. Would love to know whereabouts they will let you go.


Friend of mine went to Australia as his year abroad doing aero at Bristol - he ended up getting 92% out there because they were studying what he had done the previous year... so he came back with a 92 for his 3rd year so got a first overall in his degree quite easily... but cheeky really but great way to boost your grade lol!

I think Bristol > Bath > Southampton > Leeds

Good set of choices IMO! Let me know if you have any other specific aero @ Bristol questions or Bristol in general! (Ex bristol alum here who lived with 3 Aeros at uni!)