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Uni easier or harder to get into nowadays?

Taking into account: Brexit, 9k/year, lifted caps... Anymore?

Lower ranking uni's take on more people I'm guessing?

Ya think it's easier or harder?

Reply 1

JDieMstr

Should be easier....peeps from my class getting lowered offers or unconditional from mid tier to low tier ranking Unis and we're doing BTEC Business. I got 2 offers from top 20 Unis (ranking wise).

Reply 2

Liamw1998

Original post by Dodevu

Taking into account: Brexit, 9k/year, lifted caps... Anymore?

Lower ranking uni's take on more people I'm guessing?

Ya think it's easier or harder?

Definitely easy. You can get in to some uni somewhere with pretty much any grades.

Reply 3

username3693560

Universities are no longer elite educational establishments. Oxbridge yeah, but there is a university for most abilities nowadays. Around 30% of the population goes to university according to my Dad who worked as an education officer and I believe that number is increasing with the years. The job market is increasingly competitive thanks to a booming population and lack of jobs, especially with austerity cuts, and people need degrees if they want job security and a chance at progression in a decent well-paid job.

Reply 4

yt7777

Just getting in to university isn't an achievement anymore really, as someone else has said you can get a place somewhere with pretty much any grades whether that be a really low ranking uni or via a foundation year.

Even just getting a degree isn't really much of an achievement now either, where the content between 'good' / prestigious universities and low ranking universities differ so much. I compared the course content from my degree (top 20 at the time in UK) and my friends (ranked 70-something in UK) for the same subject, and there was such a massive difference in the amount and difficulty of the work it was crazy, and I don't think this really gets addressed enough in industry.

Pretty much anyone can get a degree now even by putting in a low level of effort and I think that really devalues what used to be considered a high level / prestigious qualification and something that once was a top achievement (still is at top institutions but getting devalued by people getting, on paper, the 'same' qualification)

Reply 5

Blue_Cow

Original post by Dodevu

Taking into account: Brexit, 9k/year, lifted caps... Anymore?

Lower ranking uni's take on more people I'm guessing?

Ya think it's easier or harder?

It's easier to get into university. There isn't just the ancients/redbricks/plateglass anymore. You have the 1992-group universities and also newer ones like Suffolk being opened, not to mention private universities such as GSM London (as showcased in a student loan corruption BBC Panorama documentary last year). There is just so much supply.

There isn't anything wrong with 'lower-ranked' universities (most offer highly valuable courses that aren't offered at 'traditional' institutions), but they are incredibly easy to get into for any competent individual.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

04MR17

Volunteer Section Leader

Compared to when? :curious:

It's probably easier to get into "university" now that there are so many more of them since polys changed in the 90s.

Reply 7

iodo345

It iz well eazeh 2 go uni naw I gat me degre 1st clas in meedya studies

Reply 8

username3079870

It might be easier, but A-Level results in certain places are getting better too. I honestly think this has to do with the Internet. It is an amazing tool for helping people learn just about anything. Back in the day, if you didn't understand something in your A-Level Biology class and had a poor teacher, you were kinda snookered. Now you can go online and use some great learning resources to fill in the blanks.

So I think part of the reason it is "easier" is because people nowadays have much better educational resources compared to previous generations. I don't think that devalues a degree much, because I think most universities in the country are reasonably good (obviously some are better than others). Frankly, we need a better educated population. If a person who goes to uni learns nothing more than critical reasoning, research skills and how to evaluate the sources of information properly, that is only a good thing.

Reply 9

iodo345

Original post by jestersnow

Don't think there is anything wrong about having an educated population but I disagree that the way to do this is to send large numbers of people to university.

I don't think everybody leaves university with the critical reasoning or evaluating information either. It appears to me some people just leave after having a 3 year party.