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Does the position of your University in the league tables even matter?
I'm mainly wanting to see people's opinions on here.. 
For me personally, for Psychology I don't think it matters (unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out). I love my subject, aiming for a first and I'm thinking that a 2.1 or higher and some experience would make you look good enough when it comes to future employment or postgraduate training. I'm preparing for the possible option of doing a clinical doctorate, doing some volunteering and working hard in my studies - I'm thinking the individual is far more important than the University they attended
For me personally, for Psychology I don't think it matters (unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out). I love my subject, aiming for a first and I'm thinking that a 2.1 or higher and some experience would make you look good enough when it comes to future employment or postgraduate training. I'm preparing for the possible option of doing a clinical doctorate, doing some volunteering and working hard in my studies - I'm thinking the individual is far more important than the University they attended
(edited 5 years ago)
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ty
You're absolutely right. I know a lot of people on here would say otherwise, but it's not going to make a difference honestly. Nowadays most people have a degree, so having a degree from x university really isn't going to make a difference. Don't worry if you don't attend a Russell group university or a university which doesn't specialise in your subject, it's irrelevant. Just do your degree, do the best you can and have fun. The employer only cares about your experience, your university carries very little weight.
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
Original post by CuriousShinigami
I'm mainly wanting to see people's opinions on here..
For me personally, for Psychology I don't think it matters (unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out). I love my subject, aiming for a first and I'm thinking that a 2.1 or higher and some experience would make you look good enough when it comes to future employment or postgraduate training. I'm preparing for the possible option of doing a clinical doctorate, doing some volunteering and working hard in my studies - I'm thinking the individual is far more important than the University they attended
For me personally, for Psychology I don't think it matters (unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out). I love my subject, aiming for a first and I'm thinking that a 2.1 or higher and some experience would make you look good enough when it comes to future employment or postgraduate training. I'm preparing for the possible option of doing a clinical doctorate, doing some volunteering and working hard in my studies - I'm thinking the individual is far more important than the University they attended
You're absolutely right. I know a lot of people on here would say otherwise, but it's not going to make a difference honestly. Nowadays most people have a degree, so having a degree from x university really isn't going to make a difference. Don't worry if you don't attend a Russell group university or a university which doesn't specialise in your subject, it's irrelevant. Just do your degree, do the best you can and have fun.
The employer only cares about your experience, your university carries very little weight. A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
You’re right, the individual is a lot more important than the institution they came from. But in a situation where’s there’s two great or at least comparable candidates, the candidate that came from a better university would obviously be more favourable. So it’s not a be all end all thing per se, but it can play a role.
Original post by >Username<
ty
You're absolutely right. I know a lot of people on here would say otherwise, but it's not going to make a difference honestly. Nowadays most people have a degree, so having a degree from x university really isn't going to make a difference. Don't worry if you don't attend a Russell group university or a university which doesn't specialise in your subject, it's irrelevant. Just do your degree, do the best you can and have fun. The employer only cares about your experience, your university carries very little weight.
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
You're absolutely right. I know a lot of people on here would say otherwise, but it's not going to make a difference honestly. Nowadays most people have a degree, so having a degree from x university really isn't going to make a difference. Don't worry if you don't attend a Russell group university or a university which doesn't specialise in your subject, it's irrelevant. Just do your degree, do the best you can and have fun.
The employer only cares about your experience, your university carries very little weight. A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
The only degree that I can think of would be Law. You need to get into the top 5 Universities for Law to be even remotely successful in Law.
I'd rather have someone fighting for me in court who has graduated from the University Oxford with a Law degree than someone who has graduated from the University of Bedfordshire...
They strike again.
BS.
You would want the lawyer who is more experienced. In legal practice, experience is not only important. It is everything.
And your superficial preference does not inform the recruitment practices of firms and chambers.
Original post by fabragas27
The only degree that I can think of would be Law. You need to get into the top 5 Universities for Law to be even remotely successful in Law.
BS.
I'd rather have someone fighting for me in court who has graduated from the University Oxford with a Law degree than someone who has graduated from the University of Bedfordshire...
You would want the lawyer who is more experienced. In legal practice, experience is not only important. It is everything.
And your superficial preference does not inform the recruitment practices of firms and chambers.
Tbh, it’s about who the university knows, some have developed good contacts which help students find work a lot easier than others. I know some places do actually look at universities but, admittedly more businesses are straying away from hiring a student just because they’re from x university. Instead it’s becoming more dependent on interviews and such. At the end of the day, a name is just a name, If you work hard and get a first, you have a first doesn’t matter what uni it is
For 99.99% of students, no.
Original post by Notoriety
They strike again.
BS.
You would want the lawyer who is more experienced. In legal practice, experience is not only important. It is everything.
And your superficial preference does not inform the recruitment practices of firms and chambers.
BS.
You would want the lawyer who is more experienced. In legal practice, experience is not only important. It is everything.
And your superficial preference does not inform the recruitment practices of firms and chambers.
Oh and I forgot to mention if your surname is Rockefeller or your family just so happens to have some kick ass connections with the biggest lawyers in town, then sure go ahead with Law. But otherwise nah, forget it.
Nepotism, sucking **** and cronyism is the only way to go in Law. Exactly how it is in banking. Toodles.
It doesn't seem to matter (currently) for most employers.
But you can't ignore the fact that studying at a better university the work will be a lot harder and at a lot higher level that if you go to low ranking university. For me personally, I wanted the best learning experience so I went to the best universities that I could for both my BSc and my MSc and you get that from going to the best uni you can get into for your subject, ultimately, this does impact your employability due to the higher level and wider breadth of skills/knowledge that you will obtain.
And I didn't go to a really top top uni, i went to a top 30 (BSc, top 20 at the time) and a top 10 (MSc) for my subject, Computer Science. And that was a lot of hard work, I was doing so many hours per week, but when I talk to friends who went to lower universities (ranked around 60 and below) all they say is how easy there courses are and seem to get top grades with minimal effort. That's why, for me, I place a lot of weight on the standard of university attended. However, saying this, employers don't seem to care about these factors, which I think this is crazy and they really should take the university attended into account, and eventually they will as the number of people going to uni increasing each year.
But you can't ignore the fact that studying at a better university the work will be a lot harder and at a lot higher level that if you go to low ranking university. For me personally, I wanted the best learning experience so I went to the best universities that I could for both my BSc and my MSc and you get that from going to the best uni you can get into for your subject, ultimately, this does impact your employability due to the higher level and wider breadth of skills/knowledge that you will obtain.
And I didn't go to a really top top uni, i went to a top 30 (BSc, top 20 at the time) and a top 10 (MSc) for my subject, Computer Science. And that was a lot of hard work, I was doing so many hours per week, but when I talk to friends who went to lower universities (ranked around 60 and below) all they say is how easy there courses are and seem to get top grades with minimal effort. That's why, for me, I place a lot of weight on the standard of university attended. However, saying this, employers don't seem to care about these factors, which I think this is crazy and they really should take the university attended into account, and eventually they will as the number of people going to uni increasing each year.
Original post by CuriousShinigami
For me personally, for Psychology I don't think it matters (unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out).
Yes, but it doesn't mean that you can't be successful if you went to a lower-ranked university. It is a good indication of your level of academic ability at a point in time, and your intelligence. Good, but not 100% - there are many intelligent people at lower-ranked universities, for many different reasons.
Original post by CuriousShinigami
I love my subject, aiming for a first and I'm thinking that a 2.1 or higher and some experience would make you look good enough when it comes to future employment or postgraduate training. I'm preparing for the possible option of doing a clinical doctorate, doing some volunteering and working hard in my studies - I'm thinking the individual is far more important than the University they attended
Some people really find their academic stride at university. Good luck.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Notoriety
You would want the lawyer who is more experienced. In legal practice, experience is not only important. It is everything.
I'd quite like an intelligent lawyer. Intelligence allows you to learn from experience much more quickly.
Original post by >Username<
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
No, it really isn't.
Original post by yt7777
they really should take the university attended into account
And how, exactly, do you think they should do that? Only interview graduates from particular universities? Or give them preferential treatment at interview? Which universities? Top 5? Top 20? Top 23? From which set of rankings? Based on which metrics? What weighting would each metric have? Based on last year's results? Last 5 years? Last 200 years? What if a uni scored highly but the course scored low? Or vice versa?
Do you see how utterly impractical and ultimately useless that would be?
Original post by >Username<
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
It certainly isn't, standards differ massively between universities.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by Duncan2012
And how, exactly, do you think they should do that? Only interview graduates from particular universities? Or give them preferential treatment at interview? Which universities? Top 5? Top 20? Top 23? From which set of rankings? Based on which metrics? What weighting would each metric have? Based on last year's results? Last 5 years? Last 200 years? What if a uni scored highly but the course scored low? Or vice versa?
Do you see how utterly impractical and ultimately useless that would be?
Do you see how utterly impractical and ultimately useless that would be?
I never said it would be practical for employers and it wouldn't be useless as companies would be targeting graduates who have had a stronger education.
If you do it purely on degree classification then you're saying someone with a 1st from Southampton Solent University is better than a 2:1 from University of Southampton (for example).
Original post by >Username<
A degree is a degree no matter which university it's from.
If you believe that, then I assume that you are applying to / went to the lowest ranked university, as their teaching much be fantastic to take students with poor academics and get them to the same level as the top universities.
Original post by CuriousShinigami
(unless it is Oxbridge, any degree from them would make you stand out)
What makes candidates stand-out is understanding. No employer expects a raw graduate to have a lot of experience - some is obviously a plus.
More competitive universities (not just Oxbridge) stretch their students more. They are more likely to really understand their subject, and to learn more quickly from their experience.
After a few years of experience, employers will look at what you have achieved in jobs. It's pretty easy to see those that are successfully tackling difficult work.
Different league tables are formed using different criteria, so it depends what’s important to you. Do you rate student satisfaction over employment prospects? Do you think attrition rates tell you anything about your course? It’s not as easy as saying ooh #1 ranked is better than #11 ranked - better at what??
Original post by yt7777
I never said it would be practical for employers and it wouldn't be useless as companies would be targeting graduates who have had a stronger education.
If you do it purely on degree classification then you're saying someone with a 1st from Southampton Solent University is better than a 2:1 from University of Southampton (for example).
If you do it purely on degree classification then you're saying someone with a 1st from Southampton Solent University is better than a 2:1 from University of Southampton (for example).
Yes. What else is there to base it on? Define 'better'. Where courses are accredited then it's easier to compare. For two similarly accredited courses the person with a 1st will absolutely be 'better' than the person with a 2:1.
Getting a degree is only the first step to getting a job - there could be individual and group interviews, online tests, psychometric tests and so on. The 'better' candidate would make it through. So it won't matter whether a person gets a 1st or a 2:1, and ultimately it means that both are able to apply for the job. Companies don't care who has the 'stronger education', they want the person who's the best fit for the firm. Education is only one small part of that.
Original post by fabragas27
Oh and I forgot to mention if your surname is Rockefeller or your family just so happens to have some kick ass connections with the biggest lawyers in town, then sure go ahead with Law. But otherwise nah, forget it.
Nepotism, sucking **** and cronyism is the only way to go in Law. Exactly how it is in banking. Toodles.
Nepotism, sucking **** and cronyism is the only way to go in Law. Exactly how it is in banking. Toodles.
"In town". If you're working for a solicitors in town, and they're all from Beds, don't expect them to welcome the Oxford grad with open arms. They might very well think you won't fit in with the team. These firms especially rely on tried-and-tested people because they don't have the resources to develop grads from scratch.
Original post by RogerOxon
I'd quite like an intelligent lawyer. Intelligence allows you to learn from experience much more quickly.
And only lawyers from Oxford, Mr Oxon, have intelligence. It might be that if both were at the start of their careers that the raw intelligence, or the superiority of the Oxford grad, would be relevant.
As I was talking about an experience advantage to one, it follows that that person has already had and learnt from those experiences. It doesn't matter to you how long it took him to do so. Knowledge is knowledge.
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