Does a universities specialism outweigh its league table position

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Reply 1

Sinnoh

22

Nobody actually cares that much about ranking, and reputation is subjective as hell. At the end of the day it's just a degree from a decent university.
That's not mentioning the fact that their positions on rankings fluctuate a lot and what's rank 1 this year may dip the next year.

And there's the difference between rankings. Guardian puts Liverpool as #1, Complete puts it at #22. Which is more correct? neither.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

From my experience I would say go on specialism for your course where student satisfaction is the key metric, and also if there are particular facilities or institutional specialities that may interest you (eg. Loughborough engineering department has access to some world class equipment for F1 teams).

For everything else, go for overall rep - you will be surrounded by slightly keener, more motivated students at Bath than Liverpool

Reply 3

username4591444

21

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Personally I go by rankings in the subject area, i have not seen vast differences between the overall rating (max. 1 to top 25) so can't comment on that. But lots of league rankings like The Times rank them according to 'student satisfaction' and 'student engagement', based on students opinions on tutors, rather than their marks or quality of employment afterwards. Only the really obviously not-so-good ones count, like 80th place in the rankings in a random town. But from the 4 you mentioned, they are all reputable and your decision might be based more on your personal preference, like module details, what the area has to offer, uni culture, campus, etc.

Reply 4

University of East Anglia UG Student Rep

Official Rep

11

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Hi @NIGnogg67,

I'm a current second-year student at UEA and I have to say that league tables don't really play a part that much, at least they didn't when I chose to go to UEA. I would completely recommend choosing the uni you like the most, with the best course for you and the best atmosphere, and then if league tables are useful for you then go for it!

I found this piece useful when thinking about uni choices - https://www.unilodgers.com/blog/how-important-are-uk-university-rankings-and-league-table-uk

I would thoroughly recommend UEA for its atmosphere, but that completely depends on what you want out of your experience! Feel free to ask any more questions!

Becca

I would say pick a uni based on its course strength and its suitability for you, rather than its placement on "overall league tables". Ultimately, once you're on the course, it's your university's strength in the subject that will matter, rather than its placement on a league table. Some universities that have popular names are really nothing special for some subjects.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 6

swanseajack1

19

Subjects rankings are totally unreliable and the Guardian rankings even more so. The numbers completing student subject reports are very small and a few disgruntled students have a major effect. I wouldnt rely on subject rankings for this reason.

Reply 7

University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Official Rep

16

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Hi @NIGnogg67!

I would agree with the general consensus on here that you should take rankings with a pinch of salt. It also doesn't hurt to pay some attention to student satisfaction statistics, especially for your course as @A Rolling Stone suggests - this comes from the National Student Survey which is an annual survey that final year students take every year, so I think it is a good indicator. You might also want to look at the facilities, if they are actively researching and if the research/course has won any awards. However, I think all of these statistics/factors should really be used to help you initially narrow down the field and select what universities you want to go and look at on Open Days - and then you apply/choose your firms based on how much you liked the university, felt excited about going, and your interest in the course content.

For example - Liverpool may be ranked 1st for your subject area, but you could end up visiting and really not liking it over Bath or Nottingham. Or vice versa!

I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions, please ask!

Danielle - Official Student Rep :smile:

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Hi there - I am a 3rd year student at the University of Bath.

As everyone else has said, I would be cautious with rankings! In general, rankings can provide a good insight into the reputation of the University but I would focus on what you want to get out of it. Rankings can be quite good for providing you a short list (10 or more?) Universities and courses to look at but shouldn't be used to pick 1.

Rankings fluctuate a lot, particularly for subject area. When I applied to Uni, the ranking for my course was 3rd I believe, then it dropped and now it's back to being quite high. There are a number of factors which affect rankings and a lot of it has nothing to do with teaching / student experience. A lot of it is to do with the quality of research outputs which has quite stringent judgement criteria and tends to not impact students at all.

If you follow this link, you can see data on BSc pharmacology at Bath, including student statisfaction. The website should also be able to give you data from other Universities. I would recommend using this to help your decision!

More importantly, you should have a look at the differences between the courses themselves (modules, assessment styles, placements, teaching, employabilitiy etc.) as this will hugely impact your experience. Also have a look at the University as a whole - Do you like the city it's in? Is it campus or city? What are the facilities like? All of these things will impact whether you like the Uni. If possible, I would highly recommend going to see the Universities and speaking to students.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions :smile:

Leah
3rd Year Chemical Engineering

Reply 9

Lpool Ambassador

1

Original post by NIGnogg67

So i am thinking of applying next year for Pharmacology i have considered Nottingham, Bristol, UEA, Bath and Liverpool. I've had a look at the guardian subject area rankings and Liverpool is 1st for my course but 50th overall followed by Bristol, Nottingham, Bath and UEA. So what i'm trying to say is will my degree be worth more if its from Liverpool(1st in subject area) Vs the others lower in subject area but have a better reputation such as Bath and Nottingham.

Hi

I'm currently a third year at the University of Liverpool and I agree with the others in that rankings shouldn't be the only thing you focus on when applying to University. It's more how you feel about the University and if you think it's right for you - this can be academic (module choice/ teaching style/ assessment style), however it's also important to look at the University and think about what else it has to offer (societies, sports, facilities, etc). For me I went to an open day at the University of Liverpool and I really liked the feeling of the University, I could genuinely see myself studying there. If you have any more questions about the University of Liverpool feel free to ask! :smile:

Katherine
BSc Geography

Reply 10

moosec

13

As others have said, league tables aren't accurate. For example, the lowest-ranked uni in the table this year is literally only ranked bottom because it's just received uni status (after years of being a Higher Education college) and it's a really small student body... But it's reputation within its industry is absolutely stellar.
Go based on a uni's employment rates, course structure, facilities, but most importantly which you felt happiest at on open days. There's no point going to a uni that you didn't feel good vibes from just because it has "good" reputation, because it may not be the right uni for you :smile:

Does a universities specialism outweigh its league table position

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you