Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Are all UK universities really that terrible?

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lsc2002

Every university is going to have some bad reviews. It’s the same with everything. To people saying they only had 3 weeks to do a dissertation and had no support, well surely they know they would have to do a dissertation at some point? What was it such a big surprise? People like to nitpick and complain about every little thing. It’s who we are.

Reply 21

username2825764

Original post by 999tigger

...you are better off trying another country to go to uni.

tory brexiteers have made that harder now.

Reply 22

999tigger

Original post by MalcolmX

tory brexiteers have made that harder now.

Depends who you are. I got the impression they were an international student.
The whole premise of the thread imo is ridiculous, anyway.

Reply 23

73iso

Original post by 999tigger

Depends who you are. I got the impression they were an international student.
The whole premise of the thread imo is ridiculous, anyway.

I'm being very serious, most UK universities seem to have its share of horrifying reviews the equivalent of which I am unable to find in the USA or Canada. I think I should add a few examples to illustrate this problem. I was thinking of applying to a few universities in Scotland.
This review is of the University of Edinburgh.

Spoiler

This review is of the University of Glasgow.

Spoiler

These reviews are somewhat terrifying and may stop candidates from applying at these universities. I will try to find more examples to illustrate my point.

Reply 24

999tigger

Original post by 73iso

Spoiler

This review is of the University of Glasgow.

Spoiler

These reviews are somewhat terrifying and may stop candidates from applying at these universities. I will try to find more examples to illustrate my point.

You arent being helpful imo.
You are casting the whole uni as that when it consists of 20,000-30,000 people.
You arent taking into account the vast majority of students who have no complaints and some have an amazing time.
If they were as universally bad as you are claiming, then youd find a lot more than anonymous reviews.111
Go to US or Canada, then or dont go at all.

Reply 25

73iso

Original post by 999tigger

The fact that anyone would have those sorts of experiences worries me. I am worried that if I attend those universities i may have the same experience they had.

Reply 26

harrysbar

Original post by 73iso

The fact that anyone would have those sorts of experiences worries me. I am worried that if I attend those universities i may have the same experience they had.

The solution to your worries is quite obvious ....avoid UK unis and you should have no problems :h:

Reply 27

Oxford Mum

My son has just graduated from Oxford. He has sky high standards and says it was 10 times better than even he expected.

He is too busy going off to visit his uni friends or socialising to bother about filling in student satisfaction surveys. So if you think a handful of bad reviews represents an entire student body you are mistaken.

I am sure unis in America and Canada have their fair share of disgruntled students as well. If you have such a biased view of our unis, maybe we are better off without you.

Reply 28

73iso

I wonder if this has something to do with the British having a tendency to be critical.

Reply 29

73iso

Actually, no, some of the reviews have facts rather than opinions which tend not to have bias.

Reply 30

_Charlotte21

I wouldn’t say that they were terrible but just massively overpriced. Other universities in Europe charge well less and their quality of teaching is on par with ours here in the UK.

Reply 31

73iso

Original post by _Charlotte21

I wouldn’t say that they were terrible but just massively overpriced. Other universities in Europe charge well less and their quality of teaching is on par with ours here in the UK.

I think university should be free like it is in other European countries like Germany but that would mean that there would be fewer university places because of lost funding.

Reply 32

jonathanemptage

Original post by 73iso

I have read reviews on TSR and on other sites like StudentCrowd and it seems that all universities seem to have its share of terrible reviews saying things that make me worry about going to university. A lot of people say that their university is in some way unable to support them, has bad lectures or staff or has caused an incident in some way or another. The bad reviews of each university make me very worried about going somewhere to study. Are universities in the UK that bad or are reviewers setting the bar too high?

a review by it very nature is critical but every thing has down points for instance I loved my university but some halls were quite away from campus (I'm looking at you LFW) and the lecture rooms were quite hot. But I loved the course and the area and the lectures were very good and quite approachable and the library was well stocked and comfortable. my point is is that even if there are some things people don't like there will also b edits they do like that possibly out weigh the thing they don't like.

Reply 33

marple

Original post by 73iso

The fact that anyone would have those sorts of experiences worries me. I am worried that if I attend those universities i may have the same experience they had.

There are over 1.8 million undergraduates at uk universities https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/facts-and-stats/Pages/higher-education-data.aspx. How many reviews have you read? People tend to review if they have had a problem, the reviews you have read are one persons view and are not representative of the majority of their fellow students. At whatever school you have attended there will have been students who loved it and some who were not happy with the experience. That's life. University style of studying does not suit everyone; undergraduates are adults and are expected to conduct themselves as such and that can be hard for students used to a 9-4 school day with lots of spoon-feeding. My "children" and their friends went to a wide range of universities in England and Wales, and all spoke highly of the experience - anecdotal evidence I know, but at least as valuable as those reviews you've been reading.

As others have suggested, visit those you are interested, ask questions of student there (there are always current students on hand to chat with), look at the style of study and generally get a feel for the place.

Look at student satisfaction figures in general - eg the complete university guide https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings to give you a broader view.