The Student Room Group

Need advice; (University ranking)

Recently I have received an offer to study MSc occupational therapy in both Northumbria university and Cumbria university. I have been to Cumbria and really enjoy the living/university environment. I accepted my offer straight away because I liked it so much before I got an offer from Northumbria.

However, I checked on the ranking on the complete university guide seems like Cumbria is quite bad in ranking. Northumbria has high ranking but tbf i dont like the place. The master course in cumbria is accredited with HCPC standard but It is a shame it has a low ranking .

I don't know what should I do now should I care about the ranking when it is accredited? Can I still change my mind after accepting an offer? Since i have already declined northumbria, if i now say to them i change my mind will i still be given a place?
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by uglyhermit123
Recently I have received an offer to study MSc occupational therapy in both Northumbria university and Cumbria university. I have been to Cumbria and really enjoy the living/university environment. I accepted my offer straight away because I liked it so much before I got an offer from Northumbria.

However, I checked on the ranking on the complete university guide seems like Cumbria is quite bad in ranking. Northumbria has high ranking but tbf i dont like the place. The master course in cumbria is accredited with HCPC standard but It is a shame it has a low ranking .

I don't know what should I do now should I care about the ranking when it is accredited? Can I still change my mind after accepting an offer? Since i have already declined northumbria, if i now say to them i change my mind will i still be given a place?

It's your personal preference as to how you want to look at the situation. You might be able to change your mind, but you'll need to encounter some difficulties. I don't think NU will give you an offer again since you already rejected it.

Well, there are two ways to look at it, including overall ranking and subject-wise ranking. If you're considering the overall ranking, then NU is way better than UoC. UoC isn't even listed in the QS UK university rankings for 2023, while the other one is. In contrast, if you look at the subject-wise ranking, UoC can be ahead of NU to some extent. Also, did you look at the course modules to see which ones you found interesting? The academic reputation of the course too?
Original post by Meheraj
It's your personal preference as to how you want to look at the situation. You might be able to change your mind, but you'll need to encounter some difficulties. I don't think NU will give you an offer again since you already rejected it.

Well, there are two ways to look at it, including overall ranking and subject-wise ranking. If you're considering the overall ranking, then NU is way better than UoC. UoC isn't even listed in the QS UK university rankings for 2023, while the other one is. In contrast, if you look at the subject-wise ranking, UoC can be ahead of NU to some extent. Also, did you look at the course modules to see which ones you found interesting? The academic reputation of the course too?

The modules are pretty much the same. I guess it happens to HCPC accreditation course.
I checked the ranking of the course "occupational therapy" UoC have a ranking of 15 out of 53 in comparison , Northumbria has 6 out of 53.
TBH I didn't care much about ranking as I only focused on the course ranking. I only picked cumbria because I feel the interview process was quite intimidating in northumbria which leaves me with not a great impression.
Original post by uglyhermit123
The modules are pretty much the same. I guess it happens to HCPC accreditation course.
I checked the ranking of the course "occupational therapy" UoC have a ranking of 15 out of 53 in comparison , Northumbria has 6 out of 53.
TBH I didn't care much about ranking as I only focused on the course ranking. I only picked cumbria because I feel the interview process was quite intimidating in northumbria which leaves me with not a great impression.

Don't bother then.
For OT it doesn’t matter where you qualify as long as it’s an accredited course then you’ll be a qualified occupational therapist. If you feel one place is better for you (rather than going by league tables) then you’ll likely learn more and enjoy your studies more there. It’s different for some courses but for OT the uni ranking is not really something you need to take into account- all courses have to cover the same things, so go where feels best for you