University of Essex - Level of respect & graduate prospects

the uni of essex is very well repected, a degree from here will be good, i swear you can get into accountancy without a degree?

economic and politics department are one of the best in the country, with many of its other department as well are very very good

about 50 or 60% of people who teach a social science have had part of the teaching done at the uni of essex

You can, but if the OP is hoping to aim for the 'big 4' accountancy firms a degree is required for the grad schemes etc. With increasing competition, especially in the current climate, the quality of the university you graduate from is becoming a key deciding factor.

oh if your aiming for the big 4, your need to go to the top unis

It helps. I would like to think solid grades, ECs etc would override this though. I know of people from universities such as Brunel who make it fine in the 'big 4', but that could have a lot to do with the work placement schemes they offer.

I am currently a student at Essex studying economics. I was talking to my GTA about the recent grades in my macroeconomics course and she said that there was an appalling number of students who just have absolutely no idea what is going on in the course. The average grade was about 50 for an easy test that covered the simplest questions of the material. A great deal of students here treat education like it is a joke. I think the universities reputation reflects the student attitude. Quite frankly I have been very disappointed with the University in all aspects.

I feel somehow sympathetic about your situation and am lucky that I don't feel what you feel. If you are so disappointed in all aspects, you must be very unhappy. To me, disappointment should not be an outcome of others' learning attitude. Why bother about what grade the others get? As long as I have made effort and am serious in my study, that is great! All universities have students who are serious workers and who are not. I just come to learn what I am interested in and make sure I can get the most out of my 3-yr uni education. Then I feel happy and satisfied.

The point I was making that you seem to have missed is that the majority of essex students are not serious minded students, they are there for a 3 year piss up. If that is what you consider to be a sound academic environment then I am happy for you also.

oh if your aiming for the big 4, your need to go to the top unis

My 2p here!
Even though I am not familiar with Essex, I visited it in September with someone ready for the start of term. I saw loads of passionate student helpers there answering all kinds of questions and giving assistance to new comers. I was also impressed by the beautiful environment and was pretty sure that my friend has made a good choice there. My friend is a very serious student but not really gets hold of the effective learning strategies. He once emailed me that even though he tried hard on the essay, he got a disappointing grade. Working hard may not give him a good grade as there are other factors affecting especially he has a brand new environment to adjust to, feeling home sick and stressed...
I did some research for my friend before he decided to take the offer. According to NSS, 88% of students were satisfied with the university and I didn't see discrepancy in graduate prospects as compared with other unis.
In Hong Kong, Essex is one of the more popular choices for students with an average competence.
If some people are disappointed or unhappy with where they are, they need to cope with it before the situation deteriorates. Others need not disagree because it is personal experience and feeling that we must respect here. During my uni education, I did have ups and downs. I had classmates who seldom showed up for lectures as they were busy with part time jobs. If they treat education like a joke, it is their business.

It does surprise me that you seem to dislike your course so much 'economicessex' as I was under the impression that economics was one of essex's stronger subjects. You seem to say that everyone is there for a piss up though are there any other reasons why you dislike it so much, for example, is the university in general not as good as you had hoped for? Just asking as i'm interested in what you have to say as I could be in the same position as you in a year's time which is something I would like to avoid if possible

I agree, it seems that Essex is full of 'average' students. The British students tend to be very 'average' and if anyone has kept track of the deteriorating standards of education in the UK (see above post - incorrect use of 'hear' which is inexcusable even when writing quickly) is exceedingly poor. In fact, higher education did not even need to be a big deal back in the eighties when the UK actually had a real economy and high school graduates could leave school and find work. Then of course Thatcher destroyed the economy and the govt had to fudge unemployment figures by cramming lots of poorly prepared teenagers into higher education....consequently standards of education had to come down a lot or everyone would flunk out.....now first year students grades dont even count so they can concentrate on their binge drinking skills. I think most Uni students dont realize by the time they all graduate there wont be enough jobs to go around.