What is a competitive uni?

I've heard people talking about competitive unis, and I was wondering what makes a university competitive and how do you distinguish it from normal ones?

Reply 1

scabletable

Original post

by marvellous-bird

I've heard people talking about competitive unis, and I was wondering what makes a university competitive and how do you distinguish it from normal ones?

Usually those that have higher entry requirements and receive a high volume of applications but only offer so many spaces. Often unis that are apart of the Russel Group, or rank really well for specific courses

Reply 2

LancashireRep4

Official Rep

Original post

by marvellous-bird

I've heard people talking about competitive unis, and I was wondering what makes a university competitive and how do you distinguish it from normal ones?

Hi @marvellous-bird ,

This is a great question!

Competitive universities tend to be those near the top of the university rankings, or Russel groups. These universities receive high volumes of applications, therefore making them more difficult to get into. You may also find their entry requirements are higher on some courses.

You can distinguish these in a couple of ways. First, look at Russel group universities. These are research-based and are high competitive, however it does not mean the course is anymore valuable than going to a non-Russel group. Another way to distinguish is looking at university rankings, however you may also find an overall ranking varies from different sources and between courses.

I recommend deciding your universities based on factors that are important to yourself. This could be grade requirements, modules, distance, cost of living and more.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (University of Lancashire)

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

*Russell

There is no set definition. A single course could be very competitive at a lower ranked uni, or it could be a pushover to get into a less popular course at a highly ranked one.

Broadly speaking, the higher the entry requirements, the more competitive the course.