The Student Room Group

What if your university goes down in the league tables?

Lets speak hypothetically here for a moment.

Say you gained a degree from x University, which was in the top 15. Say a couple of years or so after you gain your degree, something disastrous happens at the university (such as a change in management which turns out to be really negative) and the university ends up dropping down the league tables, how much would this effect someone who's profession is quite reliant on university prestige?

Obviously this probably wouldn't happen to Oxbridge, and i'm not one of those league table freaks; i'm just proposing a hypothetical, 'what if' situation here.

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I agree that league tables aren't necessarily accurate indicators of the absolute quality of a university. In terms of the general reputation though, I'm sure people would be aware of any dramatic change. I read about the comment of someone on The Apprentice on the BBC that 'Edinburgh is not what it used to be', or something to that effect. I think employers, or at least those with experience of dealing with lots of graduates, will notice any change in the quality of the people they're taking on. :^_^:
Reply 2
well, the employer will know the uni has dropped since i graduate.
its true, go and revise/sleep
I dont think its a situation worth thinking about, league tables are pretty much stable. If it did happen you'd just have to live with it.
I will definitely kill myself. I'm a snob (not joking) and uni prestige is utterly important to me.
Reply 5
Well it depends if its your fault that the university lost places on the ranking or not.
Reply 6
Well by then, I'm assuming that you would have already begun your career and thus you tend to be judged more on your performance in employment rather than which university you went to. That doesn't mean to say where you got your degree from becomes completely irrelevant though.
Reply 7
I would start threads on the internet to troll for my university and whinge about the unfairness of league tables and how rubbish they are.
Reply 8
I'd silently weep into my tea every morning.
stormfire
Lets speak hypothetically here for a moment.

Say you gained a degree from x University, which was in the top 15. Say a couple of years or so after you gain your degree, something disastrous happens at the university (such as a change in management which turns out to be really negative) and the university ends up dropping down the league tables, how much would this effect someone who's profession is quite reliant on university prestige?

Obviously this probably wouldn't happen to Oxbridge, and i'm not one of those league table freaks; i'm just proposing a hypothetical, 'what if' situation here.

Why would it not happen to Oxbridge?
Universities fluctuate considerably on the tables yearly, it doesn't seem to cause any issues, why would it of course? Unless something went so dramatically wrong that it made headline news then I doubt any problems would occur, even then, people would realise you had finished your degree there when it was 'good'
that is why you should go for generally big name uni's like the red brick ones
I dont think it matters really because it matters what degree you get. You may go to a top university and not get the best degree. Its individuals that matter and you go to the university you want to go to not the one at the top of the league table.
I can't imagine it being as bad as the pound sterling dropping in value like it has.
yodude888
Well it depends if its your fault that the university lost places on the ranking or not.


:rofl: If you happen to be someone who managed to single-handedly drag your university down the league tables, then that's a pretty big achievement. :biggrin:
To answer the OP, no, not really. I never really checked the league tables, just applied to unis I liked with courses I liked, so I find league tables kind of irrelevant.
Reply 15
stormfire
Lets speak hypothetically here for a moment.

Say you gained a degree from x University, which was in the top 15. Say a couple of years or so after you gain your degree, something disastrous happens at the university (such as a change in management which turns out to be really negative) and the university ends up dropping down the league tables, how much would this effect someone who's profession is quite reliant on university prestige?

Obviously this probably wouldn't happen to Oxbridge, and i'm not one of those league table freaks; i'm just proposing a hypothetical, 'what if' situation here.


First of all, there are very few professions that rely so heavily on "university prestige". Even in IB, those universities that are the most targeted. They don't go, "oh, Bath is higher than Manchester in the league tables, we'll employ the Manchester grad". This brings me onto the next point.

Even in those areas employers don't really look at league tables in great detail. They are only 15 years old, are flawed and employers have been employing people for far longer than that. When it comes to targeting universities. Even areas like IB, they know which universities to target from experienec and demand as university strength/league table position.

Also, even after just "a couple of years" you'll probably be in your graduate job and have your foot in the door. Getting the experience and contacts. They aren't going to turn around and say, "sorry son, your university has dropped fifteen places in the league tables, you're sacked".

Oh, also, even if you do take the league tables seriously there's no real difference between a number of top 15 unis and those between 15 - 30. Even employers recognise this :p:
If you have a child who grows up to become rich and sucessfull, but one day loses their wealth and prestige would you disown them?
I would.
Ha i have a really good plan, invent something adn a theory and get a noble price to make the uni famous
:smile:
Its this that puts me off places like loughborough which have started to do well very recently.

I would personally try to hit one of the ancients in the hope you get consistency of prestige, performance, etc.
Reply 19
I'm kind of experiencing this as a Notts student - top 10 when I applied, now top 15-20 in the tables. It hasn't affected me, done alright getting interviews and stuff.