AIBU to think going to an RG university means absolutely nothing

If I am an employer based in the UK and I get a person from, say, Africa applying for a post with a degree from an Ethiopian uni then maybe, yes. But not if I am a UK employer with a person applying with a UK degree. I think most employers don't especially care.

In any case I have long believed that a former teen mum from a sink comp with no background of attending uni in her family, who goes back into study at age 25 with a couple of toddlers to wrangle, attends her local ex-poly so she can live at home is showing more grit and determination than a child who has sailed through prep school, private day school and into Bristol or Durham or wherever. I certainly would be impressed and wouldn't chuck her out because she didn't attend RG.

Yes
and will pick RGs for example

I was responding to someone who only considered League tables
I pointed out, there are League Tables and there are more accurate League Tables which more employers will look at if they really haven’t got a clue what Unis they prefer.

In my Profession most firms chose students based on certain Universities that they know emphasise areas that are more important to their focus.
As a vocational subject for us that’s key, and the best is not always RG. In fact not that long ago they weren’t even Universities pumping out the best students.

Not all careers are the same
But there is no doubt that going to an RG Uni is beneficial and stats show that earnings for RG grads are higher than non RG.
( of note St Andrews is an exception )

Now I’m just repeating myself so I’ll move on.

@MissConductUS

Universities have always been the locus of noisy protests about human rights abuses and war. Sometimes there's been some shitty behaviour on these protests. That's a fairly long way from the widespread chaos and disruption your posts infer.

As for the link to people's attitudes towards the protests - the majority of those polled are either supportive or not sure about the protests, so I don't know what the point of you posting that link was.

All rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt and certainly shouldn't be the sole reason for choosing a university.
There is an element of game playing and some universities are better/willing to play that game.

And I say that as someone who has a specific KPI linked to rankings.

I have another kid who is doing a practical and creative course at Nottingham Trent. It has been the absolute making of him and a wonderful experience, but I am not going to say that it's just as prestigious as a RG uni, because it isn't. But it's been a good uni for my not especially academic kid, and it's a good former poly uni.

Well they won’t as UK employers will be employing UK students first who pretty much all go to UK unis.

They are the Times world rankings

Its worth noting all rankings are potentially skewed because Universities advertise and use their rankings and researchers benefit from that. ( to put it simply )
The UK Times one along with other UK ones however also ( along with the above ) use student surveys and opinions which can heavily affect a Universities place in the table as we’ve seen in the past.

So
If I knew nothing about a candidate because they came from another country I would look at the World Rankings
If Employers want to get the best unbiased data they wouldn’t look at UK rankings for a University They would look at World rankings. The Times of which is highly regarded

Some RG unis are better than others
Some Non RG unis are better than others
Some RG unis are better than non RG unis
Some Non RG Unis are better than RG unis

That's why it's important for the student to do some research as to their options in terms of universities, courses, etc., and not just lazily make assumptions.

And nice versa- examples of Russel group are never Glasgow, Belfast, Queen Mary, Liverpool etc

Well yes, because they are arguing that some unis are just as good. Not that all unis are equal.

St Andrews, Bath, Lancaster, Loughborough…

Yep and job prospects after.

It's always interesting when people discuss the merits of RG v Non RG as the examples of 'just as good' unis they give are always St Andrews, Bath, Lancaster etc. It's never London Met, Beds or Wolverhampton. Just my observation, whether it's MN or WIWIKAU.

The times higher rankings do appear biased , just differently so.

What are these "world rankings" based on? Given the tab that says 'how to get your uni ranked' forgive my skepticism. It appears to be research based but as an undergrad, it's teaching that matters more.

I kind of think student views are somewhat important.

Sorry, yes my DD is currently working alongside graduates from Bath. I should have specified that it might not be coincidence that there's no one from a post-1992 university.

Employers do have an idea of which universities are better than others in terms of the quality of student and education and it will be an advantage for students especially on traditional courses

not a guarantee , but an advantage

Actually, they've shot themselves in the foot by allowing pro Palestinian protestors to take over campuses, vandalize buildings, disrupt academic activities and block Jewish students from attending classes. Ordinary students who just want to pursue their studies have rights too.

What Americans think about recent pro-Palestinian campus protests

Two of my son's flatmates in a top 10 non RG university got graduate scheme placements in top 4 accountancy firms, and he got a placement in one of the country's largest financial services firms, several of his graduate colleagues also came from non RG unis such as Bath and Lancaster which are both very highly ranked for Maths.

I’m no specialist in maths but as you are basing this on league tables.
Looking at the World Rankings because

• With a subject like maths employers are likely to be Global employers
• World rankings aren’t skewed by biased student views ( look at what happened to rankings during the pandemic for example )

You will see for 2025 for Maths &Stats ( the results are combined )
Lancaster is at no. 168
Liverpool is at no. 160

So if I was comparing the two Liverpool is higher on the Leagues and an RG

Sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't. DD is at a RG university and currently doing a placement year with one of the Big Four. She's already been accepted onto their graduate program too.

All the other placements are from RG universities, as are all the new graduates she's met too. I doubt this is a coincidence?

American universities tend to feature on top university lists - in part because there are so many of them. Other countries around the world are equally strong in teaching, research and resources.

@LavenderBlue19 Ha! That’s disputed by some. We could add Hull, Nottingham and Cardiff but they aren’t the original 6. Not that it matters.

Many have money issues due to lack of international students. Leicester always feels a bit parochial to me now and none of DDs friends considered it. It’s 36 on CUG and only QMUL from RG is below it. However like everywhere else, it will have some great courses.

I think times are changing regarding university choices made by students with previous popular ones losing status (some plate glass ones) and others really becoming very popular. It’s partly fashion I think because quality in the top 20 (excluding a few elite ones) won’t be discernible to employers. What a student brings to a job is what matters and university is just part of that equation.

They're the best universities in the world. Fantastic teaching. Wonderful resources.

I think what you're reacting to is the ideological attacks they're under from the current US administration, which is doing what every authoritarian government has ever done - namely attack academia and encourage anti-intellectualism.

Leicester (University of, not De Montfort which is ex-poly). I actually chose Leicester over Liverpool because I preferred the halls and campus.

ETA - I just had a Google, they were apparently invited to join but declined. Not sure I'd send a DC there now as they were one of the first to start mass redundancies and obviously have major money problems, but in the late 90s/early 2000s they were definitely considered a good uni. We had a lot of overseas students and many of the friends I made there were from the US, so I wonder if that income has reduced.