AIBU to think going to an RG university means absolutely nothing

I think people can think and do what they think is best. My view is that you decide the course you want, look at the rankings, look at the course content and how it’s delivered and apply for the best you can. For something like economics it’s simple, Russell Groups at the top along with other highly regarded and established universities eg Bath. For something more obscure/specialised it may be an unknown university near the top. But let’s not pretend that economics at LSE is the same as economics from UWE.

Neither do I think a first from Oxbridge or Bath is the same as a first from a lower ranking uni. If my DC can’t get the grades for a respected course at a respected uni then it’s not worth going and getting the debt imo.

Ok others do similar and they aren’t all Russel Group so it’s meaningless particular when you look at the origins of “Russell Group” and what it is.

I think it makes a big difference to STEM subjects .Other degrees less so ,say Media of Geography .My own DS attended a secondary modern boys school. He got in at a top RG uni, even though he had slightly lower grades .They put him at his ease at his interview and he thrived there .Now with an MSC and a well paid job in Industry.

She’s applying to top uni’s for subject, which are all RG.

I don't think it's most important factor in choosing a university but I don't think you can write it off as a complete waste of time either.
The RG is a research group so it has more impact at post grad level for students but despite this plenty of other unis have strong research setups too.
It can reflect on course content and it can be really interesting to study with someone who is a leading researcher in their field. Is it necessary to get a good degree/job, no, but it can have value. Like it or not, some companies and specialties place value on RG and Oxbridge degrees. Others not so much.

Exactly this. You put it so much better than I tried to last night.
It only matters to people going into a small and select group of traditional occupations and competitive parents who have to have something to make themselves feel they are somehow winning at life because their children are going to an RG uni, doncha knows. It's all very suburban middle class and unimaginative.

I work in info security and data protection, again it is not always relevant it depends how much experience and expertise you have.

It's relevant and a wheat from a chaff selection criteria for some employers but I think it wholly depends on the job you are recruiting for. For example, my DH is an Architect at Director level and is not looking for RG university credentials.

I agree, our son had no interest in research, nor even uni really. He went to get a degree so he could get a good job - if he could have got his job without a degree, he’d have not gone to uni. He chose his subject and uni based wholly on employability factors. I think that’s a more common attitude these days now that so many have to go to uni for jobs rather than decades ago when far fewer went but more for academic interest and research than employability. It’s why RG unis are losing their cutting edge.

Not unreasonable hell I never went to any uni and I'm yet to spontaneously combust

Who is Russell anyway??

They had their first meeting at Russell sq...🤷🏼‍♀️

Is he? Did I say he only interviewed people from RG universities?
You said you only got the interview because you attended a RG university...and that having put a number of children though private school make him particularly knowledgeable about the quality of universities.
That not only makes him a snob but also outdated and uninformed.

I think things are changing, many CS applications require an anonymised CV to try to remove bias.

I suspect that most students aren't really interested in the research credentials of a university.

It's interesting that it is generally employers of "stuffy" careers place that more emphasis on RG universities, and worrying that vocational degrees are regarded as lesser because many of them are at non RG universities.

As someone who graduated from one of those mentioned I’d never heard of the Russell Group until several years after leaving university. If you go to Imperial/Oxford/ Cambridge, that’s how it’s referred to. Also “Oxbridge” isn’t really a thing either.

Is he? Did I say he only interviewed people from RG universities?

I’d literally never heard of an RG uni until I joined MN. I know that Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews are kind of meant to be on par nowadays, and then I think RG is like a level down from that? And then all the others are ‘normal’. But I would have NO idea which unis to put in the RG category.

All of my kids’ aunts and uncles went to oxbridge and a couple of grandparents too so I feel I would have heard it if RG means oxbridge!?

Isn’t there something about Red Brick unis too? Who is Russell anyway??

Big employers look a lot more deeply than which Uni. Modern recruitment is often more skills based with tiers of online aptitude tests, virtual assessment centres, etc., and lots of recruitment is blind to the uni. Things have changed drastically in the last few years.

Yes, I’m sure there are still firms and industries that have kept old fashioned ideas, maybe such as magic circle law firms, and some public sector dinosaurs, but lots of employers are “weeding out” applicants in better ways by using the modern tech to test for skills and aptitude.

But he is a snob and is potentially missing out on great employees.
His loss though.

It’s not meaningless.

There are lots of good non Russell Group unis but if you are looking for a research facility it’s a Russell Group uni you’ll probably go for.

In the last 2 years I’ve looked around 18 unis with 2 DC and they both picked a Russell Group uni but they also looked at non RG unis. They picked based on what each course offered.

It's not all about graduate recruiters. I got an interview for my last (small company) job because of my uni even at age 35. My boss put 7 kids through private school and knew it was a good one that was hard to get into. It happens to be RG.

I'm sure certain posters will be along to say they wouldn't want to work for such a snob etc. etc. but I had a great 5 years working for him.

@HighLadyofTheNightCourt

Students are better looking at subject rankings and subject specific employability data.

Nail on the head. The statistics area all well published in the league tables and unis own websites. Prospective students should do the research themselves and not rely on the likes of teachers influencing them by over stating the importance of outdated metrics like RG or not. My sons sixth form head was aghast that he was applying for any non RG unis - totally out of date with the modern World and how so manly non RG unis have been speeding up the rankings.

They said exactly the same when I was applying - record numbers of applications in 2013, degrees will be useless as more competition for jobs etc - and I still hold that it's only relevant for certain fields of work, as I know 2023 graduates from ex polys etc who've had no issues getting jobs.

It's still a top 20 university and RG.

YANBU it’s mostly irrelevant snobbery these days. We have non RG unis regularly appearing in top 10 of various league tables and “which uni” reports which proves that the lazy assumption of a RG uni automatically being better than non RG is bollocks. It’s a self selecting group that make their own admission rules!

Our son got offers from bothRG and non RG unis and chose a non RG. It hadn’t held him back at all. He got a graduate scheme job in one of the UKs biggest financial firms, as well as an offer for another big firm. Where he works, lots of the other graduates and sandwich year work placements are from non RG unis - they have a thorough application process which is skill based even for sandwich year placements and don’t place much emphasis on which Uni -it’s all about what you can do and how you think. Lots of their grads come from the same unis - mostly non RG! They have lots from Bath and Lancaster for example which are both highly ranked for Maths, above lots of RG unis!