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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think university snobbery must stop

708 replies

Staceystace · 30/08/2018 19:22

I was telling a friend about my nephew who is off to University. I said to her he is off to x uni to study English, she said oh I didn’t even realise that was even a uni. She then went on to emphasise how her daughter is off to a top 20 uni, she went on to say how she wouldn’t have gone if it was not a Russell or 1994 group as she does not think it is worth the debt. I just got the vibe she was looking down on my nephews uni. Aibu to think this sort of snobbery about unis is terrible and needs to stop. My nephew is not the most academic, but surely not everyone is capable of going to a russell group.

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 30/08/2018 19:24

I see what you are saying.

But also, there are some courses at some universities with poor ongoing graduate employment.

topcat2014 · 30/08/2018 19:24

I got a 2-2 from a Russell group uni in early 90s.

Friends got a 1st from a former poly.

They got onto the 'graduate' jobs whereas I couldn't..

not bitter anymore :)

Squeegle · 30/08/2018 19:24

Horses for courses. I think there is room for academic differentiation- not all universities are the same, but by the same token som ex polys are miles better for certain courses.

She was extremely rude and insulting and that’s the issue here.

Original poster
Staceystace · 30/08/2018 19:27

I just seems that universities brings out the worse snobbery in people, like said friend is not snobby in regards to clothes or food or anything. It seems that somehow snobbery regarding unis is somehow seen as acceptable.

OP posts:
ManorGreyhound · 30/08/2018 19:27

Not all universities are equal though; some are better than others and will therefore carry greater 'status' for want of a better word.

YABU

ManorGreyhound · 30/08/2018 19:28

...your friend is a nob for being so unkind about it though, so on that point YANBU

WhirlyGigWhirlyGig · 30/08/2018 19:28

All university degrees aren't equal though.

She was rude though the way she seems to have lauded it over you.

AlexaShutUp · 30/08/2018 19:29

She was extremely rude and should not have spoken to you about your nephew like that. She is also wrong to focus on particular groups like Russell or 1994, as if they provide some sort of badge of quality. They don't.

Having said that, I do think that she has a point about some of the lower ranking institutions. Students do get into a huge amount of debt and for some of them, it's not clear as to whether it's "worth" it. Of course, a lot depends on the experience they have as well as the extent to which their degree equips them for their future lives and enhances their future earning potential. Ultimately, I suppose, it depends what you're looking to get out of it.

I hope your nephew has a fabulous time!Smile

Grasslands · 30/08/2018 19:29

Sadly even world wide there is a pecking order, it does vary somewhat by program.
Universities market themselves and actively encourage this.

FASH84 · 30/08/2018 19:30

DH recently had to apply to his uni (not a great one) for his transcript, he's doing a work related post grad. With the marks he got each year I wouldn't have been allowed to continue to the next year, let alone graduate (I attended a traditional RG). She is being unreasonable to make the comment to you as it had no real relevance, unless you were bragging and she was tired of it, but you are being unreasonable to think all universities are as good as each other. Some degrees genuinely aren't worth the debt as they won't improve employment prospects and the level of education is poor.

Biologifemini · 30/08/2018 19:30

It isn’t snobbery really. It is just they are not all equal and some courses are completely mis sold. Particularly to people who don’t know about universities - so they end up wasting money on an unemployable course at a uni where recruiters don’t tend to visit.

Dishwashersaurous · 30/08/2018 19:31

Although she was rude she was also accurate.

Some degrees are not worth the money

Maidsrus · 30/08/2018 19:31

I think the whole idea that unless you are academic you’ve failed needs to stop. There’s a place for everyone and lots of successful people aren’t academic. People find there own way.

Maidsrus · 30/08/2018 19:32

TheirBlush

condepetie · 30/08/2018 19:32

Yeah, my alma mater is an ex-poly and consistently ranks really well. Top post-'92 uni currently. I'm sure some of its courses are shit though, same as any other.

AlexaShutUp · 30/08/2018 19:33

It isn’t snobbery really. It is just they are not all equal and some courses are completely mis sold. Particularly to people who don’t know about universities - so they end up wasting money on an unemployable course at a uni where recruiters don’t tend to visit.

That is my main concern tbh. That people think they're investing in something worthwhile when it may well not be.

If people go in with their eyes wide open, know what they're paying for and are satisfied that it's worth it, then good luck to them.

Holidayshopping · 30/08/2018 19:34

But universities aren’t equal and they never have been. A degree from Oxbridge won’t be viewed the same by other people-particularly employers, as a degree from an ex-poly.

MotherofPearl · 30/08/2018 19:34

I work as an academic in a very traditional discipline, but in a former poly.

Some courses are better at certain universities, but this is not determined by whether they are in the Russell Group or not.

The snobbery you describe is absolutely a thing, but is generally based on ignorance of how universities in the UK actually work.

At most RG universities the teaching of undergraduates is left to PhD students and other post-grads. The academic staff often do very minimal actual teaching.

At most former polys, the teaching is done by the academics. This is the case in my own institution. And we are all PhD holders, and research active, with publications and research grants.

Most of the fawning over RG places and snobbery towards former polys is based on misperception.

Poloshot · 30/08/2018 19:34

Some universities are better than others hence the difference in entry requirements. You can't compare a degree in the same subject from oxford or Cambridge with Wolverhampton or derby

YouTheCat · 30/08/2018 19:36

Well, dd has just achieved a 2:1 from a college and walked straight into a job with really good prospects.

KeneftYakimoski · 30/08/2018 19:36

English at a post-92 is pretty much the definition of "are you sure it's worth the money?" STEM at post-92s can be very good, and there are courses which outshine - both in quality and employability - similar courses at older universities. But English? Full time? At eighteen? At an ex-Poly or an ex-teacher training college? With some very specific exceptions, it's quite reasonable to be sceptical.

MrsTerryPratchett · 30/08/2018 19:37

That's changed @MotherofPearl

20 years ago the teaching was done by the academics at my RG university.

cardibach · 30/08/2018 19:37

FASH that doesn’t make any sense. Universities mark and grade their own work without any outside moderation. You can’t comoare your raw marks and your DH’s because you don’t know the criteria applied for awarding a particular mark at each institution.

KeneftYakimoski · 30/08/2018 19:38

Universities mark and grade their own work without any outside moderation.

Damn. I must be wasting all that time I spend as an external examiner.

AlexaShutUp · 30/08/2018 19:39

I think the whole idea that unless you are academic you’ve failed needs to stop. There’s a place for everyone and lots of successful people aren’t academic.

Completely agree. There should be other valid and respected options for kids who are less academic, with adequate funding for vocational training to suit all different talents and skills. It would be far better for some young people to learn a skilled trade than to waste thousands of pounds on a third rate uni degree that won't be worth the paper it's printed on.