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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your success stories of DC who didn't go to Russell Group?

224 replies

CheesyWotsitz · 09/07/2022 08:37

God I know I sound like a right twat but the heat is getting to me ...

DS has his heart set on Manchester Uni but despite working his socks off, I don't think he's capable of getting the ABB they're asking for.

I'd never heard of Russell Group before MN but it appears to be the be and and end all.

Is it?

OP posts:
Greatauntdymphna · 09/07/2022 09:21

I think a lot of it depends on the course to be honest.
I don't think many people would be saying Bath isn't one of the best universities for engineering or international relations but it's not Russell Group.
Similarly if you're going to read maths, even taking into account the variability of rankings, this probably be better off going to Loughborough than some of the RG unis.
Most medical schools are not at RG universities and it obviously matters not a jot.
If you're doing a less traditional course (so I've got a friend who makes costumes for films and sent to a polytechnic in our day - her extremely academic child wants to do the same as her and is equally talented and will definitely go to a non RG) most ex-polys are going to be much better for those sorts of courses as they have decades of experience and contacts.
I think it's silly when people say that all universities are equal and all degrees they confer mean the same to everyone - but RG really is a self selecting group and doesn't mean everything.
I do also wonder whether a couple of those unis on the RG list wouldn't be there now if they were to start again. Some don't seem to have the reputation they once did (just musing).
To answer your specific question I know several people who went to non RG unis (eg Loughborough) who have very successful careers..

myuterusistryingtokillme · 09/07/2022 09:22

YellowHpok · 09/07/2022 08:38

Lolz no. I went to a former polytechnic and am now on one of those mythical MN 6 figure salaries. He'll be fine, chill.

Ha ha, I came on to say exactly the same. And what's worse is I did (gasp) Media Studies

RJnomore1 · 09/07/2022 09:24

Well obviously everyone who hasn’t been to Russell group uni is on the scrap heap, just look around and you will see.

Honestly, it’s more of a selling device for internationals than anything that practically translates into a standard advantage for any and every undergrad. They will be very research for used which might be an advantage at post grad but pick the uni that is best for the course you want to do. It may or may not be RG.

Bibbetybobbity · 09/07/2022 09:28

It’s worth joining WIWIKAU on Facebook OP if you haven’t already. They have loads of info on the widest range of unis. I went to a RG and I guess assumed my dd would but this site did shift my perspective. And actually she’s found degrees which interest her more at non-RG’s. Also, the performance of some of the RG over the pandemic was awful, it seems like they (obvs not all I’m sure) just rested on their laurels. I realise not all, but it mirrors the experience at my dd’s school (supposedly outstanding and ppl would sell their granny to have a shot at getting in- dreadful throughout the pandemic), so it rang true for me.

TheMoth · 09/07/2022 09:30

I was the only one of my group to go to a RG uni. They all earn more than me. But it was my own fault for becoming a teacher

RampantIvy · 09/07/2022 09:30

Literally nobody outside of MN even knows what the Russell Group is.

I don't agree. A lot of schools with 6th forms and 6th form colleges like to put in their advertising blurb how many of their students go to RG universities. I think some of the faux naivety about having never heard of RG universities is just ingenuous.

The below excerpt is taken from the post 16 website of DD's old school

We make your future success our priority and pride ourselves on the proportion of our students who are able to secure their first choice university place (on average, 95%). This includes those students progressing on to Russell Group universities and universities which are in the top third nationally (over four-times the average nationally).

I'm not saying that RG universities are better BTW, but I'm surprised that so many posters have heard of the term.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 09/07/2022 09:33

DS got his accounting degree with a well thought of ex poly - his career is leapfrogging from strength to strength.

Mally100 · 09/07/2022 09:34

Dh and I were educated in another country (a developing and poor one at that). We both excelled in professional careers. DH is on a six figure at the high end, not everything is about the university you attend. A good part of your success is ambition and drive to succeed.

OnceAgainWithFeeling · 09/07/2022 09:36

YellowHpok · 09/07/2022 08:38

Lolz no. I went to a former polytechnic and am now on one of those mythical MN 6 figure salaries. He'll be fine, chill.

6 figs here and I didn’t even go to university!

RampantIvy · 09/07/2022 09:42

Why do RG univesities exist then if no-one thinks they are any better than others?

MissMissICantDoThis · 09/07/2022 09:42

My DD attends a RG uni (one of the top ones) and she has had an appalling experience.
Tutorials cancelled - (considering since covid it was down to 1 day a week anyway)
Essays not returned by said date and still chasing after 3 weeks
A range of lecturers.....I could go on.

sunglassesonthetable · 09/07/2022 09:42

Nope not Russell Group but son doing very well in the City. Great Job. Don't get tied in knots about it. Really not worth it.

GnomeDePlume · 09/07/2022 09:43

@CheesyWotsitz what subject is your DS wanting to study?

DD1 chose her non RG uni because of the lab facilities. Even to my non-scientific eye I could see they were better than every other uni we visited.

Anothernamechangeplease · 09/07/2022 09:44

RampantIvy · 09/07/2022 09:42

Why do RG univesities exist then if no-one thinks they are any better than others?

It was established as a lobbying group, but then I think the member institutions realised that it was a pretty good marketing tool!

HairyMcLarie · 09/07/2022 09:44

I've never heard of the Russell Group until this thread! I had to look it up and I recruit for the law firm I'm a partner in!
I have a 2:2 from a non RG University btw. The other partner I work with most has a law degree from an ex Poly (clutches pearls)

SimonaRazowska · 09/07/2022 09:44

Aren’t there lots of really good uni’s that are not part of this Russell Group? Like Bath and Loughborough?

GoOnJulie · 09/07/2022 09:44

What's his course? I think in a vague subject I.e English you probably need a higher-tier uni. But I'm convinced the uni matters a lot less if it's a degree that leads to qualification in something more specific.

DH earned a vocational degree/qualification at an ex-Poly and is in a highly-paid, sought-after senior leadership role in his mid-30s. But he's been on good money since he was 25, then gained experience in his field. I know others like him and will encourage my own DC to focus on the usefulness of the course first and foremost.

IanStirlingrocks · 09/07/2022 09:45

My dsis didn't go to university at all, much to the horror of our ever so slightly up their own arse private school.

She's now a very senior manager in the NHS with a degree which she got alongside working and a very nice salary.

RampantIvy · 09/07/2022 09:47

DD is just about to graduate, so I have spent the last 3 years on the higher education boards. Over the years I have got the impression that the teaching and pastoral care is better at non RG institutions, although there are exceptions. Some of the "better" RG universities seem to think that as the students got there with higher A level grades that they need less support and can just get on with it (disabilities excepting).

This is just me thinking out loud, but is this the impression that other posters have as well?

brookstar · 09/07/2022 09:50

It was established as a lobbying group, but then I think the member institutions realised that it was a pretty good marketing tool!

This!!

RampantIvy · 09/07/2022 09:52

SimonaRazowska · 09/07/2022 09:44

Aren’t there lots of really good uni’s that are not part of this Russell Group? Like Bath and Loughborough?

And Lancaster

brookstar · 09/07/2022 09:53

SimonaRazowska · 09/07/2022 09:44

Aren’t there lots of really good uni’s that are not part of this Russell Group? Like Bath and Loughborough?

Absolutely. There are around 160 higher education providers and only 24 of them are RG.

Lots of lower ranking universities are actually specialists in particular subjects.
I'm a university academic and my subject isn't even offered at a RG yet we have excellent employability (100%) and RG unis employ my graduates!

RudsyFarmer · 09/07/2022 09:54

I’m guessing the University of Hertfordshire is not RB. DP currently on a six figure wage if that helps.

FridayiminlovewithRobertSmith · 09/07/2022 09:57

This is a weird Mumsnet thing. There are plenty of non RG universities which are more highly ranked than RG individually or for their subjects.

Large graduate employer and trust me we have no regard to peoples prior universities and I see no evidence of differentiation in peoples performance or success.

I hope your DC has a great time wherever they get in and have a happy successful life.

TyneTortoise · 09/07/2022 09:58

I work for a Fortune 500 company as a software developer, we hire lots of graduates into both tech/non-tech roles. We have all sorts, especially since we’re based in the North and try to recruit local grads. Manchester Met, Edge Hill, University of Chester, UCLan.

Large graduate role recruiting process give you an interview if you pass all the automated stages. Your CV has to demonstrate the competencies required by the company. The degree is just for a tick box, they really don’t care about the name and in the final round the interviewer isn’t even told!