AIBU to think going to an RG university means absolutely nothing

[Butchyrestingface]

Never one to shy away from a challenge (even if it's a challenge to someone else).

So I went to a RG uni. I didn't even KNOW I'd been to a RG uni until about 15 years after the fact when I joined MN.

Thereafter I referred to it as having gone to a 'Russell Grant' university (bit confused).

AIBU in thinking RG unis are not the be all and end all?

This!!

To be honest, by the time you get to degree level, it's up to YOU to get as much out of it as possible, rather than expecting the uni to do everything for you. Throw yourself into the subject, make industry contacts, arrange placements - spoon feeding won't happen like it did at school.

This isn’t true. We recruit for a significant number of graduates every year and we have a lot of information about Universities, their courses, how competitive it is and so on.

Really weird people are so keen to insist this isn’t the case.

😂I nearly spat my tea out at Russel Grant University!! I also had no idea about RG uni's when I actually went to Uni. Turns out I had offered from 2 of them but turned them down. I do recall someone snootily saying "Oh, the former poly" when they asked me where I did my degree. Mind you I became a teacher so I'm clearly not as bothered by status as some people seem to be.

I went to one but I graduated 18 years ago. Changed my life completely - I met DH, did a year abroad, who knows where I would be now. But I have never been a high earner. Those from my course who are moved to London after graduation!

It did teach me not to live to work and that I burn out easily.

Apparently I went to one. Been graduated 30 years and only just found out. Although almost every university I could have done my degree at is a RG one. So I don't think it made any difference to my career. It certainly isn't something any employer I have ever worked for has been remotely interested in.
The only place I ever see RG mentioned is on MN as some sort of badge of honour for bragging rights.

Ok so in which sector and why on earth are you discounting those not on a self appointed outdated list?If you’re so knowledgable about unis and courses you must be aware that ratings lists change yearly and Russel Group unis aren’t always the best ,there are many non Russel groups unis scoring higher with equally as good and better courses.You’re saying you discount those simply because they’re not on the RG list. 🤔Also you must be aware that simply attending a RG uni doesn’t actually make you a better candidate- qualities and experience count for an awful lot which RG just don’t have the monopoly on.

I’ve just finished post grad degree at a RG uni and it was expensive and utterly crap. Wish I had gone to the cheaper non RG uni for the same course.
no support, staff constantly off sick or absent, poor online materials … the list goes on. We’re all really unhappy about it.

Absolutely. It makes a difference re: graduate recruitment in the initial sift.

THe Russell Group was not invented till 1994
its utterly meaningless
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Group

For most, it's what you study that counts. Engineering anywhere = job.

I voted yanbu and I went to one of the "good" ones to do one of the "good" degrees.😅

I think it absolutely does. With over 50% going to university employers need to distinguish between the quality of qualifications offered. There's a world of difference between an old poly offering a soft subject & a RG stem course.

I am amazed people have not heard of RG universities.

I did not do my university in the UK and have heard of the term.

Makes you wonder how widely read people are and their level of general knowledge.

My uni wasn't a RG but my dept and at least one other dept were carrying out world leading research. The uni regularly appears on TV when they need "experts" then and now.

I dont think my dept is at that level anymore but the other dept is and has recently made huge steps in something really important.

I don't think most people even know whether a uni is RG, especially if you're not talking about a local one.

Yep my husband went to two and nobody has ever been remotely interested in which uni he went to only his experience hence him having the same stance when recruiting. The MN obsession with it is bewildering.

Really? Do you think your bog standard employer/entry level employer (which let's me honest, is where most new graduates end up) has a list of RG universities and filters by them?

Many have heard of the term but aren’t impressed as know what it actually is- an outdated self appointed club based on research ie pretty meaningless. If asked bar Oxbridge most couldn’t list any - don’t think given how unimportant it is that indicates a lack of knowledge or reading. 🤔

They receive three quarters of all university grant funding. How can you say that's meaningless.
Call me a snob but unless it was a particular vocational course, I told my kids that they should definitely aim for RG particularly given the cost of a uni education.

No, not quite that strict! But if your university was a former polytechnic forget it. It was RG or top non RG unis.

Surely a stem degree from a non Russell group is as stem as that from a Russel group and not soft🤔

I don't understand your question but I didn't go to an RG so it could well be me. 🤣

That's a wider issue about the number of grad jobs available if they are taking entry level roles. But a graduate employer would definitely know.
That's the issue with the uni sector- so many go to Uni that a degree isn't special anymore. You need at least a masters to stand out and then you're still competing.

This.

I often recruit close to entry level for my sector (compliance). I get candidates with different degrees from all universities apply. Strangely enough, I often see firsts from non-RG unis but fewer from the RG unis. I would still prefer the latter. The rigor is in the way the RG unis select and the type of candidate that gets in. I cannot comment on where the RG sits in the league tables that year or how good the course is in that uni nor do I particularly care.

That is because I am not hiring a graduate with a specific qualification but looking for good raw material to work with and train up. The degree decides whether they get an interview in the first place. The interview decides whether they get the job.

Mmmmm - ds at an RG. I don’t think it will help him that much in the job market as his cohort have good family connections. I absolutely don’t.