Do university rankings really matter?

[Parsley65]

DS (now in second year at uni) was all over the university rankings when it came to choosing where to go and eventually picked a prestigious establishment that was in the top ten for his chosen subject.

DD (Y12) is taking a different approach and says that as long as the course she chooses is fully accredited by the professional body, then it doesn't matter about rankings.

Is she right?

[spacepyramid]

DD (Y12) is taking a different approach and says that as long as the course she chooses is fully accredited by the professional body, then it doesn't matter about rankings.

Is she right?

I was talking to a lecturer about this the other day. They were saying that they were surprised that their subject was accredited by the professional body at some of the universities as the teaching was to a high standard at both but the level of work was much easier at one than the other - i.e. 1st year being stuff done at A level for students without the subject at A level at one whereas it was way more advanced at the other and the work set for independent study was much easier at one than the other. They've taught at various universities of different rankings.

[BubblesBuddy]

The question is about Psychology and where is best to go if you want to actually be a Psychologist. No one has said it has to be RG and Bath, which is ranked very highly for this subject, isn’t RG. So the RG argument is not really what this is about. The question is: where is best to actually become a psychologist?

If you didn’t actually want to work in this highly competitive field then there is a wide choice of courses, and it might not matter which course or which university. However the top 10 will always be better than the bottom 10 if you need an accredited course with a chance of being a psychologist.

[tunnocksreturns2019]

I recommend finding out about support given to students looking for a placement during their degree - this is an area where the aforementioned Bath excels, for example

[Parsley65]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.
DS is already at in his second year at Bath (and loves it) and it's put DD off as she wants to carve her own path
She has looked at Cardiff, Uni of Sussex and Loughborough so far. All have placement years. She is not (her words) such a 'nerd' as her brother and doesn't think she'll have the grades to get into the very top rated universities.
She's not 100% sure yet, but wants to do something involving research.

[LemonPrism]

Depends. Certainly helped me to have a 1st from a top 10.

[Momocat33]

My dd is in research psychology, post doc at a good uni that pays decent wages but is 3 year contract. May I say it takes alot of dedication and has got to be something you love. As you will compromise alot for the profession.. . You will need a master and a PhD and specialise in a area of psychology as it is very broad from neuro psych, social, cognitive to language etc It's not easy to get a funded PhD unless you have lots of good quality research type experience jobs through Masters or internships. Have good grades. Bonus is if you've worked with people who are reknowed in your field or departments that are well known or have some publication under your belt. You will also have to move around a bit. Have lots of set backs with null result experiments that have taken ages to construct and lots of time with participants. Feels like wasted alot of money in doing so.

As I said earlier can end up post doc research for along time until something permanent and long term comes along. Theres not much job security in that sense. But having said that dd loves it immensely and feels she is doing something worthwhile and there is a lot of job satisfaction. Good community team spirit where she is.

[BubblesBuddy]

It’s a great shame the universities don’t say how many grads actually become psychologists or work in the field. They just have the stat on grad employment or training which could mean any job or training. Of the young people I know who did Psychology, one is a social worker and one is a political journalist! So who knows what jobs other psychology degree holders have? The lack of info doesn’t help with decision making.

[BubblesBuddy]

Those universities are all top 20 though so with placements they might be ok. Try and see how many actually become psychologists. Ask at open days. I don’t think Bath is full of nerds. That’s a bit immature and worthy of psychological discussion!