Mumsnet University League Tables 2021

[Aslockton]

Just as a bit of fun, but also because Mumsnet has a wealth of knowledge and experience, would you be able to compile your own university league table. This is on the back of people saying Durham is better than Manchester.

This can be for all universities, or for a specific subject or area (top 10 Northern universities). I would love to see Xenia's top 10 law universities, or the best universities for engineering or marine biology etc.

I'll start...

My top non-Russell Group universities:

1 St Andrews
2 Bath
3 Loughborough
4 Lancaster
5 City
6 SOAS
7 Surrey
8 Sussex
9 Reading
10 Dundee

Top 10 London Universities

1. Imperial
2. LSE
3. UCL
4. Kings College
5. Queen Mary
6. City
7. SOAS
8. Royal Holloway
9. UoA

10. Brunel

@mumsneedwine

Top 5 Unis for local breweries

1. Cardiff - Brains (the smell of brewing day will be with me forever)

2. Reading - Brakespeare

3. Newcastle - Only brown ale I could afford as a student

4. Dublin - Guinness does not taste the same anywhere else

5. Surrey - Silent Pool Gin (ok not beer but lovely stuff)

I’ll add:

Aberdeen and RGU - Brewdog (plus lots of whisky distilleries)

You can do a BSC in brewing and distilling at Herriot Watt too

@SinkingFeeling

You can do a BSC in brewing and distilling at Herriot Watt too

Actually a useful and commercial degree! Huge growth in brewing in Uk.

can I controversially disagree with Edinburgh please? I went there. It's cold and windy most of the time

At least Edinburgh is a (capital) city (and a very lovely one). The mystery for me is that do people see in St Andrews?

My top cities to study in would be (in no particular order):

Cardiff
Bristol
Liverpool
Manchester
Leeds
York
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Chester

I've never been to Newcastle or Hull so I can't comment on those.

Surrey - Silent Pool Gin (not beer but lovely stuff

the Hog's Back brewery is just up the road

@ColinTheKoala

can I controversially disagree with Edinburgh please? I went there. It's cold and windy most of the time

At least Edinburgh is a (capital) city (and a very lovely one). The mystery for me is that do people see in St Andrews?

My top cities to study in would be (in no particular order):

Cardiff
Bristol
Liverpool
Manchester
Leeds
York
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Chester

I've never been to Newcastle or Hull so I can't comment on those.

St Andrews has beaches and is a magical place to walk around. Very compact so students meet everyone. Great social life in the halls. I love Edin but for students it’s very spread out. Each to their own.

@ColinTheKoala

Surrey - Silent Pool Gin (not beer but lovely stuff

the Hog's Back brewery is just up the road

And Greyfriars Vineyard !

Surrey Uni is surrounded by alcoholic loveliness .

Surrey also has the lovely Prof Jim Al-Khalili.

@mumsneedwine
The Brains brewery in the middle of Cardiff has gone and the site is being redeveloped
They've moved out to Tremorfa, so no more lovely aroma, unfortunately.

@singingstones nooooooooo ! That smell was how I knew I was in Cardiff (although it was foul !). V expensive bit of city so not really surprised it's been redeveloped. Sad though as was part of Cardiff's charm - sneaking into Arms Park with a pint of Brains.

We have just been in Cardiff and DH was shocked - and mightily peeved- that he couldn't get a pint of bitter (let alone Brains) in Cardiff Bay. The young things behind the bar looked at him as if he was mad.

@mumsneedwine Ah yes, Caaardiff Aaarms Paaark with a pint of daaark 
It is a shame, they have kept the brew house and the chimney but the rest will be shiny new hotels, offices and luxury apartments. It includes the land that used to be the BMW garage also if you remember that at the top of Penarth Road.

@Piggywaspushed If you come again, send your DH to The Packet, just at the back of Mermaid Quay. We can't go there now since DH complained (at great length ) that one of the answers in their quiz was wrong but they are still a Brains pub!

Ooh, will bear that in mind!

Many moons ago, most of my early sessions with my personal tutor at university were occupied with in-depth discussions re where to get a decent pint in the area of south east London where I lived and to which my total was soon to be moving. This was at LSE, btw - the poor bloke would have been reported and no doubt relieved of his post forthwith nowadays, I suspect, but I found the chats actually enhanced my university experience (and did actually also include discussions of the demography, history - specifically social history - of various parts of the capital, which were very relevant to my degree).

I don't have a list but suggest Edinburgh in the number 1 spot for tips earned from a part time job!😂

Tourists in Edinburgh's restaurants tip well. My DC could earn on a average £300 a month in tips and sometimes as much as £700.

The downside, much needed for the massive rents in grotty flats £500 per month each for 5 of them sharing).

As a mum I would rate
Lancaster
Nottingham
Leeds
All fabulous universities.😊

Depends what you are looking for - eg Imperial is the gold standard for subjects such as Physics or Emgineering, which is why you need top grades to get in. But it's so vast that students can be easily overlooked, unless they are pushy - and they are still not doing face to face teaching, so the current crop of students will have done more than a year of study completely online. Those drop it down the desirability index a lot.

My DS, in a.mid-range university not yet mentioned here, says dressing-gowns as tutorial and lecture attire are not unusual. (This is for face to face teaching, not zoom!)

That's shocking about Imperial @ArcheryAnnie. And paying very handsomely and unnecessarily for student accommodation too.

*"Downside was that there was a big "town-gown" divide. If a student was socialising with people not from Uni , that was newsworthy."

How repulsive and sad.*

I think you misunderstood me- it wasn't a case of avoidance, you just didn't meet many locals of your own age. I went to a state school so I'm definitely not snobbish. Remember that students are not allowed to work in term time, pretty much every sport and hobby is provided within the University for zero or v low cost, and we couldn't afford to drink in the bars/clubs where young locals would go other than student night, so where realistically are you going to meet other young people who live in Cambridge (city centre) and who are not at one of the two (absolutely massive compared to the size of the city) universities?

I think imperial aim to offer in person and recorded for all lectures and tutorials. They absolutely see in person as the future model, that's why people want to come to london.
Covid has been hideous for all the students and universities, Staff see the student experience as very important to them personally (even if many years ago, a key life moment) and to the young people investing their time & futures who have missed out on experiences.

There's a 'best for engineering' thread just started - specifically 'best for engineering and outdoorsy stuff'.

Best unis for Engineering? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4390749-Best-unis-for-Engineering

DDs experience was that Imperial were trying to keep labs going last year, taking advantage of Government exemptions for key subjects. Unfortunately her tutors lab was small and, with social distancing, could only fit the tutor and one student. They also seemed to prioritise third year and Masters students.

She is now in Bristol, and the big lectures are still online, presumably because the University wants to avoid super-spreader events. It suits her to be able to watch those big, 300 students in the room, full year lectures at home. And suits her not to be pinged. Which she was when, because of wifi problems, she had to sit a test on University premises, and one of the staff subsequently tested positive. First year probably have more big lectures of the Econ101 type. I suspect that a lot of it will be Universities trying to get the right balance between keeping things going and being cautious. There is a lot of Covid around.

DD would certainly place Imperial high in terms of their performance last year. Everything shifted on line quickly, the IT worked, tutors were responsive, and project work and exams adapted appropriately. My understanding is that this has shown up in student satisfaction surveys leading to Imperial rising in the rankings tables.

So a place on the best response to Covid table.

If you want interesting student outfits - the two I encountered walking around Leicester in head to toe 1980s neon shell suits done to 2021 style win hands down. They thought they were absolutely bang up to date with fashion and were practically strutting.

In terms of dodging cycle deliveroo/just eat maniacs pelting around at high speed - either of the Leicester unis win that one hands down... getting through the DMU campus you take your life in your hands about Macdonalds breakfast delivery time of the day.