Best unis for Engineering?

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Hi - my son has applied to Cambridge for Engineering as his first choice for 2022 entry, but as his chances of getting in are slim (1 in 7 approx I believe), he's exploring other options (General Eng or Mechanical Eng).

As he's a quiet lad who prefers not to be in the middle of busy action, he's not too keen on the idea of the obvious London choices (Imperial, UCL etc). He's a keen road cyclist and runner so access to green spaces and countryside whilst studying will be important to him (as will be applying to good unis with reputable engineering departments with good links to industry). We live in the north of England, but are also considering looking uk wide.

Anyone got any Engineering insights as to which unis may suit? We're trying to draw up a shortlist of a couple to visit before Christmas but are failing to move forward much on this. Any help much appreciated!

Thanks!

Worth emphasising that 4 are absolutely not needed, and don't affect offers, other than Cambridge used to have a habit of giving offers based on four subjects if four were offered, and indeed Imperial gave a friend of DS an offer based on five subjects, albeit for a seriously competitive course. Universities are looking for applicants with potential. They know different schools have different levels of resources.

Education and knowledge are seldom wasted. Having double maths can be a real advantage in a first term on a stretching degree, as can be the additional knowledge from the subject that is not maths or physics. Plus the experience of balancing a heavier load in sixth form is good training for Oxbridge or Imperial.

I agree that anyone looking at Oxbridge / Imperial will need to have 4 A levels, including FM if it’s offered (it’s not an option in Scotland at Advanced Highers for instance).

No, they absolutely do not 'need' 4A levels. They do need three top grades. Perhaps their application may be more competitive with four, but admissions staff are undoubtedly aware that not all schools allow or encourage this, and they're very alive to broadening access now.

For engineering, Cambridge state a preference for a 4th A level if you’re taking maths, FM and physics, to demonstrate that you can cope with the volume of work required.

@Ekofisk

For engineering, Cambridge state a preference for a 4th A level if you’re taking maths, FM and physics, to demonstrate that you can cope with the volume of work required.

Sort of

^ Fourth A Levels
There is no requirement to offer more than three A Levels, and it is recognised that not all schools are able to accommodate students taking four A Levels. Excelling in three A Levels relevant to Engineering is almost always preferable to performing well but not as highly in more than three A Levels.
It is worth noting, however, that there is a high level of synergy between Maths, Further Maths and Physics. This means that, for students who are taking this combination, offering a fourth A Level allows an applicant to demonstrate both high achievement in Maths and the ability to cope with a demanding workload.^

But if you can't /don't want to do four, are other ways to demonstrate you can cope with more than the three A levels. I suppose my DDs AS plus EPQ may have covered that base within school but I'm sure there are other ways outside it.

@RampantIvy

I think Russell Group is generally used as a blanket term for what are perceived as better universities ie universities that require higher A level grades.

I would have thought that everyone knows that St Andrews, Loughborough, Bath and Lancaster are also top rated universities, and then there are newer universities who are top rated for specific degree courses.

We need another name - Russell Huddle maybe??

Manchester

For engineering, Cambridge state a preference for a 4th A level if you’re taking maths, FM and physics, to demonstrate that you can cope with the volume of work required

I seem to remember seeing a Freedom of Information letter showing that the vast majority of of accepted candidates did have 4 A levels.

Obviously if your school doesn't offer it, they'll look for other evidence that you can manage the workload.

I'm not certain that asking for higher A level grades necessarily in and of itself makes a university 'better'. All that really says is that those universities are able to attract students who were well equipped to do well at A level. That's an important metric, for sure, but it really tells you very little about the quality of any given course, the quality of teaching at a university or, indeed, the quality of student exiting (after 3, 4 or more years), which is what employers are going to be most interested in.

Much better to delve deeply into subject-specific information and league tables to identify areas of excellence which can often be found in surprising places…

My DS got a BB offer from UCL for Electronic Engineering.

Speaking as an engineer, I would say if the student knows which discipline they want, go for a discipline specific degree. Oxbridge grads will always be employable because they have to be bright to even get in, but the general course means you miss out a lot of discipline specific content.

I did my first degree at Cambridge. I was a bit of a country mouse and didn't feel I would cope with London. I liked the uni but did not get on with the degree, mostly irrelevant to my subject. I didn't feel I'd had a proper education until I did my MSc at Imperial.

If they really want to make a career in engineering, find a good course, there are lots, different universities have different specialist departments and they aren't necessarily the big names. General engineering is a bit of a red herring as many good unis don't offer it, they have specific departments instead.

I get the impression more are offering gen eng in the last few years. But the other thing quite a few do now is have a common first year

@CraftyGin

My DS got a BB offer from UCL for Electronic Engineering.

On just 2 A levels?

My DS got a BB offer from UCL for Electronic Engineering.

Really? Just two A levels? Could you tell us which subjects they are in?

He's a keen road cyclist and runner so access to green spaces and countryside whilst studying will be important to him

Not Loughborough then. Sheffield, Leeds or Lancaster all nicer environments. Sheffield is big city of course, but such amazing countryside nearby. Lancaster affords access to even better countryside.

@NotMeNoNo I did my first degree at Cambridge. I was a bit of a country mouse and didn't feel I would cope with London. I liked the uni but did not get on with the degree, mostly irrelevant to my subject. I didn't feel I'd had a proper education until I did my MSc at Imperial.

Do you mean your first degree at Cambridge was the MEng (General Engineering)? My DS is hoping for that there. Are you suggesting that he would need further study afterwards to go into a particular discipline of engineering? ( He's also applied to aeronautical engineering at Imperial, Bristol & Southampton, and Gen Eng at Durham)

@Blubells

My DS got a BB offer from UCL for Electronic Engineering.

Really? Just two A levels? Could you tell us which subjects they are in?

Further Maths and Physics.

From a public school, too.

So did he only take 2 A level subjects then @CraftyGin? Were there extenuating circumstances? How long ago was this?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I didn't think a university like UCL would accept students with only 2 A levels.

@RampantIvy

So did he only take 2 A level subjects then *@CraftyGin*? Were there extenuating circumstances? How long ago was this?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I didn't think a university like UCL would accept students with only 2 A levels.

He got Mathematics in the LVI, so his offer was based on the two subjects in UVI - BB.

@CurlyhairedAssassin to be fair my experience is 30 years old in the days of the Cambridge 3 year BA. The MEng has more room for specialist content.

A bright undergrad will get a good degree wherever they go. But for someone who wants to be an engineer and knows their field, I would go for one of the non general courses. They won't need any extra study to get qualified if they do general engineering, there would be an uproar if the Oxbridge degrees weren't accredited. But they will be starting work with less subject knowledge and not everyone picks it up. I have a Cambridge grad in my team, they are very bright and motivated but I've noticed they have a lot more passion for management and organising, than the nitty gritty technical design, which they are less confident on. They'll end up as a project manager. (I realize this is a career choice but we kind of mourn engineers who go that way).

Strathclyde gets my vote- has good links to industry.

Way back in the day, I did Chemical Engineering at Edinburgh.

There was a fairly common first year - all engineering students had to do maths, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. Chemical engineers had to do chemistry, as well as chemical engineering. Civil engineers had to do civil engineering. Mech/Elec/Civ could do an outside course.

There was an option to move around for second year, but I don't think, in my year, anyone did.

Of the four top branches of Engineering, I think it is important to do some mechanical and electrical engineering - these disciplines underpin everything. I would hope that any course that specialises from first year has mech and elec modules.

@NotMeNoNo Thanks.

Do you mean your first degree at Cambridge was the MEng (General Engineering)? My DS is hoping for that there. Are you suggesting that he would need further study afterwards to go into a particular discipline of engineering?
As the PP has clarified, her experience wasn't comparable with current. My DD and most the friends of hers I know have gone straight into engineering roles in the fields they specialised in during the second half of the degrees.

F

@ErrolTheDragon I didn't actually say Cambridge grads were not employable. No engineering grad should have trouble finding a job these days.
I did my degree a long time ago but I do recruit and manage graduate engineers so see a lot of "output" from universities.