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!

@bruffin
That is what I was getting at. Some students might well be interested in alternatives. No harm done in my view.

No I didn’t study engineering but I do have experience in the employment of them. Donkeys years of it! I do think there needs to be a far wider understanding of engineering and the various levels available to grads. And indeed the myriad of courses that are worthwhile at a big range of universities. I mentioned Portsmouth uni on another thread and was laughed at. It is very clear that “best” means different things to different employers so don’t discount anywhere with good courses producing employable engineers.

I see nastiness has resurfaced again with a lot of bizarre assertions. What normal person gets off on this? Most of what’s said is seriously off topic. Whatever anyone thinks of me, few posters here are parents of engineers who are actually qualified and fewer parents are engineers themselves. If anyone has many years of recruitment experience, been involved with a medium sized, award winning engineering consultancy and lived through the ups and downs of the engineering profession for over 40 years, they just might be worth listening to? On MN apparently not.

I think your perspectives are often cogent, Tizer (you're pretty easily recognisable as a long-standing contributor on this subject under various names). But I think you were somewhat misrepresenting the tenor of this thread. (It is true there have in the past been threads which despite the OPs dc not having the necessary predicted grades end up with someone piping up about oxbridge/imperial. I've not noticed that so much recently, thank goodness)

Anyway... I remain baffled by Bristol. They might do better to offer more places on mech eng /other fields or a 'general' first year and then let those who develop a taste for, and crucially have the aptitude for 'engineering maths' to specialise a bit later. Some of engineering maths is bogglingly hard even for students with A stars in FM, seems like quite a gamble to commit to that track from the off. I'm not surprised that course is undersubscribed.

People I know who have done engineering recently (some still there) are at Bristol, Birmingham, Sheffield and Manchester (and Oxford, but that's obviously not an option for the OP's son). Sheffield was chosen by the one looking to be close to the countryside (and who is a keen climber).

All really enjoyed/enjoying it.

@ErrolTheDragon
I think we do agree! I have to say that the course at Bristol would not float the boat of true engineers but one assumes they offer it for a reason. Maybe some local employers like it? Perhaps places have to be limited on mechanical engineering due to lab space? Just a thought. Not every engineering course can be expanded or the quality is diluted.

There does need to be a re-evaluation of what “best” means. As soon as anyone posts, it is usually the red bricks that are mentioned by the vast majority. As in the post at 15.47.

There is a salary differential between CEng and IEng but plenty of engineers are happy with the latter. Plenty of employers need a mix of engineers. Not everyone can be the team leader and chartered in 5 minutes. Some don’t want this at all but are still valuable members of a team. Many employers are therefore happy with grads from former polys.

So let’s look at a wider variety of unis and understand that their courses can be excellent.

Many employers are therefore happy with grads from former polys.

DH is an engineer and used to recruit graduates. He was also in charge of the teaching company scheme. He recruited the best graduates for the job, and wasn't influenced by where they graduated from.

I agree that there is quite a lot of snobbery on higher education threads, and I really dislike the assumption from some posters that every student wants to work for a city firm or magic circle law firm.

@RampantIvy
Well that’s what DH found. The university attended doesn’t always indicate the best employee. But most employers need a mix of skills and attributes and their internal selection procedures sort out who suits the company. You certainly do not need to look at university if the grad has the skills you want and can enhance with training, guidance and support.

I really dislike the assumption from some posters that every student wants to work for a city firm or magic circle law firm.
DD and most of her mates wouldn't have touched being a quant with a barge pole. (any excuse to get that pun in but it's true)

DS graduated with MChem Eng from Leeds a few years ago, and loved his course, and everything about Leeds! He had his pick of good unis as he was applying with very good grades in hand.
👋🏼 Big wave to Hellsbells99 😊

My DS graduated with an MEng a few years ago from Southampton. Has a great job which he enjoys. His course was fairly specialised. Was on these threads and remember a few names. Hello.

At time, there were a number of courses to consider. He liked Loughborough. For lower grade entry there was City and Brunel. Wanted to stay down south. But I've heard great things about Sheffield and Leeds.

👋🏼 Hope all is good with you Mindgone 😊 DD2 loved her time at Leeds too. She has now completed the 1st year of her grad scheme - enjoying the money and social side, but has found working life a bit of a shock to the system 😂

My son did an MEng in mech eng with international studies at Strathclyde spending 18 months abroad. When he started he didn't think he wanted to do further research but when abroad he did haptics and robotics so is now doing a phd in that at UCL and enjoying it. It often seems a bit random what you end up doing. He loved Strathclyde. Not sure how all the international study stuff is now.

Thanks so much for all the responses so far everyone! Sorry I failed to mention earlier that he's doing 4 A'levels including further maths and is predicted 4 A*s. He's now thinking of doing MEng in General Engineering as he's not sure which branch to specialise in at this point and most general courses let you specialise after the first 2 years. If he doesn't get into Cambridge he'd like to stay north or midlands so he's now thinking of Sheffield, Durham & Warwick as they offer a General Eng course. He's also considering the Mech Eng course at Manchester. I think he should have a crack at Imperial but he's not keen on London really. We really need to get a wriggle on with deciding as UCAS deadline is nearly upon us!

Anywhere with a year in industry

Can I give a wee shout out to Strathclyde's Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management department? The course starts general, then allows specialisation after 2 years. There are strong links with industry throughout the course, and many students do the MEng level. Graduates go into a very wide range of sectors in UK and abroad.
Worth a look, especially for the undecided.

It's a separate department from Mech Eng (which focuses on aerospace, as described by its full name of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering).