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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Are there any other 'prestigous' universities in the UK apart from from Oxbridge?

418 replies

mids2019 · 19/11/2022 17:53

Are there any other 'prestigous' universities in the UK apart from Oxbridge?

My daughter was watching some American teen thing yesterday on Netflix and there was girl who's entire future lay on getting into Yale and Ivy League entrance was the be all and end all for this particular group of teenagers.

I know the US has a different HE system and culture but do we still have similar views in the UK in 2022? If there are prestigious universities in the UK how would you define this prestige? If we only allow Oxbridge the prestige label does this mean anyone who wishes to go a prestigious university has one (or two) Oxbridge or busy type application experiences then that ship sails?

Or maybe prestige is an archaic class ridden concept that is fading this millennium?

I was drawn to one of the RG v other university discussions and it may appear that the RG is being used as an artificial label to convey prestige in an HE environment where competition for Oxbridge is more intense than ever.

OP posts:
littelmemaydnes · 16/01/2023 15:21

www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023

Don't forget UCL is up there as well as Imperial

thing47 · 16/01/2023 17:19

I'd be wary of taking the QS world rankings too seriously – some of the metrics they use skew their ratings in certain directions so they do need to be taken with a large dose of salt – of course all league tables have certain biases, but the QS ones have some quite odd criteria so approach with caution.

Newgirls · 16/01/2023 18:52

user1465390476 · 16/01/2023 01:39

The London universities Imperial, LSE, UCL are academically challenging and hard to get into. I’d class them as prestigious. Places like St. Andrews, Durham etc are classed as prestigious by mumsnetters because it’s where most of the posh kids go. Personally I don’t rate them much.

The Times and Guardian rank st andrews in top 3.

why don’t you rate it? Did you go?

user1465390476 · 16/01/2023 19:03

I didn’t go. It wouldn’t have suited me. I have young relatives and friends who did.

Newgirls · 16/01/2023 19:05

I went to a huge city university and I wish I’d gone somewhere smaller 🤷‍♀️

would love youngest to go to a London Uni but the cost of accom to not live near the uni is very offputting. Fair enough if you get into LSE but for many it’s not a great idea

user1465390476 · 16/01/2023 19:08

London accommodation is definitely too expensive for many people. I can’t believe how much it is.

Toddlingturtle · 16/01/2023 21:48

Purplemagnolias · 16/01/2023 14:55

You'd be mad to turn down Imperial or LSE just to 'get out of London' for a few years Confused

Show quote history

I don’t even know any kids who apply to London. London just isn’t on the radar for the London kids we know. Out of 120 going to uni in eldest year at school, 3 stayed in London.

user1465390476 · 17/01/2023 11:44

It feels like every private school student from SE London is at my DS’s university. I’d heard of the names of these schools through mumsnet so interesting to learn about the people who actually attended these places.

Pinkdafodils · 17/01/2023 12:13

I don’t even know any kids who apply to London. London just isn’t on the radar for the London kids we know.

It's a shame that those kids are missing out on some of the UK's best universities. We live in London and our school most definitely encourage applications to Imperial and LSE. Yes, they're tough to get into and yes, London is expensive, but the employment prospects are pretty good after graduating.

Toddlingturtle · 17/01/2023 13:53

Pinkdafodils · 17/01/2023 12:13

I don’t even know any kids who apply to London. London just isn’t on the radar for the London kids we know.

It's a shame that those kids are missing out on some of the UK's best universities. We live in London and our school most definitely encourage applications to Imperial and LSE. Yes, they're tough to get into and yes, London is expensive, but the employment prospects are pretty good after graduating.

They’re really not struggling for employment when they leave, trust me. They’re walking into all the big graduate jobs and more. They’ll all move back to London and being London kids with parents who work in London in generally big jobs across the sectors they’re in a far better place than many other kids

AngelKitty · 17/01/2023 14:12

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ as it's the work of a previously banned poster.

ACJane · 17/01/2023 15:12

I think that's a perfect example of how overly simplistic the state vs private distinction is when it comes to university entrance. This is presumably why admissions teams use more nuanced data to look at FSM, Polar data etc...yet some parents and some kids are still going round complaining that basically all private school kids are hugely privileged and advantaged and ALL state school kids are not.

Clearly there's a correlation but it's just ridiculous the way the arguments are bandied about about all this by some and it undermines real issues.

CosmicSerendipity · 17/01/2023 15:48

Agree. I am tired of hearing private school parents blaming their DC not getting places on competitive courses in very good universities on state school DC taking all the places. It is inaccurate and just comes over as sour grapes. They can't accept that their DC may be good but are just not good enough in such a competitive environment. They seem to think universities admissions teams are not smart enough to be looking below the state/private divide. Universities look at a whole range of measures when considering contextual qualification.

Roseey · 17/01/2023 16:21

Not that smart unfortunately. Friend’s Dc has contextual offers due to postcode of her £4m mansion…

Roseey · 17/01/2023 16:24

Apparently an area of low participation in higher education. Yep that’s because she’s an only child and they own all the land around the estate!

user1465390476 · 17/01/2023 17:25

I think I meant SW London. Not SE London. Lol.

Xenia · 17/01/2023 17:28

The comments about London children going to university away from London is our experience too - we are in outer London and our children didn't go to London but away - 3 to Bristol etc but then got jobs in London after. I tihnk the reason is that they want to experience a different City when leaving home.

CosmicSerendipity · 17/01/2023 17:30

@Roseey exactly the kind of anecdote that fans the flames. How can you be so sure of the basis of someone else's DC's contextual offer? Universities all do it differently and there could be other factors that you don't know about e.g. the DC's school's performance. Clearly processes are evolving and some mistakes will be made but that doesn't mean that systems aren't significantly more sophisticated than a state/private school split.

Roseey · 17/01/2023 18:07

CosmicSerendipity · 17/01/2023 17:30

@Roseey exactly the kind of anecdote that fans the flames. How can you be so sure of the basis of someone else's DC's contextual offer? Universities all do it differently and there could be other factors that you don't know about e.g. the DC's school's performance. Clearly processes are evolving and some mistakes will be made but that doesn't mean that systems aren't significantly more sophisticated than a state/private school split.

It isn't about fanning the flames, its a real life example of how the system doesn't work. Nothing at all to do with the school's performance. It's a top independent school.

Roseey · 17/01/2023 18:08

Roseey · 17/01/2023 18:07

It isn't about fanning the flames, its a real life example of how the system doesn't work. Nothing at all to do with the school's performance. It's a top independent school.

Show quote history

And I know the basis of the offers because Ive seen the offers! Based the area being an area of low participation in higher education.

CosmicSerendipity · 17/01/2023 18:54

Sounds bizarre. Surely acorn/POLAR quintile would pick that up. Doesn't fit with the top independent either. If it a very selective school, even more strange?

Roseey · 17/01/2023 19:05

You would think so but it didn’t.

the general area is undoubtedly low participation. Their sprawling estate, not so much!

user1465390476 · 17/01/2023 19:15

That has to be an exceptional situation. It doesn’t meant that contextual offers should be scrapped.

Margrethe · 17/01/2023 20:16

Godwin’s Law: Sooner or later in any online argument, someone will bring up Hitler.

Mumsnet Law: Sooner or later in any Education thread, someone will start arguing state vs private school.