DS just asked me if it matters which university you go to

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And I couldn't really formulate an answer.

I know Oxbridge and RG are more highly thought of, but from an employer's POV, how much difference does it make where you studied?

Is it different according to which subject you're doing or which sector you hope to work in?

It does matter but the best university for each course is likely to be different. It’s always a case of weighing up the university vs the course and then practical things like cost of living etc.

There are websites with rankings. The best Uni is the one that fits the applicants qualifications/grades. Is a course that is interesting to them.
While at Uni take advantage of all opportunities that comes your way and make the effort to form a professional relationship with tutors - this will bring other opportunities
Internships and year in industry can also be very helpful

Yes, it does matter, and depending on the course, the best one won't necessarily be Oxbridge or RG.

There are best universities for specific courses, for employment, for finding accommodation, for personal happiness, for cost.
It depends what your personal priorities are.
My daughter is at Bath. Considered very good for her course. Employable afterwards (year out in third year) student happiness scores high. Voted University of the Year this year.
Not RG (she rejected one of those) and not Oxbridge.

The university that has a world ranking (no. 2) for my daughter's subject is a fairly middling uni overall. But extremely competitive for her area. Anyone in the industry would know this, but it's not an RG and is ranked 801-1000 in QS world rankings as a whole.
So as others said, subject counts. If it was a degree like English or History I think the name would matter more.

Subject specific I think.
Plus depends what else the university offers, if it's a business course they should have a placement/ intern thing going on.
Degrees are so expensive you really have to get value for money.

Bath, St Andrews, Loughborough and Lancaster are not RG but they are equivalent or better than many RG. So going to one of those is hardly choosing a back number and everyone knows this.

Subject really matters. Often practical work related degrees don’t need Oxbridge but if you want a hugely competitive job, higher ranked university and subject matter. However passing the selection tests counts most! So DS needs to think about career and how to achieve what he wants very carefully. If he’s no idea, just choose the best he can get to for his subject and take it from there.

Yes it does. But who you know probably matters more. I went to UCL and going there helped me very early on in my career - as my career progressed it mattered less and less but I'd say given the cost of uni unless someone has a very specific end goal/plan then going to uni for the sake of it is not advisable.

Yes, a huge amount. There are:

1. Top academic universities, eg Oxbridge, Harvard/Yale etc. Any degree from these proves that you think very fast and work very hard, and thus, these degrees get you any interview you want for a highly paid job in a traditional field, such as law, accountancy, management consultancy, banking, etc.
2. Universities that have the leading department in their field and make your CV stand out to a specific set of professionals.
3. Excellent universities that aren’t quite at the top eg Russell Group.
4. Middle tier universities.
5. ’Joke’ universities where the student does v little work and gets a bit of paper that says ‘degree’ on it, but no one does or should take these bits of paper seriously and they are a total waste of money and time that would be better spent in an apprenticeship.

The trick is to avoid (5).

Yes, look at where newly hired new graduates went on their linked in profiles in the job the future graduate will want and see where they went. It is fairly easy to do google searches of XYZ name of firm, linked in, junior XYZ or trainee solicitor or whatever it is called in the relevant sector. That probably gives the best advice as to which university to choose and also the hardest to get into is generally the best.

It is not just how hard it is to get into but the peer group once there and a raft of other reasons why the harder to get into the better the university is and more worthwhile going.

@Oher
I think you are very wrong about universities below middle tier. They do have excellent courses which lead to jobs, eg nursing, policing etc. The people they attract are not as academically able as top RG and Oxbridge but we need their skills for other reasons. These students work hard snd it’s unfair to say the degrees require no work and are a joke.

I do have an issue with these universities offering lots of academic degrees. These grads may find it hard to get grad work, but many of the students have worked hard. It is important to be realistic and if you are not particularly academic, think very hard about degree and university.

I think it depends on what he wants to do post Uni. Some fields are so competitive that a Top Uni would make your CVstand out (although some employers are trialling Uni Blind applicants)

Also what grades he is likely to achieve..no point aiming for Oxbridge if grades don't match.

However the whole Uni experience is important so don't just look at rankings. An example might be - Top London universities. Really expensive to live there, lots of international students so holidays friends maybe less and lecture space can be limited.

I think it depends. I think for science reputation and wealth matters. The top universities have the best facilities (maybe look at something like wind tunnels for aero students, not every uni has one), which attracts the best academics who will be doing cutting edge research. Being party to cutting edge thinking/research search gives you an advantage when it comes to applying for a job.

For English Literature, not so much apart from the fact if the people employing you went to a university with a good reputation, they will think you are a better person for going to one too.

There is really no such place as a joke university. Name what you mean by that and I will show you how wrong you are.

I don’t think you can go far wrong with a solid academic degree from a RG or similar university if you want to keep your options open. There’s no way that business from Leeds becket is going to compete with economics at LSE. It absolutely depends on what you want to do post uni but ultimately if you’re going down the law, accountancy, finance route solid academics from a highly ranked uni is never going to hold you back. If however you want to be a social worker, paramedic, Nurse etc then those unis aren’t going to help you a bit

Agreed. Even those languishing at the bottom of the general league tables might be top for one particular specialism.

Surely it depends on what field he wants to work for and what employers he is targeting? Some employers:professions may care but others won’t give a shit.

Well look at all the thick Tory wankers who went to Oxbridge just because they were born into wealth and privilege. And your comment about joke universities is awful.

and no. I didn’t go to one of those, I have a law degree from a RG university as it happens. I’m just not an insufferable snob that only values people depending on what university they went to

From recent experiences I’d say don’t dismiss non RG and Oxbridge unis. Remember, three plus years is a long time to study so think long and hard about things like location, rental costs, other living expenses, environment, etc. RG, Oxbridge, whatever look good on paper but thousands will have same. If course is rated highly for a different uni think long and hard it may be the better option and don’t just dismiss because old school looks “better” on cv.

Employers definitely know which universities have the best degrees within their sector. There are a few top unis where any degree is a good for employers, but for the majority it is definitely course specific.

How much it matters depends on the industry/employer. I worked for a major corporate who recruited based on the individual, not the uni. The uni really did not matter. If you were heading for a first from Oxbridge but didn't possess the other things we were looking for, you didn't stand a chance. If you went to a lower ranked uni but were able to demonstrate what we needed, you were in. But we provided a lot of education and training.

I went to an RG as a mature student in STEM.
Chaotic home life, didn’t finish my A Levels.

One of my sisters, who scraped a bunch of Passes in Access Law/Business whilst I was in my second year, is now doing LLB Law. This coincided with UC telling her she had to get a job as her child was 3.

She’s always been oddly competitive with me; we are completely different people ffs.

Is at a 5) type Uni. Bottom end of the table. A local joke.

After graduation - 24% are legal associate professionals (I’d wager that doesn’t mean what she thinks it means), 17K is the average salary (?!?!) and somehow she remains convinced she will be a Barrister... Despite not having got a single grade above a 2:2 yet, for a start, and that’s before getting into everything else that comes with trying to be a Barrister.

2. is my choice for my MSc as I can’t uproot to London for any of the top ones, despite having offers.

For most jobs ime they do not care. Genuinely they don't. It's about the course and grade.

DD may end up at no 4 for her masters. She has a first class STEM degree from an RG university, but she wants to do a healthcare related masters that is accredited by a professional body. These masters are by and large not available at high ranking universities.