DD is prioritising student satisfaction so ruling out a lot of RG unis

[Satisfiedstudent]

My DD thinks student satisfaction is one of the most important factors in university decision-making so she is ruling out a lot of the top universities. She says most of the Russell Group unis are very poorly rated and whenever I suggest somewhere (Cardiff, Birmingham…. ) she whips out the Sunday Times guide book my mum bought her and promptly dismisses it. My DH thinks this is reasonable as a happy student is more likely to do well but I am not so sure that student satisfaction is the be all and end all and wonder what you all think?

@AP5Diva I don't think Ancient is a "group".....

@Delphigirl
"They are adults who have generally spent the previous year travelling around the world solo without needing me to ask if they have packed their blankie."
Mine was an adult who had travelled too. However, she was in need of more than a blankie when she ended up in a relationship with a fellow student who assaulted her and left her traumatised and in hospital.

I only looked at places not too far from home (Manchester) so Midlands really as anywhere south of the midlands was likely going to be too expensive in terms of living costs and I couldn't study law in Scotland as it's a different legal system. That worked out well as I could still go out with my mates from sixth form who went to local universities as well as my new uni friends.

Ancient Universities are a “group.” A group that precedes RG by multiple centuries. Durham is not one of them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_university

The last paragraph ... so relatable. Although I went as an international undergrad on scholarship @Parker231

International fees are triple that of home students, and before the Graduate Route visa was introduced we only had 6 months to find a job, or leave. Because of the way the milk round works that means ONE chance to get it right or you're gone. In the cycle at the start of first year. For the small number of employers who would sponsor visas. And LSE has a wealth of opportunities, and individual help to make that happen.

Any issues etc we have were immediately raised directly with the course tutors/uni/whatever. So they'd know what we thought already. And the sort of people who look at student satisfaction, in our youthful opinion, were not the sort who deserve LSE, so why bother filling it out?

It's cost too. The further away from home you are , the more that train costs if you are trying to be a more independent traveller.

Also, conversations about being close to or far away from home are almost uniquely English. Odd.

I think it's more about the value of going away to full-time university, which is a bigger concern when money is tight. You don't need to leave home to get a degree when there are plenty of other options. Part-time, distance learning, etc. And as I posted earlier the burden of repayment on students has gone up considerably, from about 51p per pound, to 80, with a longer repayment period.

It's about the experience - spreading your wings, living in a new environment, making new friends, finding their feet. If my DC was 'bored' at the weekend, and they could find no other entertainment but coming home I'd consider it a waste of opportunity. Now as a 'working adult' I really miss those carefree days , although I needed to fund myself PT work and exams were hard. So, relatively.

Again, that's just my opinion, and it's very nuanced. And people are all different. I do think though that many don't really think about other options. Schools especially just push students into university without thinking whether it's the right choice, and students go, because it's the 'done thing' without going very deeply into what they want from it.

@Piggywaspushed "Also, conversations about being close to or far away from home are almost uniquely English. Odd."

Don't understand....

In most countries students attend pretty local universities. It seems to be specific to England that they don't (perhaps many Londoners aside). I don't think there is any cachet in other countries attached to leaving home for HE . (unless we are talking Ivy League)

I didn’t say a word about kids wanting to be within striking distance of home. If they return every weekend on a mega bus I couldn’t care less, they are adults, they can do what they like. I fell about laughing at the thought they had to be chauffeured to and fro and that a sensible assumption was that the parents would be making 9 round trips a year to uni.
I’m still laughing! Imagine everyone driving nine times a year to see their second year physicist at uni! Even if they do play the French horn!

Oh for goodness sake of course everyone would go see a child in crisis in they were in Birmingham or Tbilisi. But that is not what we were discussing. I’m very sorry to hear about your daughter, that must have been utterly horrific for her and you.

@Delphigirl The point is that although an 18 year old is an adult and may well have travelled, they are still inexperienced enough to need support. And providing and getting support is a bloody sight easier if said adult is 2 hours away not 10.

It's about the experience - spreading your wings, living in a new environment, making new friends, finding their feet. If my DC was 'bored' at the weekend, and they could find no other entertainment but coming home I'd consider it a waste of opportunity.

I think you can still have the experience whilst also being within a couple of hours of home tho? The environment and the people don't get any newer with distance travelled (unless you go abroad I guess).
If my DC was bored at the weekend because everyone was away except them, and a bunch of friends at home were planning a night out, I wouldn't think they were wasting an opportunity if they chose the more fun weekend 🤷‍♀️

Even if they do play the French horn!

😂😂

Those surveys are from a self selecting group. Both my DC were very happy at their respective unis but neither would have dreamed of completing a student satisfaction survey.
Far, far more important was the course.

Which you fill in about the course!

Well like most things it depends - if you live in the heart of the countryside, London would be very different. Small town, again very different from very rural university.

Also... 'if' there was a night out then it's something they're choosing to do, no? Not a stopgap because they're 'bored', and worse, reliant on others to relieve said boredom.

Again, it's a question of what people prioritise and how. I live near Manchester, plenty of unis within commuting distance. If my DC wanted to see their friends/come home practically every weekend and there was little difference between their 'chosen' uni and one local, they might as well stay home. Save all that accommodation money. They can rent their own flat once they have a salary, without needing to pay back a student loan.

If they were using it to restrict themselves, it wouldn't be ok. To narrow down their choices from a close few, go right ahead.

Having said that the U.K is tiny. In places like the U.S a 3 hour drive is nothing.... you can drive 9 hours and still be in the same 'state' where you started so it's really a matter of perspective after all.

I promise you, the uni does matter. Not always of course, and it can depend on the course but in general. I have an undistinguished career record but doors have been opened for me by the mere mention of the uni I attended 40 years ago. Recruiters also do take notice, again, in general, and long-standing reputation is what counts not wherever it happens to be in league tables at the moment.

Given that there are so many variables and most of us are not rolling in money, with my own 4 dc, now adults, our starting points were RG plus Bath, St A, Lancaster maybe a few more that I can't remember, plus max 3 hours from home. Those principles have served us very well.

and the not particularly thinly disguised sneering at DC who need their mummies and blankies instead of being super rich independent solo round the world trippers

Nailed it.

Some of the parents on here are lucky that their student DC never had any wobbles while at university. DD was getting over the break up of a long term boyfriend when she first went, so I did go and visit her a couple of times during her first term. I have heard that it is better to visit your homesick DC than have them come home, and it did the trick.

DD is now independent and lives and works in her university city. Some young people just take a little longer to find their confidence.

I promise you, the uni does matter.

Only for a limited number of careers. Many more recruiters are recruiting university blind these days. A doctor will walk into a job as easily if they had studied at UCLAN or Oxbridge. Anyone achieving a vocational degree that has been accredited by a professional body will walk into a job regardless of where they studied.

Maybe it is important for law and finance and maybe some humanities degrees.

Your experience 40 years ago is irrelevant BTW.

As opposed to...whom? Most people on here are in England anyway.

I only went to university <50 miles from home. But did a year in France in my third year, backpacked around Australia on my own that summer then moved 200 miles from home when I graduated. And never moved back.

I know they are. I was just musing that this idea is very English. I'm not the first person ever to make this observation on MN.

Well, we have a lot of choice of good universities and courses we can travel to and live in. I'm glad that students often still have this choice in England, unlike other countries where students mostly live at home and go to their local university or college. I've experienced that with the French students I met and it's not something I'd like to see becoming more common here.

I offered no value judgement.

Scottish students often commute too, by the way.