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Higher education

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

Original poster

Leicester uni - top choice for DS but school pushing back

108 replies

Backflips · 22/09/2023 04:56

DS (year 13) and I went to open day at Leicester earlier this month and he loved the campus and exploring the city. We were both smitten after spending two days there. The course is perfect.

Leicester now top choice of DS over other unis he’s also applying to (Birmingham, Nottingham etc). School saying he can apply but should regard Leicester as insurance choice not first choice (grades the same ABB as at other unis). We disagree but don’t know enough to challenge. DS really loved Leicester! My DH says that schools are judged on how many students go to Russell Group unis and, as Leicester isn’t one, that’s why they are not being v supportive. Is that a thing?

OP posts:
Parker231 · 22/09/2023 05:01

He should go where is best for him - where he will be happiest is the most important thing.
Some people get obsessed with RG unis

GodessOfThunder · 22/09/2023 05:19

Ignore the school.

MintJulia · 22/09/2023 05:51

Have you asked the school why they think that? Is Leicester poorly regarded for the degree your ds wants to do.

I wouldn't worry about Russell Group or not, but research the outcomes of students who have taken that degree at Leicester, compared to other universities. How many were in graduate-grade jobs after 12 months? What grades were achieved?

Is your ds going to uni for the experience or because his degree is a stepping stone to a specific job, and he needs a good grade?

PieonaBarm · 22/09/2023 05:51

School won't be spending 3 years plus there, or paying the fees. DS will. He gets to pick. Not school.

MidnightOnceMore · 22/09/2023 06:14

I would ask school - email is easier - to explain their thinking.

Dear Teacher

DS and I have been to open days and have been considering which university would be best for DS as an individual.

Our view is that my DS should choose the place that he feels will suit him best, but if school has opinions on why Leicester would be unsuitable I'd be grateful to be informed. However, DS needs to be supported by school to make his own decision - if Leicester remains his first choice I would expect school to support him.

Yoir DH is likely right about the reason for the school's view, but they absolutely shouldn't be steering your DS in this way. There is not one single way to choose where you want to go. It's a complicated decision and each student is an individual.

IFS did some research recently that you might find relevant about outcomes https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/20/degree-grade-matters-more-than-university-reputation-report-finds

smallshinybutton · 22/09/2023 06:24

Screw the school - they aren't the ones spending 3 years of their life there

CheersToMe · 22/09/2023 06:28

You don't need to 'challenge'.
It's DS's decision not the school's.

It matters not anyway as the choices are not put on the form in order if preference he can put down his favourite 5 (or even leave a blank to add later, before the Jan deadline).

The decision to firm or insure comes next spring once he has offers, so there's no rush.

BMrs · 22/09/2023 06:32

I would disregard the school and put it as his first choice

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 22/09/2023 06:32

I wouldn't even bother responding. How are they going to know? It's simply not their decision!

VeloVixen · 22/09/2023 06:53

Definitely ignore them. It’s a good university. Yes I suspect there is Russell Group bias going on which demonstrates the ignorance of the school. There are far more important things to consider such as modules, how your ds feels about the city, etc.

I would ask the school if they have heard anything specific about that particular course at Leicester……I really doubt they have!

Almondmum · 22/09/2023 06:58

Blimey, how much power do they think they have, they don't get to decide if he 'can apply'. I'd encourage him to ask why they don't think Leicester is a suitable choice. It's always good to get advice. But I would be strongly telling him that this choice is his and his alone.

mids2019 · 22/09/2023 07:05

You can ignore the school but I don't their being malign. In the future it has to be said that employers do have their own perceptions of universities and graduate quality (rightly or wrongly). If employers of the future with competitive graduate schemes are using RG as a crude selection filter then your some should at least consider this.

If it's medicine please ignore the above.

dressedforcomfort · 22/09/2023 07:13

100% ignore the school.

HE is a big commitment both in terms of time and expense. Your son absolutely shouldn't have to factor school league tables and statistics when making a choice about which Uni to attend. It's his choice, his alone.

I spent 10 years working in the U.K. HE sector and people get far far too obsessed with the idea of RG Universities IMO. There are lots of excellent non RG Unis out there.

Winter42 · 22/09/2023 07:15

It is obviously not the sole consideration and your son needs to weigh everything up and choose the place and course that is right for him.

However the school are not being unreasonable in their advice. My husband recently found when job hunting that some positions stated that they wanted candidates to have a degree from a Russell Group university sonit could open more doors for him.

Neither of us had ever been aware of this (I went to an RG uni but he didn't) but it was definitely an issue.

I wasn't massively impressed by my university whereas my husband thought his course was great. I suspect it is a bit like private schools. You aren't necessarily getting a better education, but it's about who you know and the kudos of the establishment opening doors.

zozueme · 22/09/2023 07:21

It's your son's choice of course, but don't completely ignore the school's advice.

I chose a uni based on the course I liked best and the grade offer, and wasn't even aware of reputation.

It was only once I became involved in my employer's graduate recruitment a few years later that I understood how a university's reputation/standing counts too. It's not the most important thing, but it's not irrelevant either.

MrsCarson · 22/09/2023 07:28

Just nod and smile. They aren't filling out his UCAS application so just ignore them. He should go where he is going to feel more comfortable, it's his life and his education.

SlipSlidinAway · 22/09/2023 07:59

School saying he can apply but should regard Leicester as insurance choice not first choice

How exactly are they saying this? Have they said that to you in those words? Have they said it to your ds but not quite in that way? I imagine the latter and something may have got lost in translation. Perhaps he was simply asked which unis he'd had offers from and, not appreciating the strength of your ds's preference for Leicester, someone told him to put the more respected universities first. Or maybe the other two have better reputations for the particular subject your ds wants to do.

If you want clarification it should be your ds who asks the person concerned why they think he should only put the university he likes best as insurance (please don't send the snippy email suggested above). If it's just because the other 2 are perceived as better universities then if your ds wants to go to Leicester then he should put it as first choice.

VeloVixen · 22/09/2023 08:04

zozueme · 22/09/2023 07:21

It's your son's choice of course, but don't completely ignore the school's advice.

I chose a uni based on the course I liked best and the grade offer, and wasn't even aware of reputation.

It was only once I became involved in my employer's graduate recruitment a few years later that I understood how a university's reputation/standing counts too. It's not the most important thing, but it's not irrelevant either.

The thing is I doubt that a secondary school has an accurate picture of the course quality or reputation for a particular course at a particular university. They’re more likely basing their ideas off the university as a whole. And it not being Russell group.

as an ex industry employer I always used to prefer applicants from the local ex poly over the local Russell group. They produced better graduates for that course. But it’s course knowledge which is needed not university.

Badbadbunny · 22/09/2023 08:05

Ignore the school/teacher. We did and our son went to a non RG Uni instead of Durham or Cambridge (school's choice!). He got his First and just started his first job at an international blue chip insurance company - he literally couldn't have done better had he gone to a "better" Uni! Some teachers are living in the past!

Parfortheparsnip · 22/09/2023 08:10

I went to Leicester uni and had the best time, absolutely loved it. Such a multicultural place and the 'triangle' of town, campus, halls was really good for learning to get around in a new place. I got a good degree and I have decent job!

preppingforlife · 22/09/2023 08:10

Your DS should go where he wants, BUT:

Depending on your kid's intended career, Nottingham is miles ahead of Leicester in graduate recruitment generally. Like, it's not even a fair fight.

stubiff · 22/09/2023 08:21

@Backflips
You and the school are getting ahead of yourselves!
What's relevant here is which ones to apply for, not whether you're firming or insuring any of them. You may not get the offers.

What's missing from the op is whether the ABB is the predicted grades that the school would put in the application.
I.e. are the ones you're looking at with those grades, aspirational, safe, super-safe, based on the predicted grades.
Then you choose your 5 based on that.
By the sounds of it Leicester will be in that 5.
The next choice is what else.

When you get the offers, then decide on firming/ins.

The school are partly correct in that Birmingham, as an example, would probably be better regarded than Leicester. Generally.
What is also missing here is the subject, as that can affect things.

itsmyp4rty · 22/09/2023 08:22

It's strange that schools are so obsessed with Russell group unis but it does seem to be a thing. There are a lot of really great unis that aren't Russell group - Bath for example. Go with what ds wants - just make sure it's the right course for him and he's looked at all the pros and cons.

Morty12 · 22/09/2023 08:26

What are his predictions and what course does he want to do?

Jackydaytona · 22/09/2023 08:28

My son chose an RG University

It's really not given him any better experience than his peers at other universities.

The campus is nice and green, that's about it.

They are a nightmare to deal with, and no one seems to know what they are doing 🤷