Good universities for "average" achievers?

[CornishGem1975]

The message I seem to see time and time again is if it's not RG, it's not worth it. Right now RG is probably not an option for my DC, so we're looking for 'good' universities that will offer BBB for instance, rather than A's.

Been doing lots of research but it seems pretty subjective so wondering if anyone has any particular insights or experience. Does anyone have any recommendations? (For psychology if it helps).

Psychology Rankings 2024 (thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk)
Surrey and Lancaster are very good universities which are ranked above some of the Russell Group for pyschology according to this league table. Surrey also has a foundation year option for psychology with CCC entry requirements if your DC doesn't attain the ABB entry grade.

Other than that I'd suggest looking at some of the strongest performing post 92 unis such as Plymouth, Portsmouth and Nottingham Trent (although I haven't visited Nottingham Trent just heard good things about it).

Whilst finding somewhere good for the course is very important I would also look at other things like student accommodation and the range of societies. Attending open days is a good way to get a feel of these as well as the chance to attend talks on the course itself.

One of my DC is on an excellent career path having attended a post 92 university which isn't highly ranked and did not require high entry grades but was the top place for their course.

Not sure for psychology specifically but Leicester is a good none RG uni. Set up with halls in leafy village nearby is ideal.

For psychology the main thing is that it’s BPS accredited so there are plenty of options. Post 92s like LJMU, Man Met, Nottingham Trent are good ideas and often have strong employability.

What does your DC want to do for a career and what do they want from a uni? (Northern, southern, campus, city, rural?)

All RG means is they’re part of a club which spends a lot on marketing itself - which as you can can from your view of RG or nothing, has worked!

They all have a big research focus but that’s all RG guaranteed.
They’re all good unis, but there are plenty of good unis outside the club, and just because they’re a good uni doesn’t mean they’re the best fit for your DC - either grades, interest or support wise.

Aberdeen

If your DC is predicted BBB at A level they are probably above average academically anyway. 😀

I agree. Aberdeen is a good Uni and not Russell Group.

Mumsnet is obsessed with RG in my opinion. Having worked in the HE sector, there are loads of good Unis out there.

Surrey
UEA
Lancaster
Loughborough
Aston
Bath
St Andrews

All really solid unis that are not RG.

Reminds me of the satirical pieces in the Times Higher about Poppleton University (fictional UK University) when they picked up on the term 'Bottom Russeller' which someone from Oxford named the lower ranked RG universities.

So will BBB hack it at St Andrews? Or non RG Bath? Most of us now acknowledge there’s RG plus a few more highly desirable unis! RG generally means research unis but some are more sought after than others. RG is not just marketing as it includes Oxbridge, LSE and Imperial who recruit the best and are world renown. Queen Mary and a few others might be lower tariff.

Many unis established in the 60s on campuses are lower tariff so worth a look. Surrey, UEA, Kent etc. Then you have former polytechnics such as Oxford Brookes, UWE, Northumbria, Manchester Met, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham Trent etc. Plus look at Royal Holloway, Leicester, Essex, Keele etc.

Therefore evaluate the course. Few make it to be psychologists so what else do grads do? Is it better to do a business/management course where local employers are engaged with the course and you can do a year in industry. Former polys have a strong track record in this. I think these courses are more valuable than psychology with BBB entry when going for a job.

@DingDongMerrilyWithPie There are obvious differences within the RG unis. As there are within the others. Ex polys are usually ranked higher then former colleges of teacher training and HE. It’s just how it is. Lancaster has leapfrogged Liverpool in many league tables so fashions come and go. What matters is outcomes and RG still gives the best of those. That doesn’t mean other unis are not good but we cannot pretend Bucks Uni is the same as Durham!

Coventry university might be another one to look at

If degrees are accredited to a professional qualification, does that not mean the course content must be similar across the universities

@TizerorFizz What evidence do you have of Durham (Russell Group) giving a better outcome than Lancaster for eg?
Clearly Oxbridge are in a league of their own but that isn't because they are Russell Group.

My 2 got BBC and BCC and are at Leicester and Hertfordshire. I have no idea how they rank, I just about scraped some GCSEs, so know next to nothing about universities. My main concern was that they'd enjoy their courses, which they definitely are.

Another vote for Leicester - underrated but well worth looking at

Bangor is strong for psychology

Judging by clearing this year, a large number of the RG unis were happily accepting Bs and Cs and Ds. It’s likely to happen again this year, another academic year that were affected by the school closures.
Probably worth applying to a couple of RG with predicted grades. Most of DS’s friends didn’t achieve their offers but very few were rejected. Those that were picked up good offers through clearly.
After 3 yrs of estimated grades alongside lowered grade boundaries and, frankly, spoon feeding, there has been a return to normality. If less students are able to achieve A* and A the unis will drop the grade offers accordingly.
Many have not yet published their potential offers yet.
DS is applying this year with 3Bs and has been advised to apply to at least two unis where offers would normally turn him down. He does have some Farley solid mitigating factors though.

Thank you for all the advice. There's a good few mentioned here that are on the shortlist (Nottingham Trent for one) but there's a few more that we will have a good look at in the next few weeks.

Reading or Oxford Brookes are worth looking at.

It is true that some courses were in clearing at some Russell group unis this year but not necessarily psychology which seems really popular at the moment. Maybe put one to two aspirational choices down eg ABB and at least three that are BBB or lower if your DC has been predicted BBB. Of the lower unis I'd put at least one that asks for UCAS points rather than specific grades as that will give more flexibility.

@biarritz Lancaster is in the “RG Plus “ group. Student earnings were reviewed by the IFS and the attached is a summary.

I'd look at Reading.

@TizerorFizz There is a grammatical howler in the first paragraph of this article. It should read "their" not "there" students surely! Wonder which university the author attended?!

blimey @Angrymum22 if your kid went through A levels during covid and was spoon fed they were bloody lucky. that would be a fever fuelled dream for many who despite efforts had a really sub-optimal learning experience - as did all DC and YP whatever their year group in education 🙄

If you're from my part of the world, I drew a circle from Truro and hit Swansea, Cardiff, Reading & Southampton. Look at Portsmouth rather than Southampton. Everyone I know who went there enjoyed themselves.