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).

@alexisccd my point was that he didn’t. They were not told about the grade boundary changes until they had offers and had accepted. The information, as normal, was vague. Universities based their offers on the previous yrs inflated grade boundaries so offers were high along with predicted grades.
DS’s SLT school were in panic mode the day before results day and were geared up for lots of clearing activity. What happened was the opposite, despite many not meeting offer grades they were still awarded places from their first choice. There were a few exceptions such as Durham, Oxford and Cambridge. Only a few went through clearing.
Psychology is a very popular course, possibly the most popular course, so offer grades are very high. They don’t have to give away places and can afford to be picky, at some RD unis it’s harder to get onto psychology courses than medicine and dentistry.

@biarritz Ha! It was IFS report.

But the fact there’s RG plus other good ones means RG is not the be all and end all. Oxbridge, LSE and Imperial are excellent, but they’re excellent on their own and just happen to be RG.

Students shouldn’t be making their decisions just because a uni is RG, is the point. And going to an RG is not a guarantee of success.

For Psychology you need BPS accreditation and then depends what you want to do after as to what you should be looking at in a university.

@biarritz Its on “there” website complete with list of authors. Other interesting graphs on subject earnings too. An interesting fact: the only subject with above average returns at all Unis is medicine.

@Bunnyannesummers Posters cannot argue RG is only a self publicizing “club” and then say Oxbridge (both top 10 in the world) “just happen” to be members! They are there for a reason. We all know there are elite unis within RG but, as a group, they mostly outperform the others. Either RG is a meaningless group or, I would argue, with elite RG on board, it isn’t!

The IFS researched into courses and unis to judge financial returns compared to the expenditure on a degree. RG, overall, is not meaningless because they produce the best return. Of course there are some other unis that are excellent too. However it’s not helpful for anyone to list St Andrews as somewhere a BBB student could consider because it’s not RG is ridiculous.

They don’t have to give away places and can afford to be picky, at some RD unis it’s harder to get onto psychology courses than medicine and dentistry.

@Angrymum22 for medicine and dentistry it is not just A-Level grades and PS that are taken into account. True that a number of medicine courses (only) require A A A at A-Level but that is only one element of the selection process and many would say one of the easier ones. Medicine applicants also need to sit the UCAT clinical entrance exam which is frankly fiendish and a number of medical schools will only consider candidates who score in the top 10% nationally. Then there is a whole interview process to get through where candidates are expected to reflect on copious volunteering etc. It is a very different process and more like the Oxbridge process than anything else.

Sussex is good for psychology - standard offer is AAB-ABB but when DS applied there for neuroscience they gave him a reduced offer of BBB if he firmed, and said that was their standard practice.

😂😂😂

For Psychology at BBB I'd recommend looking at Hull. They offer a unique fast-track clinical doctorate for their grads https://www.hull.ac.uk/faculties/fhs/psychology/clinical-psychology-doctorate

Applying for it is not the same as being accepted on it. Plus the vast majority of psychology degree holders never intend to practice. We just don’t need that many!

Definitely think Surrey worth a look. My all A star DD looking at it - the reputation for the course, good placement year rep, satisfaction ratings all make it attractive.
I didn't grow up in this country and had no idea what an RG was. My DD does want to go to a 'name' university, but doesn't care about the RG tag.

Think it depends on the course more than the university to be fair. I've got two degrees - one from a much beloved MN RG one, and another from one that's fairly near the bottom of the league tables - but it's a vocational qualification and the course places a huge emphasis upon employability and networking with future employers.

One of those degrees I did bog-all useful with, the other one I had a job lined up before I graduated - and actually I'd rate the quality of teaching and academic support much higher at the "bottom" one.

Oxford Brookes is great for Psychology - small and friendly dept and lecturers seem to genuinely care about the students.

With those grades which are decent but not exceptional, I would be looking at pre-92 universities which have established reputations and plenty of uni owned accommodation but are outside the RG and other top flight. (disclaimer: I haven't looked to see if they teach Psychology).

I'm thinking places like Reading, Aberystwyth, Canterbury, Leicester, Swansea, Essex, Sussex, Bangor.

I don't know enough about Scottish universities but there are plenty outside of the extremely popular and competitive Edinburgh and St Andrews which would be worth looking at.

Alternatively some of the larger and more successful post 92 universities eg Coventry, Nottingham Trent, Manchester Met etc.

Swansea, Leicester and Liverpool are all good. Liverpool while RG is a contender for BBB grades. Would your DS be eligible for a contextual offer as some other RGs have contextual offers around the BBB level .

Lancaster us asking for AAB though?

DD2 did her undergraduate (STEM not psychology) at NTU and loved it there. Had a really good mix of study/social life/sport.

And don't forget your DC can always 'upgrade' for their Masters, which they will need if they do want to pursue psychology as a career. DD2 went to a world-leading course at a renowned institution for her post-grad.

Lancaster at AAB probably doesn’t need to take candidates with BBB. Liverpool might have flexibility though. A neighbour’s Dc did Psychology at Surrey but works for a charity. Another did it at Leeds and is a journalist.No psychology courses can guarantee any future employment as a psychologist. I think it really depends on how much you want it and outcome of first degree. Moving up in the career is very competitive. However if you wanted to be a social worker or work in allied professions it’s a good start and much easier to achieve.

Unless I missed it, I'm surprised Lincoln hasn't been mentioned yet.

And overlooked a lot, partly because of geographical location is UEA which is excellent all round, and specifically for psychology.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/05/best-uk-universities-for-psychology-league-table

This might be helpful OP.

The message I seem to see time and time again is if it's not RG, it's not worth it.

Only on MN which can be pretty toxic.

And watch those RGs slash their grades as results day approaches!

Clearly, as has been stated, RG plus quite a few others are “worth it” but you have to consider fees, loans and possible earnings to make a valid judgement. The only degree guaranteed to be “worth it” is medicine. It’s not toxic to promote the idea you need a decent job at the end to make it “worth it”. RG plus has been found to give students a better chance of this goal. Of course the state pays the loans up front and doesn’t get its money back. I’m not sure we should keep affording that so a rethink is needed on how HE money is spent and on whom. From any perspective you cannot say all unis and all degrees are equal. They are not.

Clearly, as has been stated, RG plus quite a few others are “worth it” but you have to consider fees, loans and possible earnings to make a valid judgement.

This is only relevant for those who value university education solely in terms of earning potential though. Not everyone thinks that way.

Me too! Lincoln has a good psychology department and reasonable entry grades. Lovely place too.