Heriot-Watt

[NoScooby]

My daughter visited Heriot-Watt on an open day last year and really loves the campus, the course (business & economics) and the presentations from staff.

She's also applied to RG universities and has an offer from one already, but at the moment Heriot-Watt is her first choice and she has just received an offer from them.

I know almost nothing about Heriot-Watt, it seems to be quite hidden/ overlooked compared to other Scottish universities. Do any of you have any experience/ opinions (positive or negative) particularly when it comes to how degrees from there are viewed by employers?

I'm pleased she's so happy about her offer, but want to make sure that she wouldn't be narrowing her options by not choosing a RG university when she has that chance.

Thanks!

Sadly, mumsnet is full of snobby views like this.

DD went to an RG university and graduated with a first in a STEM degree.

One of the prolific living in an ivory tower higher education posters actually posted on mumsnet that DD's degree wasn't worth the paper it was written on because it wasn't from a top 10 university

Extraordinary, isn't it. I have a relative who did an HND (not a degree! pass me the smelling salts) at Napier (not only not a Russell Group university which of course didn't exist then, but never mind but not even a university at the time! imagine!) and has had an exceptionally good career in the aeronautics industry on the strength of it. I must remember to mention to him that he is a failure next time we meet.

I'm a graduate of HW. Best way to describe it is that they don't do much (in terms of range of courses) but what they do they do very well.

Business courses are first class, and when I was there Edinburgh were actually using our lecturers to deliver their courses! The Business courses also let you sample all disciplines (or they did) so if you suddenly realised Accounting was your thing it was an easy switch.

Plenty of direct buses in from town and there will be loads of students commuting in and out so wouldn't worry about that.

A good number from my course got top end jobs with the big management consultants and accounting firms - definitely no issue with the name of the uni.

You see, this is the kind of thing that is giving us pause - DD has offers from much higher ranking universities, but are people going make assumptions that she "only got into Heriot Watt" and pigeon-hole her accordingly? That seems a bit dated.

Is the "right" thing to do to choose the course from the highest ranking uni she gets an offer for (DH's view). Or choose the course and uni that makes her most excited?

@NoScooby Definitely choose the course and uni that makes her most excited

Please ignore @JesusWeptLady she is ill-informed regarding HW's place in the Scottish rankings, especially for Business/Economics courses where probably only Strathclyde is better.

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/scotland is one set of rankings - HW is 6/14. Others are available where Dundee/Stirling are higher ranked. But HW is definitely not bottom of the heap and especially not for its Business School courses.

Best way to describe it is that they don't do much (in terms of range of courses) but what they do they do very well.

I think that's the comment of the thread from @margotsdevil actually. And you should always let your DCs follow their passions - if she's excited about HW then that's really important.

(On a side note, I would love to know who does the RG's marketing here on MN cos they really do have a committed bunch of brand advocates even where RG isn't actually in play in Scotland.)

Waves to @lpadannie

@NoScooby you come across as a lovely mum who's just looking for a bit of background but feel I have to say this - you and DH do know that ultimately this is your DD's decision? I say that with the greatest kindness. I know how hard it is when it's as huge a decision as this one, but this is the point where they really have to make their own choices. And it sounds like with your DD there really aren't any bad options on the table.

(I am honestly not getting at you, I just think sometimes parents struggle to let go on this particular decision.)

My son has applied but I don’t think he’ll go if he gets an offer. I would be more than happy if he went there. His current favourite is Strathclyde which I guess a lot of the Uni snobs would have a problem with too, these people are best ignored I find. And I say that as a graduate of Glasgow Uni myself

Went to open day, 4 years ago when DD was looking at unis for economics. My favourite open day in terms of presentations and staff (campus lovely too and an easy frequent bus ride from west end of Edinburgh for 2nd year onwards).

I remember the slide showing added value of HW so maybe that worst girl in the boarding school is now VP at JP Morgan.

Top student in my DDs AH Maths went to HW to do financial maths. Got 2nd year entry and course got him max exemptions from professional exams so has moved quickly in his career path. Good industry links too

As to the distance from the city. It is hard to express how small Edinburgh is from outside and how anything that isn't walking distance can be called far away. Heriot Watt is not far at all, just off the beaten track for people who live in Edinburgh - most of whom would be surprised that it's closer than IKEA, say (because they often go to IKEA).

I live in central Edinburgh, in an area popular with students in general. I do Parkrun at Heriot Watt - it takes me 15 minutes to get there by car and there are a lot of bus options. It is considerably easier to get to than some of the Edinburgh University Campuses (Kings Buildings, medical school, vet school). It has a lovely vibe and has prioritised quality over quantity in courses offered.

😂I absolutely take your point here, and I'm doing my best to stay neutral and just find out as much as I can about all her options. The decision will of course be DDs. She does ask us for our opinions, and I'm trying to get as broad an impression as I can rather than just looking at the rankings, which tell only part of the story.

I made the mistake of choosing the most prestigious uni I had an offer for back in the day simply on the basis that it would open the most doors for me, and although I loved the city, I really struggled with the snobbishness of the university and felt like a fish out of water for most of my time there. That coloured the whole uni experience for me, I was pretty miserable and my grades probably suffered. Things may have been different if I'd had better advice than "pick the highest ranked"!

What school and university did you go to? Just so these can be avoided, given how poor your grammar is.

Thanks for your gracious reply! I think that is really common at Edinburgh rn to be honest. It's so hard for Scottish students get in, so they of course go, and it's SUCH a specifically weird culture. That, to me, is the benefit of HW - you get to study in Edinburgh without having to navigate any of that other 'stuff'.

Has she looked at Strathclyde? That’s best for Econ and Business.

That's exactly it @LaviniasBigBloomers Edinburgh has a really strange culture, which obviously suits some but is definitely not for everyone

Yes she's applied to Strathclyde @TiaSeeya but she wasn't as taken with the course, particularly the international options. More importantly, it's too close to home, she said the open day felt like going into town shopping and she wouldn't qualify for student accommodation so she'd be living at home at least in 1st year

Ah well that’s no good then!

It's a shame she didn't love Strathclyde more, it's a really great option and would have been cheaper too!