So is London Metropolitan Uni not great?

[uniquestionss]

I've been told to look at the league tables to get ideas for which uni for dd. Why is it so low in the tables? Is it pointless having a degree from this university?

Simply put, no, it’s not great or well respected and I’m not sure why anyone would choose it if they had better options available. They take incredibly low grades for a reason

Yes - its pointless getting a degree from this university unless it's just to tick a box.
It's been low ranked for many years now.

Depends on the degree subject some of their healthcare related degrees which include state registration are well respected.

Its ranked 127 out of 130 universities in the UK and by department nearly all are in the bottom 10% of subject departments in the UK https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/london-metropolitan-university

Okay thanks, so the student satisfaction bit is one of the highest of all the unis for London met but overall ranked one of the worst, I looked at others ranked much higher but student satisfaction much lower, why is this?

Plenty of time to party and not much work or lectures to be getting on with. Great for a teen who wants that sort of uni experience, not great for attracting future employers.

Okay thank you

I think you and your child should look at the type of employment graduates from London Met typically go on to. As someone has already said, for degrees that are regulated by external bodies, e.g. nursing, there may not be too much of a difference from other universities, because those courses have to meet fairly rigorous requirements or lose their accreditation. A university that appeals mostly to students with relatively low grades on entry may have very good support for dyslexia and other learning difficulties, health issues and so on.

However, it will be a very different experience from studying somewhere that gets students who arrive with a much better grounding from school and can work at a faster pace from day 1.

Exactly. The work related degrees are fine. For anything without a professional qualification attached I would avoid unless that really is all that is available with the grades. But, no degree is wasted and if you are a certain sort of person you will be able to turn any degree to your advantage.

Which league tables are you looking at? The Guardian scores LondonMet more highly than Complete University Guide.

It's not a 'great' university. Former polytechnic, used to languish at the bottom of the rankings, competing with Westminster and UEL not to be the absolute bottom.

It's not necessarily pointless to have a degree from low ranking universities - it depends on course, career prospects, the overall atmosphere as a place of learning you want to be at for 3 years, plus how much the cachet of a 'good' university appeals to you.

It's an ex polytechnic, and wasn't rated well then. But depends on what you want out of university as many applications are blind these days so employers won't know where you went. Many London universities have lots of home students too so it does change the vibe.

Looking at complete uni guide.

I think we will forget that one. Just with costs it's easier to live at home and go there than somewhere and have to pay accommodation.

Looking at employment prospects now! I think UEA is much better for prospects but satisfaction lower and have to pay accommodation

There are so many universities in London - surely she should have plenty of options without having to move away from home?

What subject is your daughter thinking of studying, and what grades is she likely to get? There's a massive difference between the University of East Anglia and London Met, which is likely to be reflected in the grades they ask for. London has a huge number of universities, including some of the best in the world (Imperial, UCL, LSE, some subjects at KCL). There are some very specialist places, e.g. the art and music colleges, and there are others with a strong reputation in certain subjects, e.g. Goldsmiths. The ones that don't rank highly for research may be doing an excellent job with students who are the first in their families to go on to higher education. I met a very impressive young woman recently who was about to graduate in Psychology from one of the newer London universities. She fell into that category.

I used to work there. They break there backs for students which is why satisfaction is high. I wouldn't send an 18 year old there. More suited to mature students who maybe have accessed education in an alternative way.

More suited to mature students who maybe have accessed education in an alternative way.

Absolutely this. From the last data set I saw only one UK uni had a higher proportion of mature students at undergrad level. The London Met figure is not far off 80%. For context somewhere like Imperial is more like 8%. The likes of Durham, Exeter, Bristol, Bath, Nottingham etc lower again.

Birkbeck? My daughter studied there. What a wonderful place!

Birkbeck is generally considered to be for mature students - 80% of 6000 students are mature. So not the best for school leavers.

@uniquestionss Can you say what subject and possible grades? There are lots of unis in and around London. You don’t need to look as far as Norwich. Plus student satisfaction is a very small sample of students. It obviously could vary a huge amount on the whims of a few. Most people disregard these stats. Plus The Guardian is fairly unreliable and throws up odd results that are out of kilter with other tables and general views. If the main purpose of going to uni is to improve job prospects, make sure her choice actually does this. Course and Uni.

Is this London met on the halloway road?

Yes. And Aldgate.

London has a huge number of universities, including some of the best in the world (Imperial, UCL, LSE, some subjects at KCL). There are some very specialist places, e.g. the art and music colleges

This! If your dd wants to save on accommodation costs and lives near London then there are excellent alternatives out there!

I think you only go there if you have very low A level grades and cannot get in anywhere else and all the employers know that. If you want to live at home of course and are in London then there are places like LSE, UCL.... IF you have the grades.

I went to London met 1996-1999. It was the university of north London. I did a BEd Honours so had no problem finding a job in London working as a teacher. It was a real mix of mature students, local Londoners and a level students that wanted to be in London. It is an old poly and there was nothing red brick about it! It did give local people the opportunity to go to uni. I was the first member of my family to go to uni and I travelled from east end so lived at home.