2.1 from Oxford or 1st from Bristol/Durham

[kekeke]

Could someone help settle a debate I had with a work colleague. Her daughter has just got her a level results and got AAA which means she met the entry requirements for her offer of History at Oxford (Balliol).

The mum was more keen for the daughter to accept Bristol or Durham, citing that she’ll have less pressure and it will be a lot easier to get a first there than Oxford (probably true). So the mum thinks getting a 1st from Bristol will be better than getting a 2.1 from Oxford.

Thoughts?

I agree with this. But how would you feel if a company prioritised the unis you listed over others?

For example preferring an Imperial mathematician over one from York?

But the programmes don’t suit everyone. If I’d been interested in an English Lit course that was heavily focused on contemporary lit, I wouldn’t have gone to Oxford, for instance. Same for all subjects.

@BadOsS I think it depends what the individual's future goals are. Some are happy to graduate, live work and settle down in the area they grew up. If so, they can take full advantage of the 'uni blind' rhetoric and choose to go wherever they will be happiest and not think about league tables and reputation. Another individual might have hopes of leaving the UK one day, working internationally or perhaps wants to work with top employers who hire from home and abroad (even stiffer competition and a different culture), then they might do well to try for the best university their grades can get them into with their eye firmly on their ranking subject & overall and reputation, knowing that the employers they will be targeting will be looking at these things.

As for employers, I don't know any employer that doesn't want the pick of the crop when it comes to graduates and academic ability plus lots of successful internships that somehow ties in with the university they attended and its selectivity. With hundreds graduating every yr, its an easy way to cut down the list by going straight for the top universities before filtering it further with tests & interviews.

Unfortunately, we have to prepare our graduates for the road not the road for the graduate.

The degree of selectivity at Imperial or LSE is comparable to the degree of selectivity at Oxbridge for some subjects ie it is perfectly possible for applicants to get an Oxbridge offer but not an Imperial (or LSE) offer and the reverse is also true.

York is a far less selective university. Which is not to say that there aren't brilliant hard working students there, but the probability of a York student being of the same calibre as an Imperial or LSE student is much lower than the probability of an Imperial or LSE student being of similar calibre to an Oxbridge student.

@BadOsS I would prefer the employer to choose the best candidate for the job. That means a selection process. Obviously someone might have gone to York when they could have got into an elite uni. Should they have been more ambitious? Probably. However it will depend what the job is and competition for it.

The poster I responded to said her DS’s company only looked at Oxbridge. In this day and age that’s foolish but it cuts their workload down. My DD is a barrister. Some sets are full of Oxbridge. It’s not worth anyone else applying. Whether they miss good people obviously doesn’t bother them because they find their calibre of young person and don’t take many each year. For larger companies, where a mix of attitudes and attributes might matter, they should look at a broader spectrum. Banking should be one of these but if they have a very small intake, at a private bank, they simply don’t bother because the tried and tested has suited them well. I don’t agree with such a very narrow approach though.

I'd argue a first from Durham would be more respected than a 2:1 from Oxford but there is no guarantee the DD would achieve either. The DD has to pick where she'd be happiest because if she's happy she'll achieve more.

Later on, people don't always ask what degree class you got. However, people always remember whether you went to Oxbridge. I got a first class degree from an RG university that was ranked fifth at the time. I still don't think this sounds as good as going to Oxbridge. My friends who got a 2.1 who went to Oxbridge still have more kudos than me-and it has helped with their careers.

I remember at the time I was applying for uni that York was one of the best in the country.

I get that the league tables go up and down a lot though and I think that’s part of the issue- do employers regularly keep an eye on how your uni compared at the time you graduated?

i suppose that gives a reason to aim for Oxford or Cambridge - as they are so famous.

but I also remember St Andrew’s wasn’t so high in league tables when I went to uni. I turned down a place there, yet recently I recall it beat one of the Oxbridge unis in the league tables