Daughter about to start Uni, having a wobble and thinking she should have gone to a higher Ranked Russell Group Uni!

[WhatsTheStoryRory]

My daughter did her A levels in the summer and got all A*s in 4 STEM subjects.
She accepted an offer to study a STEM subject in a non Russell group uni because that's the one she liked the best when we visited.
The Uni she liked is very well rated and is a couple of hours drive from the city we live in.
She's gone through the whole process of applying for Student loan and choosing accomodation.

She's now having a wobble and thinking she should have accepted an offer she had from a Russell Group Uni in the city we live in.
The main reason seems to be, that she thinks future employers will give preference to those who went to higher ranked Uni's.

She's even mentioned taking a year out and re-applying for next year.
We've said we'll support her whatever she decides.

Is it even possible to change Uni's at this late stage?

Bath and not Bath Spa?

Yes, Bath

And given it was 4 A levels, that likely indicates STE not M, as usually the 4th A level is Further Maths.

That's just ridiculous.

You should be careful with the advice you give when it could have a real effect on the life course of OPs daughter. I know of an extremely competent lawyer who applied again and again for a position as a judge- but was ultimately passed over a number of times because he didn’t go to the right “old boys club” style Russel Group University. He went to Leicester which is non RG. I knew him well and he would have made the most fair and competent judge. This was definitely a factor and not for other reasons. I think a lot of people and being naive and sadly the world we live in can sometimes be as unfair as this. I don’t doubt that non Russell group unis can be good, even great- but when you are paying such high tuition fees- I would play it safe and go to an established institution. You may not think this is relevant but it really is to some people.

Economics, maths, engineering, sociology, sports science...all top ranked at Bath.

It chose not to join the RG. Worth remembering that, fir example , Warwick only joined comparatively recently.
Then again, Warwick also probably doesn't have a med school.

Has DD picked up this RG belief from misinformed friends?

If it helps tell your daughter that my DD is going to Bath this September to do a STEM subject. She got 4 A* too and turned down an Imperial offer.

Bath is absolutely flying as a university. Compact campus (though not very architecturally inspiring), excellent for sports, lovely safe city, takes very high achieving students. It only offers a small range of courses, but is highly specialised reflected in great employability rates. Definitely got a middle class vibe though , which may or may not be what she’s looking for.

Also, to be honest, in a STEM subject 4 A stars may be what most Bath entrants have!

As someone who has been through that process I would respectfully say that is utter bollocks. The process is extremely long and it’s an academic knock out process. The fact that he went to a particular university does not feature at all.

Bath is a highly regarded university and she doesn't have an offer from the RG uni in her home town, she had one. Would the RG university look kindly on her taking a gap year? Maths based courses usually don't like them to have a break from maths so worth checking with them. Personally I think she is mad to give up the Bath place before she has even tried it.

Do you think this is about being away from home and a new place?

Bath IS an established institution.

The Russell Group is a research consortium that is clearly very good at marketing.

If university was a factor in the decision about the “extremely competent lawyer”, it was probably Leicester that was an issue, not the non-RG aspect. I imagine St Andrews would have been perfectly acceptable from an “old boys network” perspective.

Happily, that entire attitude is dying out most places except perhaps the stuffiest of law firms.

Christ almighty

Ignore the person who thinks Newcastle and Liverpool are superior to Bath.

That's absolutely not the case at all for STEM.

To think having an opinion on one person wh

Bath has an excellent reputation for STEM. Anyone hiring in STEM will know Bath as a highly academic university and will not give a shit about the fact it's not Russell Group.

If she does decide to change, it is fairly straightforward to change her student finance. Lots of students do change courses at this stage and update their finance applications accordingly.

A number of my DC’s friends are going to Bath and all have stellar results - one being 4 A-star, others multiple A-star each.
It’s a wonderful university and easily on a par with the best.

Who apparently would have made a great judge but went to Leicester - and to extrapolate than one piece of anecdata is bizarre.

If they were in the running for judge then they must have found a place in chambers so not sure it even stands as anecdata tbh!

Bath is a fabulous university. My daughter actually ended up at a RG uni as her back up because she didn't get the grades for Bath!. Their students all seem to do extremely well with jobs after uni. We were very impressed with the maturity of the students when we visited open day - they seemed really focused and ambitious. Lovely city too. Campus is a big concrete but accommodation seemed good. Also - speaking from experience - if she has good accommodation then that's a real bonus

*bit concrete (not big)!

With 4 A stars she should apply again and include Oxbridge and places like Durham, Bristol, LSE etc and once she has her offer have a lovely gap year.

My best friend went to Bath and loved it. She did a STEM subject, did a year in industry in her 3rd year and walked into a big 5 firm on graduating. Your DD will be fine!

In order to compete you have to be recommended as excellent by another lawyer and by a client. You then have to pass various tests of good standing ie no concerns about your honesty or integrity. It’s then multiple rounds of knock out to test legal knowledge attention to detail and skills Some is scenario based and some is not. It’s all very fast paced and under strict timed conditions and highly pressurised. There are multiple stages and people get knocked out since only the top tranche go through to the next round. In my round there were over 1400 senior lawyers for ten roles. It is not based on where you went to university. I didn’t go to a Russell group university.

She did apply to Oxbridge and got to the interview stage. Obviously it's hugely competitive and there's no guarantee she'd be successful second time around.

If I see Bath on a CV, it makes me MORE interested due to the calibre of STEM grads they churn out. They may not be RG but they teach bloody well.

I wouldn't give it a moment's thought and would 100% head to the West Country.

A pp has suggested she may be wobbling about leaving home and deflecting this by questioning the RG situation. That's worth exploring with her. DD is feisty, resilient and confident but she utterly fell apart in the weeks leading up to Uni departure. It's a big transition that can wham those you'd not expect it to.