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?

I’m a scientist with a big successful research lab at a RG institution and I am delighted to take Bath graduates. It’s a fabulous place for STEM. As others have said, so are Lancaster and St Andrews and others who don’t pay to be RG. She will have a brilliant time

To follow up- I do give two hoots what uni my employees went to as some are very definitely better than others. Bath is one of the good ones

@bge but you work in a RG institution... those talking about blind recruitment are referring to employment within businesses.

Blind recruitment gives an unbiased candidate shortlist to the hiring manager.

You've already shown your bias by automatically assuming the candidate from the 'top' university is better. This is the whole reason for blind recruitment. It provides fair access to the recruitment process.

By your reckoning the person from the 'top' uni should get an interview based on where they studied. Why should they? If they can clearly demonstrate they're the best person for the job throughout the interview process, then absolutely they get the job, but otherwise why should the name of the place they studied be a deciding factor?

@OMGitsnotgood But to be fair many application forms are a load of old bollocks.

I'm sure many are, some less so. But regardless, if you have to fill one in, you have to fill one in, and if a candidate thinks they don't have to do much more than say which uni they went to, then they are mistaken.

Even with the increasing number of university blind application processes, there is often a presumption that they are better than other candidates. Academically, they will have achieved a certain standard to get into a RG uni - but so will many of others both at and not at RG and academic accomplishment is just one tick in the box to allow you to progress further in the selection process.

There are some professions where institution might matter - but I've not seen that in the STEM area which the OP is talking about.

DD sounds sensible to look at career opportunities r.e. universities. One of my DSs had a friend who got into York and felt that the career opportunities were limited so gap yeared for Oxford and some better unis and ended up going to Oxford.

@KreedKafer Absolutely this. I have never had a conversation as part of a recruitment panel about where the applicant went to university. We have always valued other experience they have gained along the way by working / voluntary work and how they intend to apply their knowledge, skills and experience to the role.

I have spoken to the Uni in our home city that she is now considering.
They have said that there is nothing they can do this year and the only option would be to re-apply for next year.

No need to be wobbling about Bath!

Is your town uni really that much better than Bath? Unless it's a COWI I can't see that it would be.

Is this really a 'I don't want to leave home' wobble?

Yeh what @titchy says. Unless you live in Oxford I think Bath will be as good as it gets

It's not a COWI

Then it's nerves talking. How does she actually feel about going to uni? Is she ND? Or in need of family support for MH reasons? Boyfriend she doesn't want to move away from?

Is she in London - is it UCL?

Really, honestly, that is great to hear BUT even in places where that 'conversation' is had, for STEM, Bath would be a place that would be hugely approved of.

There is literally no point whatsoever in this thread on comments by PPs about law and medicine which remain rarefied worlds (law especially).

This “anecdote” took place over ten years ago. He went through all the above assessments as described. You may not have gone to a Russell group uni but I’d guess you’re younger than retirement age. Maybe things are changing now, but sometimes this prejudice still exists. It does in medicine I know for sure.

It does in medicine I know for sure.

😒

Bath is highly rated, the main reservation some of our DCs contemporaries might have is that it’s a bit posh like Durham

If she still likes the idea of Bath, but also really thinks a RG uni would be a good step, she could always apply for a Masters at a RG university afterwards. With those types of A level results, she is likely to excel in her degree and have her choice of postgrads.

Know someone with a Cambridge offer who declined it and accepted Bath for STEM.

Also, Lancaster, Loughborough and St Andrews all outrank the majority of Russell Group members.

We're clearly not talking about perceptions of the RG in medicine, law or for that matter humanities subjects, @LadyGabriella .

Fortunately stem types can normally manage to look at actual data and statistics for specific courses.

So where are you drawing the line about whose the best for the job ?

Presumably unis are accepting the best students for their courses. So the top unis get the best of the academics . These students go on to get degrees. 1:1 being the best 2:1 being good and so on.

Going blind is the exact opposite of contextual.

No, it isn't. Going blind has been shown to help exactly the same groups who are traditionally disadvantaged at almost all stages of education.

THIS IS NOT A MEDICINE THREAD.

Although, frankly, when I am meeting a doctor in hospital, I don't investigate their education.