Any interest in a non-Oxbridge/ non-RG parents chat?

[SockFluffInTheBath]

There are lots of threads about applying to Oxbridge and other ‘top’ unis, anyone interested in a thread for those of us with DC looking elsewhere? Not trying to be divisive, but there’s no ‘drop in centre’ thread for other unis, and I thought it might be good to have a space to chat sometimes.

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

@kwankwan Why are you on this thread? ALL of those are RG. This was meant to be non RG unis. Did you mean to be on the quick or slow offers thread?

@SockFluffInTheBath same thing happened to my DD when she visited Aberystwyth. It's top of her list for a biological science course. Pain in the bum to drive to though!

I have always really liked UEA. It was my 2nd choice originally, I have a ton of friends who attended, and now the kids of some of those friends are attending. I think it is a place for well balanced and creative students. The Art History Dept used to be top in the country (alongside Edinburgh) and while the steam seems to have largely gone out of that subject nationally, it is still one of the best for Creative Writing in terms of student output and publishing, and now it seems, its also making a mark for History, where it ranks #24 in the Complete University Guide (not sure of other ranking systems). The city of Norwich is beautiful and not excessively large, the campus is great (not sure if they have fixed those halls with the asbestos yet...) and culturally there's a lot going on there.

my DD is in the non-RG camp after attending a secondary school which was in the bottom 15% country for results she is now enjoying college & has good aspiring grades but didn’t do as well as hoped in AS levels. She does consistently really well in coursework & the tests every 6 weeks gets A-B but in exams gets C-D. So waiting to take a gap year now and apply grades in hand as she wants to do a competitive course. Hoping she can nail min-C in a key subject to go to Winchester I’m just worried about cost of accommodation in years 2-3.

@HebeJeeby my DD just started her 2nd year at Surrey doing English Lit with CW and loves her course. She struggles with exams and although she just missed her grades at A level was still offered her place (we were over the moon) and consistently got 2:1 and 1st's in her 1st year assessments, hopefully that continues this year. Her second choice was Reading which we were also really impressed with.

@Neversaygoodbye it’s good to hear your DD loves Surrey and is doing so well. My DD is also interested in doing English with CW too. We were really impressed by Surrey and the lecturer giving the English talk. We got a really good feeling from the Open Day and my DD came away buzzing from it.

@Autumn00Storms Why Winchester? Lots of places in the north are cheaper? What subject and what job after? Look at value for money if you are going to be stretched financially. What the plan after uni?

@HebeJeeby that's exactly how my DD felt after the open day and although it was one of the first one's we went to that feeling stuck. Reading was definitely a close second and we were impressed with the lecturers there. I know people rave about UEA for CW but my DD didn't get the same vibe and also, for us, it just felt too far. Surrey is very near to us and it's made it easier for visits and with DD being quite introverted that has been invaluable. Good luck to your DD.

To be fair, the title is a bit ambiguous . It could be read as applications for Russell group but not Oxbridge or applications that are not RG or Oxbridge.

We are pushing DD to finish her personal statement now she has finialy made her selection on Universities. I think her top choice is UEA, but also has Lancaster, Cardiff, Edge Hill and ARU.

We've gone for a mix as I wanted her to pick a couple with lower grades entry for the course she wants. Even though she has predicted AAB, she can struggle sometimes with exams and I wanted her to feel she has a good choice who will take her with lower grades and not have to panic around clearing as she is very keen to go to a University that has a good swimming team also.

(I know Cardiff is RG but it's the only one)

Oh and for those picking Aberystwyth, it maybe difficult to get to but it certainly gives it a great student social life as hardly any students leave at the weekends.

I absolutely loved it and haven't come across anyone who hasn't enjoyed being there.

On the topic of non RGs, I work with Man Met and Edge Hill and i'm impressed by both, the (post-grad) students we take on placements from there speak well of them.
We also send 6th formers off to Liverpool, LJMU, Lancaster and UCLAN locally, and they report happy experiences.

Glad to hear students are still keeping Modern Languages alive! I did it at Liverpool - happy times.

Sorry! Thought was non Oxbridge thread!

@Midwintermayhem it’s stunning and it was sunny on the open day 😅 DD has always lived in a nice house in a nice village and gone to rural schools so she has decided she doesn’t want to go to a city. She loved the department at Aber, the flexibility to mix and match up to 3 languages, the runners on the seafront, the mountains behind, it’s all right up her street. It’s gone from being an insurance-maybe to first choice.

@Thedogismybaby her older brother just started at UEA and he loves it. I had to twist his arm to apply there but he loved it so much he ditched Loughborough to go there. And then he changed his course but still wanted UEA. He’s so happy, really settled, it’s perfect for him.

Fair point! Is it too late to get it changed to be clearer?

@Autumn00Storms that must be frustrating for your DD. I hope she gets a cracking course that suits her.

I work alongside academics from UCLAN, Staffordshire, Salford and MMU, am really impressed with all of them!

Great idea for a thread @SockFluffInTheBath - I always feel MN can be a bit 'Oxbridge or RG or you might as well not bother!' about unis.

My DS had decent grades (all GCSEs 7-9, A levels A*BB) but would have found the social and academic pressure of a high ranked uni too overwhelming due to additional needs (autism/adhd). So he quite deliberately applied for mid-ranked non-RG. Ultimately narrowed down to Portsmouth and Sussex - liked both - ended up at Portsmouth as preferred non-campus. Really likes it, although his SEN presents significant challenges (gets DSA support thank God although tbf he'd have qualified for that wherever he'd gone). But we have been impressed with the quality /efficiency of assignment feedback and pastoral support from tutors, and both uni and city have a nice 'feel' to them - big enough but not too big. Decent range of clubs and societies to join too.

I think there will always be a degree of snobbery about non-RGs (the prestigious Bath/Surrey/Lancaster ones excepted of course) but for some students, for a whole variety of reasons, a 'lower ranked' uni can be a far better option.

@user1471516498 The title says non Oxbridge/RG and then the OP talks about “top unis”. I guess they have no definition but generally most people think it’s RG plus St Andrews, Bath, Lancaster and Loughborough these days.

Surrey and a few others are not far off either. So I did take the thread to mean non RG and it really should not include applications to York, Exeter, Lancaster, Leeds or Liverpool. The RG plus 4 list can be avoided! They are, after all, talked about ad nauseam elsewhere! For years on end.

Can I join also? My son's favourite so far is Nottingham Trent for Business Mgt - first time visiting a uni that he actually got excited / animated about going to uni!

He hasn't submitted his application yet though as his school deadline isn't for a while.

Why are you getting so involved? As far as I know both your DDs are in their thirties so are not currently applying to or attending unis of any description.

@FlyingPandas exactly that, I didn’t feel there’s somewhere for the ‘rest of us’ to chit chat. DS struggled with his mental health through sixth form and doesn’t like competition for its own sake. We nearly lost DD a couple of years ago and without the gory details she is smart but not quite as sharp now, and also cba with competition. There are lots of DC who won’t be neurosurgeons, captains of industry or corporate London starlets, but they still have fascinating paths to weave.

ps I got the title changed, thank you MNHQ 🙂

I agree with you @FlyingPandas

There are some dinosaurs posters on MN who think that anything outside of the top ten isn't worth bothering about. I was told on one thread that DD's first class STEM degree wasn't worth the paper it was written on, and this was from an RG university, but lower down the rankings.

I have always got the impression that the teaching is better at the "lower ranked" universities. DD did attend an RG university, but the teaching staff were so hands off that DD didn't really know any of her lecturers or tutors. The only one she built up a rapport with was her dissertation tutor. She saw her first personal tutor just once, and never even met her second one, and when she needed a reference her personal tutor didn't even know who she was!

Schools get so hung up about RG universities. And really, are students that interested in how much research a university carries out?

Lastly, more and more employers are recruiting university blind, so as long as your DC go to the best university for them that is all that matters.

Ok I’ll fuck off too then since ds has applied to Surrey and Lancaster but quite frankly you don’t even have kids applying and neither did you go to university to give your own perspective so I’m not sure what made you the thread police.

Well that escalated 😅 no need to fuck off on my account. I just wanted a friendly space for those of us who feel we don’t fit on other threads (and those who might but want a more chilled feeling are welcome).