Loughborough University - 7th in ranking??

[mybestideasarealwaysatnight]

I see that hat Loughborough is 7th in the list (Complete Uni Guide) behind Durham, for example, even though for several subjects that I looked at, Loughborough are asking for lower entry grades and the accepted students held lower grades (according to UCAS) than on other, similar courses at lower ranked unis (those are still top 20).

Bit baffled - why is this?

There will always be variations in courses. So where does the specific course at Loughborough that you’re looking at sit in league tables for that subject? Also league tables do not necessarily mean that university is the 7th best in the country. There’s loads of stuff which feeds into league tables, some of which can be taken with a pinch of salt. What reputation the particular course has I’d say is more important.

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/sector/insights/university-and-subject-league-tables-methodology

Also the cynic in me says Loughborough may have to offer slightly lower ucas points than other highly ranked universities due to the location and town. And I say that as the parent of a Dd who has applied, but its bottom of her list of choices just because places like Manchester (as in the city) are more exciting.

Also remember Loughborough does have some particularly renowned courses (sports) and that will bring their overall ratings up I’d guess.

@CerealPosterHere Looked across the board, really. But understand they're quite well known for engineering, finance and geo? Again, for those the entry level is generally AAB, with the range of accepted students AAA* but most common AAB and lowest BBB/BBC.

I guess in the world rankings they're lower but just a bit surprised because other unis below Loughborough for both subject and total uni tend to have stricter entry criteria and acceptance rates.

If they’re lower in world rankings they may be struggling to attract international students who are the ones who bring the money in. I’m not sure how entry requirements for international students are figured out but if they are supposed to be in line with requirements for home students that could affect/lower ucas tariff.

I work at a much lower ranked university and ucas tariffs can fluctuate year from year depending on number of applicants the previous year. If we have too many/plenty of applicants for a course we might bump the tariff up, if we are struggling to recruit we might drop it down a bit.

Some unis want to recruit only the highest academically performing students, others are looking for greater diversity of ability. Greater diversity of ability typically means greater diversity of students, which can mean an enriched student community both in the classroom and other aspects of university life. It isn’t all about grades.

Probably because they want to attract more applicants.

Loughborough has always beenviewed as an excellent university. This isn't new...

They have very high student satisfaction score which pushes them right up. The reason for the high score is really the make up of the student population. They go primarily for the sport and the sports facilities are excellent.

Plus most of the non RG universities will have lower published entry requirements than RG universities because they tend to have fewer applicants because everyone gets hung up on the RG label (which is silly because it really isn’t that relevant for undergraduates)

As someone said above, the students who choose to go there have a great experience. I would argue it is a little niche and self-selecting as it is famed for sport/small town/campus uni so likely to not attract students who really want what it offers.

As far as CUG goes @mybestideasarealwaysatnight Loughborough has been in the top ten overall every year for the past decade. Not a new thing.

DC went to Loughborough as their first choice. They had slightly lower grades due to serious illness during A levels. They had already decided to take a gap year which ended up being a godsend because it allowed them time to fully recover before applying to uni. They are not a sporty person at all and chose Loughborough because it is a campus uni in a relatively small quiet area. They ended up staying there for their masters and then to a different uni for their post-grad. They have very fond memories of their time there, are still in touch with several of their professors and go back to visit when work allows. DCs experience was that L'boro has a lot to offer apart from the obvious sport facilities.

I’ve posted on here extensively about Loughborough. DS applied with predicted grades of AAA and got rejected. Now I appreciate in the dizzy heights of academic success on Mumsnet AAA isn’t that amazing but he went to a very low achieving 6th form where most students don’t actually go to Uni so his predicted grades were actually quite good.
He actually got A star AA in exams so took a gap year and reapplied and started last September. So I’m not sure where you are getting the impression that students that go there need or have lower exam grades. For what it’s worth, he was also offered Bath and Birmingham both of which required significantly lower grades than Loughborough. He absolutely loves it and taking a gap year to get there as he was so determined to fulfil his dream was the best thing he ever did.

Glad to hear he is enjoying it!

Of course it's a good uni but the courses I looked at - engineering/economics/finance - they seemed to ask for AAB whereas most other top 10 unis ask for higher entry grades.

I also compared the UCAS feature where you can see what the actual achieved grades of students who accepted were. And again, they were - on the whole - lower at Loughborough, and often significantly lower, than at other top 10 unis.

But of course it's not all about the entry grades, I do realise that and have heard very good things about Loughborough.

As others have said to you, it's been top 10 for many years now.

Which university (s) are you especially narked it is ahead of??

It has a particularly good reputation for engineering!

Interestingly the four non RG universities ranked in the top 10 in the CUG UK rankings (Bath, St Andrews, Lancaster and Loughborough) are all rated outside the top 100 in the QS world rankings (Loughborough is not even in the top 200 - 212th) whereas all the other Russell Group unis in the top 10 (and Birmingham at 12th in the UK) are inside the top 100 (with 4 inside the top 10 in the world)

That is because those rankings are compiled in a completely different way and focus on research (largely irrelevant to a undergrad and can negatively impact teaching) plus they award points for how difficult it is to get in. So in an extreme example if a completely shite university suddenly asked for four A stars for all of its courses it would rank more highly. That is one of the reasons why you see really weird places featuring highly.

The CUG rankings really are the most useful for undergraduates to look at.

It'll vary a lot by course.

Physics and Astronomy, Loughborough ranks 27th

Sports Science, Loughborough ranks 1st

I don't really want to get into a debate about rankings methodology as it could become commentary pong pong, but I just want to point out that the CUG uses entry standards as a measure in it's methodology and not the other way round. So your example about a completely shite university with high entry standards actually applies to the UK.
The CUG also has research in its methodology too (both research quality and research intensity) so they both place emphasis on research. One of the differences (apart from differences in weightings) is that the QS rankings have a weighting of 15% for global engagement (international faculty ratio, international student ratio etc) whereas the CUG includes student experience and the QS doesn't (which is one of the reasons Loughborough and St Andrews rank highly in the UK - both are in the top 15 for student satisfaction )
Which is great for students as part of their uni experience, but is debatable as to whether it assists in employability or academic reputation.

@mybestideasarealwaysatnight you are correct they take lower grades than other unis for Engineering. A relative of mine got lower grades than hoped for and was rejected by Bath (for Engineering) but got into Loughborough's 5 yr MSCi with those lower grades.

Happy to be corrected

Loughborough is first and foremost a centre for sporting excellence;many courses will offer lower entry requirements to bring in the athletes from all over.

It's still a great university and Leicestershire where Loughborough is situated is probably more affordable than other university towns is terms of cost of living.