Should you pick RG over others? Where to apply for Psychology…

[LottieLovesLemon]

DD looking to study psychology. She wants to apply to 5 from this list of 6

Bath
Loughborough
Manchester
Nottingham
Southampton
Warwick

Having just completed the open days she’s now deciding which one to knock off her list.

Should she prioritise applying to RG?

Entry requirements range from A*AA to ABB

It seems a very popular subject to choose so she’s keen to get her degree from the University that would help her job prospects the most.

Birmingham has a solid Psychology dept and when I say solid, 'I mean they are not training BSci's to go straight into HR, they have the whole PhD path (as do other universities.

Always always RG where possible

Based on what tho? I rate lboro or Bath over Cardiff and Newcastle for lots of courses.

This is not true for Bath at all. Have you even looked at where they sit in league tables and employment stats?

Agree re Birmingham. It's very underpromoted on MN.

She needs to think about the place she'll be living for the next 3 years as well as the course and uni reputation. If she is a city person, she should focus on Manchester and Nottingham. If she is a small town girl, then the others might suit her better. Also, does she want an out of town campus, where students are quite separate from the locals, or would she be happier being more integrated?

Uni of Nottingham had 1 of the sharpest falls in acceptance in 2023, thought to be due to the 2023 stabbings. They seem to be playing catch up with their admissions and will take dropped grades, for example CCC in clearing for History in 2024.

My daughter studied at Nottingham and loved it there.The campus is absolutely beautiful and the accommodation was good.

If she thinks she would like to work in the field of psychology then I would prioritise courses that include a placement year. Experience counts more than where you get your degree from among the list you give, I would say. My dd graduated in psychology from Exeter and has found that all psychology roles require experience.

You also need to be aware that 80% of their placements are unpaid and the renumeration rate for the 20% of paid ones is 14-22k. You need deep pockets for Bath.

Yes, true. But I guess the pay off after graduation is the point. And 17k, say, in second year of uni is pretty good.

Lancaster also do placement years. I have an ex student gaining excellent experience at a DV charity ( sociology degree)

I’d also strongly recommend Birmingham, or, if London is a possibility, UCL.

Just a slight variation on this, only Bath administration actually helps their students find placements for the year in industry. No other university is known to help out. But having said that, I know that York has some paid psychology research placements in-house, working for professors there while also studying (so no need to take a whole year out for it).

Has she looked in detail at the modules as well. My DC managed to narrow it down by that a lot. Loughborough for example (unsurprisingly) seemed to have a quite a bit of sports psychology which they really aren’t interested in.
Also gut feel- they didn’t like Bath at all for some reason.

The 2026 CUG rankings are out now which may be worth a look although of course rankings are only one thing to consider.

The type of university on your list is quite varied. For DCs friends, if they liked Manchester they tended not to like Loughborough or Warwick! Very different places.

@LottieLovesLemon As this course is so popular now, few grads get to do the years of further training needed to actually qualify. So plan B is vital. As is choosing a university she might actually get into. Bath and a few others (eg ucl) are clutching at straws I’m afraid.

RG doesn’t trump Bath and Loughborough but Loughborough and Warwick are firmly campus universities. I would say consider housing costs if you need to but I’d definitely look at Surrey if their requirements match up.

She must also engage with other careers. So many people have this degree they could be competing for all sorts of jobs. Doors money matter? Whatever she does, make sure she has some work experience in something! She must get a cv together as grad jobs are so competitive.

are you sure most Bath placements are unpai?

@sailingsunshine that was my thought re Nottingham tbh in terms of lower grades.

Strong agree with those saying, look at the place too. Lboro for all I love it is not the place if you want a big city. Cannot imagine the same person liking Lboro AND Manchester tbh.

@littlequestion Yes, very sure. We went to the open day earlier this month and it was on one of the slides on the talk. I took note of it. Big contrast to DD1's course, she is currently doing a year in industry and is earning more than the top figure quoted for the 20% who are actually paid on the placement year at Bath.

Just noticed on the Southampton website they're saying that they will open for Clearing on July 5th and publish their grade requirements on July 1st.

This is something the more prestigious universities avoid doing.

No snobbery here - DD got into uni on July Early Clearing and is very happy - she's realistic that her uni is a middle ranker though.

Southampton is high in league tables for psychology, mind.

Various sources are suggesting uni applications have fallen appreciably this year.

the top ten for 2026 offering Psychology are as follows (according to the CUG)

1. Oxford
2. St. Andrews
3. Cambridge
4. Bath
5. York
6. LSE
7. Cardiff
8. Loughborough
9. Exeter
10. UCL

Yes, I did check. These are very fine margins really but obviously proves how good Bath is. Soton is 22nd which is still quite high.

I would say that if RG is such a big deal to the DD there are more to look at, notably Cardiff , whose offer may well be less astronomical.

Surely of the top 10, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, LSE, UCL and St A aren’t going to be recruiting universities. If Cardiff and the others, plus the next 10 are recruiting, then look at grades required and do the usual aiming high to nailed on to get the final 5. Look at cities vs remote campus. What does she want?

If dc don’t become psychologists, employers won’t care that much about the course because they will test for the attributes and competences they want. I suspect there’s not much evidence for Cardiff outshining Sheffield grads in terms of this. The top 10 appear to have better prospects, together with Durham, and I’d be concerned where grad prospects are below 60%. This of course can reflect a number of things but you don’t see this at top rank unis. So aim as high as possible with a banker in the mix too and be flexible over jobs.

Cardiff is top 10...

I also disagree.

i went to a very highly respected, research university. Graduates had a 100% employment rate, and most of the 2:1 students got funded PhD places.

it was not Russel Group.

RG is basically a marketing tool. It’s self selected, there are no standards to need to be a member

look for other markers of research excellence. Young researcher awards, postgrad employment, research funding. My dept had the largest research grant in that area, they simply didn’t need RG.

also bear in mind that a uni can be lower down lists generally, but have an excellent reputation in one subject.