Don’t necessarily aim high with uni choices!

[Operafanatic]

My DC had four RG offers and got Astar AA at A-level. They knew they didn’t want to go into law (where uni status still matters) so chose their uni based purely on the course and lifestyle they liked the most. We supported that - despite their prestigious private school's objections (they advocated RG unis only - mainly, I think, because that was/is a performance measure for schools). DC graduated from Swansea last year with a First and is now working in civil service fast stream. If they had gone to another uni, I am not at all convinced they would have got a first - being top of the pack (rather than middling as at school) gave them confidence. More importantly, had the time of their life at Swansea - such a super uni with very high student satisfaction! So question the advice to aim high - sometimes it is better to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond! Am mentioning this because my DD in year 13 (predicted all A stars) is about to do the same - Exeter rather than Imperial or Warwick in her case. Eldest DC found that every grad scheme he applied to was university blind anyway!

Depends on the subject as you identified. Don’t underestimate the advantage of the soft skills they would have developed in their school years.
However in answer to your question, it is their ability to get through the various rounds of getting into a grad scheme that matters. Not sure how much of a role the university plays in this

RG uni also wouldnt have helped into CS which does blind recruitment. He did brilliantly to get onto the fast stream OP with how competitive it is, you must be so proud! He should be set now if he wants to stay in!

Exeter is a RG university and is ranked 11th in the UK. 31% of its students are from independent schools, the 7th highest intake in the UK.

Yes I know. But my point is that rankings aren’t the be all and end all - Exeter is the second lowest ranked (for the course) of her five unis but she likes it the most! Imperial and Warwick are more prestigious’ and school reckon Imperial. She says no.

Thank you. Just thrilled for him! He is alongside Oxbridge and top RG grads - and others from Nottingham Trent, Essex and Hull, to name just a few! Blind recruitment a real leveller. He says no one cares what uni they went to now - they are all fast-streamers 😀

this is interesting and also my experience from our workplace.

But I’m curious if you don’t mind OP. Did your daughter sit the test for Imperial (is she keeping a door open) or has she straight away refused to apply at those ‘top unis’?

Totally agree.

Deliberately choosing a less pressured environment, temporarily or permanently, as a means to boost confidence, and so performance, is more common than you might think; it may be at your children's school it is unusual, because of its particular context.

That said, at my children's comprehensive school, the opposite challenge was evident: the need to encourage students to be more ambitious about choices and possibilities. So it can work both ways.

Interestingly, many of my best hires have been those whose GCSEs or A levels didn't go smoothly (for various reasons), ended up at lower tariff unis but regrouped there and pushed through to get good results - proving to themselves and others that they had resilience and drive.

If you look at CS FS recruitment for 2025, overall you had a less chance of an offer from a non-RG (0.4%) compared to an RG (1.9%) and Oxbridge (4.7%l so not sure blind recruitment that much of a leveller for CS (although maybe it was much worse before). However agree that choosing uni course/location to suit you important. One of mine would have hated to be bottom of cohort at a top uni but for another of mine it would have made them work harder.

My brother got into the fast stream a few years ago from Salford uni. Not sure if they were doing blind recruitment then. But yes he has a 1st class degree from a less renowned university and it’s certainly not hindered him. He picked Salford for the course.

I agree. DD went to Bristol and though she is ok now really struggled at first with the amount of private school kids who seemed to be much more confident and alot more wealthy than her-and who were all in cliques in her halls from the get go. She got two A* and an A and was very confident at school but her first term at Bristol knocked her a bit.She wished she had gone to Liverpool which was her insurance, for the social side.

Great post and yes, Swansea is a brilliant uni! Did my PGCE there, zero regrets.

Dd has found similar at Manchester though that may partly be the course she’s on. She’s one of very few home students, the rest being wealthy international students. Apparently there was a group conversation the other week about weird things your nanny had done. They asked Dd if her nanny had ever done anything odd and were gobsmacked to hear she’d never had a nanny! 🤣

I am not sure exactly what percentages you are quoting, but are you saying blind recruitment would be working if all the percentages were the same? Because surely what blind recruitment is meant to do is to allow everyone an equal chance at applying, rather than an equal chance at succeeding?

Prior to blind recruitment, recruiters would target particular universities, and one of the reasons was it was more efficient, because those universities contained a greater percentage of people they wanted to recruit.

Obviously it is also subjective to ‘people the wanted to recruit’ and it did lead to a bit of a self selecting ‘old boys club’.

But, as Oxbridge etc get better themselves out outreach, and accepting talent from diverse backgrounds, it means that blind recruitment is still to be expected to yield a greater percentage of recruits from universities with higher entry requirements, I would have thought?

Privately-educated child in civil service fast stream shocker!

I'm glad your child is happy OP.

No, she has applied to Imperial and Warwick. Test went well but, if she gets a place, won’t be taking it. She wants Exeter (already got an offer which she will firm in due course).

Privately-educated child for 6th form only and at a sink comprehensive that was forcibly closed before that (hence the move to private for 2 years). What is your point oh bitter one? Sorry the chip weighs so heavily on your shoulder.

I'll back up @susey. The recruitment stats do suggest private education an advantage for CS FS. I didn't quote as so many decline to disclose. Perhaps interviewers favouring those like them or selection methods favour skills that private schools are better at developing.

@OperafanaticI think you know @susey’spoint is!

your DC are obviously very bright and would likely have thrived in any school. However, there is an advantage to be had from attending a top private school even for sixth form only.
Blind recruitment works if the best people ends up in the roles irrespective of their background. I am unsure if this is what is actually happening on the ground in all fielda.

Swansea unuversity is great. I agree that the whole university experience is important as people are more likely to stick it out and succeed and lots of recruiters dont care what university you went to.

But Im not sure its a good message to send that you student will get a first at a lower ranking uni when they' d have got a 2:1 at a higher ranking one.

What does it mean to choose based on the course? Isn't the course the same at each uni? How did Swansea better support their lifestyle than the other unis?

Maybe not palatable but I sincerely believe it. His cousin (same age) went to Cambridge and is ridiculously bright - did the same degree, at same time, as my son. Cousin got a 2.1 yet my son got a First. My son would be first to say his cousin is cleverer than him. All degrees are not equal!

Makes one wonder if uni-blind recruitment is fair to students like your cousin.

I do think going to a top university means one risks becoming a small fish in a big pond.

But your post doesn't make any sense to me otherwise. Your child has moved away from law (where uni choice can really matter to many employers) into non-legal Civil Service fast stream. Depending on their ambitions, they might have really struggled with a degree from Swansea if becoming a solicitor or barrister (especially with the latter).

Further, Civil Service fast stream just requires a 2:2 so having a first won't have made any difference for that.

Most employees don't recruit blindly. I'm not expressing a view as to the merits of employers considering uni choice - I am just saying it's bizarre to think that your child is a useful illustration when your child has luckily got into the Civil Service where uni choice doesn't matter. Many won't be in the same boat 🤷🏻‍♀️

Courses will totally vary from uni to uni. Different modules, different assessments, different levels of student satisfaction, different levels of staff to students ratio. Some may have better links with industry, opportunities for placements, opportunities for course related trips.