How do we find out the best uni's for particular subjects?

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My son is begining to think about uni's (just starting 6th form) but how do we find out which uni's are best for the subjects he is interested in studying - probably Maths or Physics. I know about RG uni's and Oxford/Cambridge, but dont know how to find out what other uni's are well regarded for his subjects. Is it safe to assume that the higher the grades they ask for, the better they are or is it just knowledge that some people have - foe example someone on here said Warwick was one of the top uni's for Maths.

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The 'best' uni to study at is the one in which your DS will do best.

Start will a 'long list' of institutions that have a good reputation in the subject then study what they offer in detail. The content of university courses varies significantly. Does he want somewhere where he gets a lot of choice in what he studies or is there one area he wants to focus on?

Assuming he is going to be living away from home, what sort of environment is he hoping for? Will he be at home on a big campus or in the middle of a city? Would a smaller university be more suitable? The RGs are all big, so if smaller appeals look at the 1994 Group (both groups are research intensive, the divide was in the size of the university when they were set up).

If he can, he should visit the campuses both on open days and outside of the official dates to look around independently and chat to existing students. I would say this is best done without parents tagging along as he will get a better feel for the place and other students are more likely to tell it like it is.

But most of all, remember it is his decision not yours. Every year I have to assist unhappy students on the wrong course who signed up as it was what their parents wanted. Guide and support yes, influence no :)

The league tables are only useful to a point, as they are for schools, only more so. They are various amalgams of student satisfaction, research scores, employment statistics and entry standards etc.

Like schools it rather depends on what your child is looking for. Some of these factors might matter more than others

Entry standards reflect demand, which may not entirely be based on the universities current reputation with employers or in the academic world (and they can differ). It is also influenced by parental prejudice preference and student's cultural needs (the bar, sports, the city, sloaneyness - I can't see any other explanation for the popularity of Exeter over other similar unis!)
It is probably more important to balance the other league table factors and reputation with looking in detail at what courses are on offer, and the environment and where your child can realistically hope to get an offer.

We found visiting useful, like schools you do get a feeling if it is right. Although open days are like mass zoos (where you get a slightly spooky chance to see genetics in action!!), you do get an impression, and a chance to meet the academic staff. If you are still keen you should visit again when its business as usual. At two of the "top" unis for Science we were completely put off because one course was shambolically organised with modules from other courses bolted together piecemeal but the course tutor couldn't convey any sort of coherance or rationale. It was clearly going to be frustrating. At another the Professors and Teaching staff were uniformly uninspiring, and clearly disinterested in the students as people , they were just a means of accessing the maximum number of A*A students (they sifted applications by computer). Ironically the latter ended up offering my daughter a scholarship, whereas just showing some interest and spark might have been far more effective in recruiting her, a subsequent visit just confirmed her first impressions.

It may take just one inspiring academic in an institution, or a chance to benefit from their research specialism, think how inspiring it would be to go to Durham to read Physics at the moment with their part in the work on the Hadron Collider.

Not all top unis are Russell Group, there is also the 1994 group with St Andrews amongst others.

Totally agree with creamteas about whose decision it is. However I would say my daughter and I did find parents quite useful at open days even if some of them were being complete prats in that they aren't afraid to put their hands up and ask awkward questions. It would be a brave 17 year old who dared to challenge a bumbling Professor before they are even accepted.

Thanks for the replies and all the advice, it's just what we need. It's quite daunting as neither dp or myself went to uni. I had never even heard of the 1994 group - the smaller uni's may suit him.

From September universities have to publish KIS data for every course on their websites. It will be standardised data (Collated by an outside body) for every course for example: number of students employed after leaving uni, how many students enjoyed the course, coursework/exam ratio etc. More info about it here: www.keyinformationsets.com/

I wanted a university not in London, not in a small town, on the coast that was in the top 5 in the UK for my narrow degree choice - that was my three choices selected in a matter of seconds !!!!