Consensus world view of TOP 5/6 UK University Rankings (Prestige/Research)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. PP here is right to not focus specifically on just one specific variable on its own.

I also need to go back to my original post. I should have included St Andrews alongside #4 here since this is a US focused list. Clearly St Andrews has a great alumni network in the US and it is very helpful for those coming back to the US after going to school in the UK.

I did not include LSE on purpose on the list since it is a very niche school. But this what the list should be when including those two.

1. Oxford/Cambridge
2. Imperial/LSE
3. UCL
4. Edinburgh/King’s/St Andrews

As an Londoner who has taught as 3 of these and now teach in the US, this spot on.

I agree, but with the caveat that this is a general ranking and specific subjects can vary. e.g. Imperial is probably better than Oxford for engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. PP here is right to not focus specifically on just one specific variable on its own.

I also need to go back to my original post. I should have included St Andrews alongside #4 here since this is a US focused list. Clearly St Andrews has a great alumni network in the US and it is very helpful for those coming back to the US after going to school in the UK.

I did not include LSE on purpose on the list since it is a very niche school. But this what the list should be when including those two.

1. Oxford/Cambridge
2. Imperial/LSE
3. UCL
4. Edinburgh/King’s/St Andrews

As an Londoner who has taught as 3 of these and now teach in the US, this spot on.

I agree, but with the caveat that this is a general ranking and specific subjects can vary. e.g. Imperial is probably better than Oxford for engineering.

Yes, but that wasn’t the point of this thread and the previous commentary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. PP here is right to not focus specifically on just one specific variable on its own.

I also need to go back to my original post. I should have included St Andrews alongside #4 here since this is a US focused list. Clearly St Andrews has a great alumni network in the US and it is very helpful for those coming back to the US after going to school in the UK.

I did not include LSE on purpose on the list since it is a very niche school. But this what the list should be when including those two.

1. Oxford/Cambridge
2. Imperial/LSE
3. UCL
4. Edinburgh/King’s/St Andrews

As an Londoner who has taught as 3 of these and now teach in the US, this spot on.

I agree, but with the caveat that this is a general ranking and specific subjects can vary. e.g. Imperial is probably better than Oxford for engineering.

Conversely, I'm a humanities professor with a substantial network in the UK (did my masters there) and I regularly forget Imperial exists.

[Anonymous]

St Andrews is seen as an elite school and ranked among top five, more so for majors requiring a global view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

I dont disagree. But there is no evidence or long term study that indicates Harvard or Yale grads (from holistic admissions) have had a disadvantage in their education experience vs Oxford/Cambridge grads…..Some would argue the opposite has been true for the last 40 years. Until someone can provide a peer-reviewed study that shows any statistically significant difference in both the quality of their education and in their future earnings due to holistic admissions I will continue to call BS on whether one or the other is a better process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

I dont disagree. But there is no evidence or long term study that indicates Harvard or Yale grads (from holistic admissions) have had a disadvantage in their education experience vs Oxford/Cambridge grads…..Some would argue the opposite has been true for the last 40 years. Until someone can provide a peer-reviewed study that shows any statistically significant difference in both the quality of their education and in their future earnings due to holistic admissions I will continue to call BS on whether one or the other is a better process.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

I dont disagree. But there is no evidence or long term study that indicates Harvard or Yale grads (from holistic admissions) have had a disadvantage in their education experience vs Oxford/Cambridge grads…..Some would argue the opposite has been true for the last 40 years. Until someone can provide a peer-reviewed study that shows any statistically significant difference in both the quality of their education and in their future earnings due to holistic admissions I will continue to call BS on whether one or the other is a better process.

True. Plus there are several UK schools now that offer a more holistic approach to international students. Basically all Scottish unis. All Irish unis and several Russell Group unis offer holistic reviews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. PP here is right to not focus specifically on just one specific variable on its own.

I also need to go back to my original post. I should have included St Andrews alongside #4 here since this is a US focused list. Clearly St Andrews has a great alumni network in the US and it is very helpful for those coming back to the US after going to school in the UK.

I did not include LSE on purpose on the list since it is a very niche school. But this what the list should be when including those two.

1. Oxford/Cambridge
2. Imperial/LSE
3. UCL
4. Edinburgh/King’s/St Andrews

As an Londoner who has taught as 3 of these and now teach in the US, this spot on.

I agree, but with the caveat that this is a general ranking and specific subjects can vary. e.g. Imperial is probably better than Oxford for engineering.

What about physics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

I dont disagree. But there is no evidence or long term study that indicates Harvard or Yale grads (from holistic admissions) have had a disadvantage in their education experience vs Oxford/Cambridge grads…..Some would argue the opposite has been true for the last 40 years. Until someone can provide a peer-reviewed study that shows any statistically significant difference in both the quality of their education and in their future earnings due to holistic admissions I will continue to call BS on whether one or the other is a better process.

True. Plus there are several UK schools now that offer a more holistic approach to international students. Basically all Scottish unis. All Irish unis and several Russell Group unis offer holistic reviews

How are they more holistic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully the UK will resist the urge to taint their educational system with professors and administrators from the US. Will only lead to a loss of standards.

This has to be the most idiot comment of all time. So UCL getting MIT, Princeton and Wharton economics professors means lowering the stds? Get of you UK high horse…..what a joke

American and was referring to student admission standards. Hopeful that the UK will not move to holistic admission standards that only serve to dilute the educational experience.

I dont disagree. But there is no evidence or long term study that indicates Harvard or Yale grads (from holistic admissions) have had a disadvantage in their education experience vs Oxford/Cambridge grads…..Some would argue the opposite has been true for the last 40 years. Until someone can provide a peer-reviewed study that shows any statistically significant difference in both the quality of their education and in their future earnings due to holistic admissions I will continue to call BS on whether one or the other is a better process.

True. Plus there are several UK schools now that offer a more holistic approach to international students. Basically all Scottish unis. All Irish unis and several Russell Group unis offer holistic reviews

How are they more holistic?

They have their typical A levels process for their students, but for most internationals the process takes into account more than just grades. The essay on UCAS becomes more important to foreign students than UK students. Some schools even take essays outside of UCAS. Several Russell group unis no longer are bound to AP test scores, even if officially they ask for it. I know because my kid got into all 5 UCAS unis he applied to without taking one single AP test. Even SAT/ACT are not required by some schools.

[Anonymous]

Got some good data for Oxford here:

For the 3 years between 2022 and 2024, Oxford received 1482 applications from the US. 184 received offers. 12.4% Admission Rate. 61 US students admitted Per YEar. ( I dont know how many of those 94/yr actually attend).

Better yet, these are the easiest and hardest courses to get acceptance to (indicated by admissions %):

# Course Applications Offers Offer Rate (%)
1 Modern and Medieval Languages 7 3 42.86
2 Linguistics 27 11 40.74
3 History and Modern Languages 13 4 30.77
4 Classics (4 years) 10 3 30.0
5 Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 7 2 28.57
6 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 7 2 28.57
7 Archaeology 26 7 26.92
8 Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Rel... 8 2 25.0
9 Education 13 3 23.08
10 Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic 9 2 22.22
11 History of Art 14 3 21.43
12 Classics 16 3 18.75
13 History and Politics 40 6 15.0
14 Natural Sciences 196 28 14.29
15 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (... 22 3 13.64
16 Computer Science 126 17 13.49
17 Architecture 38 5 13.16
18 Mathematics 156 20 12.82
19 Geography 16 2 12.5
20 History 32 4 12.5
21 Philosophy 25 3 12.0
22 Law 80 9 11.25
23 Economics 63 7 11.11
24 English 51 5 9.8
25 Human, Social, and Political Sciences 134 13 9.7
26 Engineering 113 10 8.85
27 Land Economy 28 2 7.14
28 Veterinary Medicine 32 2 6.25
29 Psychological and Behavioural Sciences 67 3 4.48
30 Music 2 0 0.0
31 Medicine (Graduate course) 23 0 0.0
32 Medicine 75 0 0.0
33 Chemical Engineering via Engineering 3 0 0.0

[Anonymous]

Example: Economics, 63 Applications over 3 years. 7 Offers, 11.11% acceptance rate.

Psychology: 67 Applications over 3 years and only 3 offers….4.48% acceptance rate

[Anonymous]

Admissions Ranking by Country between 2022 and 2024:

Rank Country Applications Offers Acceptance Rate (%)
1 Hong Kong 1683 307 18.24
2 South Korea 369 58 15.72
3 Turkey 104 15 14.42
4 Indonesia 127 18 14.17
5 Canada 437 60 13.73
6 United States 1482 184 12.4
7 Spain 430 47 10.93
8 India 955 102 10.68
9 Malaysia 787 80 10.17
10 Pakistan 357 30 8.40

[Anonymous]

I understand HK, SK and Canada still kicking our buttocks…. But Turkey really?
Surprised we are above India….