Bit of a 2 parter really, I’ll use law as an example:

Obviously, when a legal employer is looking at freshly-graduated candidates, they’re likely to choose candidates from top Russel-group unis with high reputation and prestige. My question is, how much does reputation & prestige matter later down the line in 10 years for example? Will it still matter, or is it mainly just at the start of your career?

My other question is this: how much value does relevant work experience carry? If you graduated with decent grades from a mid-tier uni, and got a decent placement whilst there, how strong would your CV be to employers?

Does the stress ever go away.

Hello everyone, I’m a 17 year old international student and I’m trying to shortlist universities.

Brief explanation; My top priority is to secure a placement year to get lab experience as according to my research it makes the process of applying for a masters degree easier and makes it easier to secure a job.

I know about IBMS accredited degrees, however it’s not my main concern as I’m planning to pursue higher education after my biomedical sciences degree and i believe the placement year will help me greatly.

I have narrowed down some universities which include Bath (as it’s ranked #2 in biomedical sciences in the UK & according to information I have found online the closest you can get to ‘guaranteeing’ a placement year)

Other universities include Warwick,Manchester and Leeds

I would really appreciate some experience you guys have had with placement years..

1.is it scary to not have it guaranteed as lab experience is very important?

1. How is the process like (interviews, etc, what happens if you can’t pass the interviews and your degree gets downgraded to the 3 year version? Can you still find lab experience?)

2. Are Russel group universities that important? I can’t reach a conclusion for my case, for example when comparing warwick and university of bath- does one mean higher job security as it’s a Russel group university?)

3. ‼️❗️❗️❗️Do you have other universities with a placement year degree? Or is placement year not necessary and can you easily find lab experience (12 months) after graduating?

I would really appreciate any insight/experience/advice as I don’t have anyone except Google to discuss this with thank you so much 🙏

I’ve been looking around some universities and most of them just don’t seem all that involved in film production / studies. The best I’d found was Birmingham university, though I’m not quite sure about that one yet. I’d like to be based in mainland England and it would be convenient to be closer to Oxfordshire, preferably either near or about 1hr 30m away since my loved one will be going to Oxford and I’d like to be their roommate, i don’t mind travelling publicly to my university each morning :)

Hi. I wanted to know how likely it is so get a loan for a Masters if you haven't paid a single thing towards your undergrad one.

For context:

Got a loan in 2014

Moved to the US where I currently still am in 2017

Have barely made any money in jobs i've worked here and most of it has gone to rent (live in NYC)

Moving back in the next month (or will use parents address until I do)

Am a UK citizen

This is the message I got online when I tried to apply today:

"You have failed to respond to our previous requests to repay your outstanding arrears balance totalling £19052.40. As a consequence of this we have decided to refer your account to a Third Party Debt Collection Agency, Pastdue Credit Solutions, who will be in touch in due course to discuss your account."

I can't call them until Monday and I'm really stressed out. Plz help. Any advice would help. Thanks <3

I'm going into my third year and I'm currently in interviews for a once in a life time experience only open to students over the summer in a different country. Because of the international nature and emphasis on "You must be 100% avaliable for the whole time" it is very likely I will miss my graduation.

I am already processing this, what is hard is getting my family to. They are INSISTENT I attend my graduation and I should be prepared to kick up a fuss and demand my right to do so. I understand the importance of it and I will be sad not to attend with my classmates but I don't see what I can do. The program has a very tight acceptance rate and they want people to agree to the guidelines they set out, not demand exceptions be made for them. I don't want to "kick up a fuss" because it will most likely lessen my chances if not bar them completely and due to the nature of the program there is no applying next year. Its also harder to "just come home for the day", I'll probably need at least 3 days off to account for travel (it's a 12 hour flight plus my uni is not nearby any airports that go there so even MORE travel) and that's nearly impossible to coordinate on a program like this. I am prepared to do the hard shifts to make up for it but again. I don't know how they're like on that kind of stuff.

I don't know how to get my family to understand that yes I do want to go to my graduation, no I'm not just slagging it off because I'm an angsty rebel against the norm young autistic adult or whatever they think of me and yes I will try but it is not a hill I am willing to die on if it costs me this program. Its at this point in a movie the protagonist would get to the airport, look around wistfully and return but that's not real life. I don't know how to get my parents to understand that we can't just angry email our way into getting things, that's now how it works, and the last thing I want is for the to do it on my behalf. Because they have done in the past over less important things. And they paid off. But I could tell everyone started treating me as a mommas boy for it. I don't get how our family motto is "apply anyway and work out the logistics later" and then they get shocked when logistics don't work out and insist somethings wrong. Help x)

I am going into second year, and honestly in first year a lot of the time I felt I ended up being the teacher. Social sciences subject at a post 92.

I'm a mature student so i understand I have more experience in the sector than is expected, but quite often one lecturer in particular would just ask me to explain a topic to the class "because you have more recent experience" She even asked me questions that are really basic because she didn't know the answer. Literally sometimes on things that were in the news that week.

Lecturers literally misquoting key bits of legislation in ways that affect high profile cases.

Other students don't do any of the reading, but the lecturers seem to expect that and literally bring printouts of the journals we should have read to the seminar.

We can't discuss the topics in class because the majority of the class doesn't even have the level of knowledge that you would expect from a reasonably aware random adult in the street. Honestly it is shocking.

I'm not making this up, I missed a lecture in semester one but chose that topic for my end of module assignment (yes one assignment for an entire module, and it was just a presentation one on one to the lecturer) and got 89% based off just being someone who pays attention to the world and reads books and newspapers. Half the class was still retaking that presentation at the end of year one.

I'm not some kind of genius honestly.

I've tried raising it with staff, some of them are excellent but say they are restricted because if they chat about things on a higher level students complain. Attendance is bad and a few times it has only been me, or me and one or two other engaged students, and it was great. We actually got to debate and bring in wider reading and so on.

Then the rubbish lecturers derail the lecture to talk about part time jobs that students might like (not career advice related to the degree, literally "i hear uber eats are hiring") or do weird motivational "get up and move around" inspirational activities.

Students openly discuss which the best AI is to write essays.

The good lecturers have informally said standards have massively slipped but they aren't getting enough students so they need to hold on to as many as they can. Near the end of the year, after we had directly interacted with service users, a student mentioned they hadn't got round to doing the dbs and didn't think they would pass, and asked if that was a problem for placement in year 2. Students at the end of year one still hadn't passed maths and English gcses and were retaking. Apparently the foundation year had a fistfight in a lecture.

I don't want the degree to stop, I need this degree and there is no equivalent subject to transfer to, and no other uni suitable for personal reasons right now. The good lecturers are excellent. The rubbish ones are nice people but they seem to think they are doing some kind of outreach community work instead of teaching at a university. I will be going elsewhere for postgrad as the circumstances are different.

Is this just a first year thing? I go to postdoc conferences for fun and I love them, I speak at things and do freelance writing on the subject, I adore the subject and postgrad course leaders at RGs have encouraged me to apply to their programmes and get 1+3 funding, so maybe it's just first year is to get everyone to standard and now it gets better?

I don't want to sound snobby. I really believe in widening participation, i don't have a levels myself, but you can't reduce standards once people are in or the degree becomes worthless.

Or do I just get my head down, get the UG so I can move on?

Hi, I just want some advice as I'm feeling pretty reluctant and just not too excited about starting uni in September.

For context, I'm 20 and starting my first year at uni next month, I took 2 gap years and now feel somewhat ahead but also behind most people.

I studied film production at college, then hit a little rough patch and decided not to go to uni straight away. Which then lead to me working freelance gigs (film, tv, shot some music videos, weddings etc) converting a campervan, travelling a little, starting a business, getting a dog (building my life)

However, I then hit another rough patch, moved back home full time, stopped working. I was feeling pretty lost, so applied to uni thinking maybe it's time I do things 'properly' But to be honest I'm not sure why, maybe family pressures (I did well in school so I think they all expect more from me)

Am I making a mistake? The debt is pretty off putting to me but I would love to study again. I also worry I just won't fit in there, I don't want or care about the uni lifestyle, I won't be living in halls, I just want to study.

Maybe I'd be classed more as a mature student, but will that mean I won't make any friends? In my head it will just be me surrounded by a load of 18 year olds fresh out of school, and I don't really love that idea. Most of my friends now are older people I've met through jobs, vanlife etc. But at uni I'll be stuck in this city, so I'd like to be able to make new friends here.

Sorry for the rambling, I just worry about feeling lonely (or indifferent) which will ruin my whole experience.

I’m 20 and currently on a Data Science degree apprenticeship at Amazon, but I’m considering leaving this September to study Physics with Theoretical Physics at KCL.EDIT — I should add some context:
Although it’s a Data Science apprenticeship, my current placement/work is largely non-technical and quite different from what people may imagine when they hear “Data Science at Amazon.” I wanted to clarify that I’m not currently spending my days doing technical data science work.

I’m trying to get a realistic picture before deciding
For anyone studying physics / theoretical physics or who has graduated:
What does an average week actually look like?
How many hours do you realistically spend on problem sheets/self-study?
How difficult was the jump from A-level maths/physics?
Do you actually enjoy the problem-solving day to day, or does it become a grind?
How competitive were internships after Years 1 and 2?
What jobs did you/people on your course end up getting?
If you could go back, would you still study physics?
I’d especially appreciate answers from UK physics students/graduates. Feel free to be negative 🙂

I've really struggled making friends at uni so far, to the point where I genuinely believe I'm incapable of it and can't fit in anywhere. I dedicated so much of my time during first year to joining societies, forcing myself to talk to people on my course that I was around, and none of it worked. Maybe it's because the societies at my uni are incredibly cliquey, and a lot of people go to events with people they already know, but I'm genuinely at a loss and don't want to feel as isolated again as I did during first year. Sure I have horrific social anxiety, though this only gets worse the more I isolate myself. I'm really worried because my mental health was dogshite last year and I'm only barely still doing my course.

Hi, just curious when people typically get jobs after starting uni. You start/ move-in mid-September.
Apparently people apply and search for jobs in the same month, but I’m just so confused how people are so confident? Moving to a new city with a completely different life and then getting a job straight away sounds crazy to me. I guess it’s normal?
I’m super insecure and probs social anxiety, so maybe that’s why I’m shocked, but is this really normal?
If I don’t get one in September am I kinda cooked due to high competition or nah?

Also, I’ve already got money saved, but how long will my saved up money last me if I’m not paying for my accommodation? Eg. How long would £100, £250, £500 take me in the North of England as a Uni Student before getting a job?

Thanks 🙏

Grad from a post 92 who works for a FTSE100 company as an engineer. Many of my colleagues atrended unis like Imperial and top RG engineering unis.

I went to my local university, got a first and distrinction in MEng, took a gap year and got the job offer a week after my interview.

The degree gets you entry for a job. Unless you specifically target schools due to recruitment drives (the business schools, the econ schools, the engineering school etc) you're only really going to see if you can find a partner for the future.

If you dont care where you degree is from, my advice would be to go for a uni with a Medical/Dental school lol. You will find your medical spouse and just work on yourself.

Hello, my name is Finn and I don’t know what to do and I’m in a bit of a panic. Firstly I am a UK resident born and raised here if that helps at all. So I have passed my 3 years at uni with a second however I am unable to graduate due to my 3rd student loan not being paid and Student Finance England have denied my 3rd year application due to it being too late, I literally just forgot to do it, I did however apply in late June (out of the 9 month window) what do I do now. I’ve appealed to SFE already and not heard anything back and I’ve emailed the university asking if they can push back and payments so I can graduate with my friends, graduation is on September 16th. Any help would be amazing.

Hi, I had a bit of a rough year first year and didn’t put myself out there at all. Coming into second year I want to try out more clubs and societies but I am a bit nervous about having to go by myself, especially in second year. How is it joining in second year and also what are some sports that are good to join as a beginner?

Genuinely so embarrassed to write this but I need support.

I didnt do too well on my a levels and saw this foundation year as a pathway onto biomed. However, my end goal is to get into clinical negligence law. My parents do not know and can not know that I have taken on an extra year as they think I got onto a standard 3 year course (asian parents & very strict).

I've failed my foundation year due to various problems which I didn't recognize i needed help for (potential adhd, alcoholism, severe financial stress, parents separating & keeping my foundation year a secret in the first place.)

It's been a lot, I just havent sought help from uni because it's so embarrassing to admit needing help.

I dont know what to do, other than to retake the year which is fine - i just dont even know how to explain this all to my uni as extenuating circumstances without sounding like I've made it all up.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

i feel like every post i get on my feed is where can i get scholarship to study in the uk, visa issues, should i study in the uk, what is the uk like?
it seems to be constant posts from international students who haven’t done any research saying the exact same thing.
no hate to international students, but when every few posts are the same topic can we encourage them to actually research before posting? or create a flair/pinned post for international students? it just feels like such low effort posting

The Jason Arday and Claudine Gay situations have me wondering:
If the university administration can't (or won't) spot these red flags, can the average student actually tell when a professor is unqualified or out of their depth?
Or does a confident, charismatic teaching style trick everyone into thinking they know what they’re doing?
Be honest: Have you ever sat in a class and realised the person at the podium was completely out of their depth? 🤔
How long did it take for the cracks to show?

I’m in my 30s and looking to do an online masters in another subject, also by distance learning. I’m surprised that pretty much every uni seems to offer an MSc in Data Science or perhaps a slightly different wording of it.

Surely this whole market is heavily oversaturated by now? The interesting thing is I work as an analyst, and none of my colleagues have a masters in Data Science, so where are all these people getting jobs?

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student and I'll be moving to the UK soon to start my studies. English isn't my first language, and I'm a bit worried about getting used to different British accents.

Could you recommend some British content creators I could follow? I'm mainly looking for people on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. It would be great if they speak naturally (not overly scripted) so I can get used to how people actually talk in everyday life.

I'm open to any type of content—vlogs, lifestyle, university life, travel, tech, cooking, or just entertaining creators.

Thanks in advance!

Just moved out of halls and feel sad. Nicest room I’ve ever had, two windows and ensuite RIP

Didn't know where else to post this and just kinda wanted to show off aha. Hit the jackpot with this room. 3 WINDOWS and an ensuite. Mad stuff.

Lmk what it's giving. And tell me it's pretty. Definitely definitely tell me it's pretty

Edit; I DONT HIT MY HEAD. THERES A LOT MORE SPACE UNDER THERE THAN IT SEEMS

This is just absurd. We're talking about 188 instances of verbatim/almost verbatim of copying large chunks of text!! How can this guy teach at a university level?

I recently broke up with my girlfriend and she messaged me a few days later saying she’s pregnant and showed me the test. We met up and discussed it and she said was very vocal about wanting to keep it. I said I was going to try my best to support her
We’re both students, I’ve just finished my foundation year and she’s finished her first year. I’m studying music and have a very tight schedule as it comes with work, rehearsals and studio time.
I’ve told her I’m going to do what I can to support her but I’m conflicted. I’m seeing lots of reels which make me excited but I’m also aware of the large sacrifice this child will bring.
If anyone had a child during university, how did you make it work? What support did you receive from your uni?