Best university for computer science

Vidar

Vidar

Vidar

Soldato
Joined
18 Dec 2008
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Liverpool
Hi Guys,

I'm trying to work out which university is the best for me to apply for, I've been thinking about the University of Liverpool as I know it's one of the top universities however I know that where you get your degree can be very important.

I'm getting strong grades, am in my first year of Level 3 Btec in ICT and already predicted to get Distinction, Distinction, Distinction and an A in GCSE maths resit.

With that in mind which is the top university for computer science?

Thanks guys,
 
Don't always aim for the #1, the difference between the top 10 Universities bar oxbridge is negligible. Just make sure that you are prepared to live there. I am applying for EE, I have an offer from Southampton but I will probably be going to Bristol. The only advice I can give is that you should avoid London if you can. London Universities are good but do you really want a small room for 4 years, with very high rent?
Also I would be concerned about BTEC, do they have much maths in IT as computer science is heavily maths orientated? Some Universities are less snobby about it, but when they say distinction is equal to three A levels, you should take it with a pinch of salt.
 
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Oh just an FYI (although it might have changed in the last few years) the top universities usually only take students with A levels rather than a BTEC.
 
Semple said:
Oh just an FYI (although it might have changed in the last few years) the top universities usually only take students with A levels rather than a BTEC.
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I think it's still the same. This is why I don't advice people who are into computers to take BTEC as it can put you at a disadvantage when applying for University. The general rule is that you should avoid studying any computer subject until you are at University, as they are all just very watered down.
 
Imperial, St Andrews are the top 2 id reccomend but they are fussy on BTECS if i remember from when i applied

Other than that i'd say York, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol and Birmingham all have good CompSci records, just take a pick where you'd prefer to live
 
Semple said:
Oh just an FYI (although it might have changed in the last few years) the top universities usually only take students with A levels rather than a BTEC.
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I am worried about that but unfortunatley the only college in my area does not offer A-level IT... and the next alternative is about 2hrs from here plus if I manage to get my A I've been informed that this should be sufficient
 
NW_SKINHEAD said:
I am worried about that but unfortunatley the only college in my area does not offer A-level IT... and the next alternative is about 2hrs from here plus if I manage to get my A I've been informed that this should be sufficient
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I think the point was universities would prefer someone with A-Levels in Maths, Physics and/or another science rather than an A-Level/BTEC in IT.
 
as stated btech is barely worth the paper its written on when applying to uni, get some A- levels if you want in to a top university
 
Fenris said:
2012 guardian league table:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2011/may/17/university-guide-computer-sciences-it

Personally, I've applied for Southampton and Sussex but I'm doing a foundation year first so your choices may less limited.
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One of the most useful metrics to order by in the league table is "Career after 6 months". Not the be all and end all, but it can show up universities that might potentially have better hook-ups or networking opportunities with employers than others, that might look equally good on the teaching front.
 
As a Southampton Graduate, I'll fly the flag for ECS. There are loads of really good staff there and I can't recommend it enough.
 
I'm currently on year one of the BTEC in IT, and getting more and more worried I'v made a bad decision. Looking at a lot of the courses in Computer Science or Software Engineering they say DDM in the BTEC + A in A-Level maths. Surely that makes the BTEC pointless as you can't study maths alongside it (not in our college anyway) :S


At the same time I seriously don't want to be a year behind and start A-Levels next year...
 
Burnsy2023 said:
As a Southampton Graduate, I'll fly the flag for ECS. There are loads of really good staff there and I can't recommend it enough.
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I have to say that the Mountbatten Building is pretty damn impressive. Would love to know if the students actually use its facilities or if it's just reserved for researchers.
 
RomanNose said:
I have to say that the Mountbatten Building is pretty damn impressive. Would love to know if the students actually use its facilities or if it's just reserved for researchers.
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Well, that depends on what course you do. We have building 32 as well which is quite nice too.
 
Currently in first year at Kent University for Comp Sci, would recommend it. The course is pretty good and the place is absolutely beautiful and campus life beats city uni's hands down!
 
If you can go there though, go to Cambridge. I have a friend there, who loves it. In the Cambridge CompSci careers fair, they have more companies there than students, and I'm not talking your small companies. We're talking ARM, Google, Microsoft etc..... His summer internship that he got through the University is as a researcher at CalTech....


But yeah, it's pretty easy to cut it down with ten simple steps:
1) Find a league table.
2) Work out roughly where you're aiming for based on your academic achievements, work out the best one you could get to purely on academic achievements and requirements.
3) Take that University and the 10/20 below it.
4) Re-rank these Universities by the things that matter to you (student satisfaction, careers prospects, distance from home etc.....)
5) Taking into account, academic achievements, requirements, student satisfaction and careers prospects cut your short list of 20 down to about 10.
6) Check the websites and look at the courses, and get a general feel of the unis.
7)Pick 3-7ish to go visit.
8) Put top 5 on Ucas application.
9) Get Grades.
10) Done.

I'm not sure what Universities opinions of BTECs are. I have to say, that especially in light of the announcement today regarding BTECs that unfortunately I think you may have been better off having done A Levels, but hey ho, what's done is done.

kd
 
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