Best university for computer science

D.P. · 1 Feb 2012 at 16:03

rogan said:
all the people saying that its just the university that matters, thats not entirely true

im currently applying for interships for 12 months for september, im at UNI OF MANC and got a 2:2 in my first year, i have friends at MMU doing the same course who got 2:1's who have been interviewed for places i was declined from purely through having a 2:1 over a 2:2

No youRe quite right. Your Agrade counts as well. Get a 2.1 or above from a top 10 uni and then an internship, youwill be good to go.

xsistor · 1 Feb 2012 at 16:07

Cambridge or Southampton. Sussex and Oxford are very good too. Also Manchester.

megakid · 1 Feb 2012 at 16:12

Nomisf said:
I did a BTEC and came out with DDD, I got offered places from Reading Uni, Southampton Uni, Kent Uni, Bristol Uni and L'Boro Uni. I chose Reading, and am currently on a placement working as a Developer at Microsoft.

The tables, sorted by post course employability -

God I wish I hadn't ruined my life and done this terrible BTEC, can't wait to live in a bin and eat apple cores...

Awesome, good to see Warwick right up there, I was particularly surprised to see it wallowing in 16th so knew there had to be more to it than that - employability is the most important thing for a university in my opinion.

mikeyp123 · 1 Feb 2012 at 16:57

aaron333 said:
Do you mind if I send some questions to you via the email address in your trust?

Go right ahead

D.P. · 1 Feb 2012 at 17:12

megakid said:
Awesome, good to see Warwick right up there, I was particularly surprised to see it wallowing in 16th so knew there had to be more to it than that - employability is the most important thing for a university in my opinion.

employability is important, but you need to be careful with some of these stats.
For example., how does it take into account people going on to do a Masters or PhD, which will occur with increased frequency with universities at the top of the table. Similarly, what about people that have moved aboard, or were foreign students, which again will be more frequent at the top of the league. I moved abroad so never received a questionnaire about my job status, for my specific course there were many who managed t graduate so my lack of notification will cause a large % drop in employment rate.

What about students that go traveling for a year, which again tends to be more frequent with students attending the better universities.

And then there are things like students fishing for the best job offers. I turned down several (PhD) offers and excepted a position after 6 months, and even then didn't bother telling the university. Many of my friends did similarly, often they had an offer before they graduated but held out to see if they could grab a job at one of the top investment bankers, consultancy firms etc. This kind of behavior is much more common for students form the top of the tale, those at the lower end will be keen to get a job ASAP and except the initial offer. And what constitutes a job. I hear stories of people getting pseudo-CS degrees from ex-polytechnics who upon graduation work in Tescos/McDs doing menial tasks.

Now this post has nothing about Warwick, it is a great uni and I hear good things about their CS department. I just wanted to point out that the employ-ability rate alone can hide a lot of information.

To be sure, if you go to a top 10 (or even 20) rated university for computer science and you get a 2.1 or above, provided you are not socially retarded then you are guaranteed a reasonable job within 6 months. If you are pushing to the higher end of that scale (top few universities and/or a first class) you will get multiple job offers if you wish. At least that was the case.

Tephnos · 1 Feb 2012 at 17:35

I'm planning on doing CS/Maths at Aberdeen Uni. Don't know how how the Maths side is, but from everyone I've talked to, they loved the CS and got a lot of job offers before they even graduated. (Although there was a high, high, dropout rate. But that is to be expected.)

Just adding in my bit, as Aberdeen seems to be a bit up that chart in the 50s.

Nitefly · 1 Feb 2012 at 17:49

Moses said:
I don't see league tables as the most important thing, tbh. People know Warwick's a good uni, without looking. People know red bricks/Russell Group unis are good, without looking. Etc.

I think league tables for courses are pretty pointless really, unless you are going to a 'lesser' university with a speciality in that subject. Oxford brookes has good nursing and motorsport engineering courses, for example.

Tikkabhuna · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:08

rogan said:
all the people saying that its just the university that matters, thats not entirely true

im currently applying for interships for 12 months for september, im at UNI OF MANC and got a 2:2 in my first year, i have friends at MMU doing the same course who got 2:1's who have been interviewed for places i was declined from purely through having a 2:1 over a 2:2

2.1 or higher is most important.
Then being able to show something special on the application form (then interview).
Then which University you're at.

Basing this on me getting a 3rd year placement at a large investment bank from an expected 2.1 from Bournemouth*.

* I wouldn't recommend Bournemouth.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:15

Tikkabhuna said:
2.1 or higher is most important.
Then being able to show something special on the application form (then interview).
Then which University you're at.

The University is more important than the grade.
Getting a 2.1 at Derby just means you came 'well above average' in a class full of people with DEU at Alevel i.e. You did pretty well in a class who almost failed their Alevels - You are competing against people who are only at University because the government wants you to study to lower the unemployment numbers. The course won't have the breadth (not enough modules) or depth (they are finished by the end of April each year) of decent Unversities.

Get a 3rd at Camebridge and it means you did pretty badly at University that is in the top few in the world.

People say a 2.1 is what matters, but a 2.2 from somewhere decent is still going to be enough. Getting a 1st at Derby is like coming top of the remedial studies at school.

Tikkabhuna · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:23

OpenToSuggestions said:
The University is more important than the grade.
Getting a 2.1 at Derby just means you came 'well above average' in a class full of people with DEU at Alevel i.e. You did pretty well in a class who almost failed their Alevels - You are competing against people who are only at University because the government wants you to study to lower the unemployment numbers. The course won't have the breadth (not enough modules) or depth (they are finished by the end of April each year) of decent Unversities.

Get a 3rd at Camebridge and it means you did pretty badly at University that is in the top few in the world.

People say a 2.1 is what matters, but a 2.2 from somewhere decent is still going to be enough. Getting a 1st at Derby is like coming top of the remedial studies at school.

I should have said excluding the extremes. Seeing as most people will go to Unis ranked between 3-30, grade and how you act in an interview will do more than what university you went to. Would you employ someone from Cambridge with a 3rd, little social skills and isn't good at taking feedback?

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:26

Tikkabhuna said:
I should have said excluding the extremes. Seeing as most people will go to Unis ranked between 3-30, grade and how you act in an interview will do more than what university. Would you employ someone from Cambridge with a 3rd, little social skills and isn't good at taking feedback?

Well obviously there are other aspects to a CV aside from qualifications, but this thread is purely about qualifications and what they can lead to

.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:31

Moses said:
At least the guy with a first from Derby has a work ethic. I'd avoid the guy with a third from Cambridge - he blatantly got groomed by a private school/was spoon fed info, so he could get in... then couldn't cope with real uni work/put in no effort.

Getting a 1st at Derby does not require a work ethic. The courses are Alevel difficulty if that. Many people I went to school with say 'Isn't uni easier than 6th form' - They go to Sheffield Hallam, Derby and Staffordshire. If your dog was paying it would probably get in.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:34

Moses said:
A work ethic, relative to the guy with a third from Cambridge .

They get crushed with work from the second they start until the year ends.
It is like comparing a poor Alevel result to a strong GCSE one in the same subject. The GCSE is just a whole level easier, no matter what grade it is.

All degrees are not, never have been, and never will be all equal. The same goes for Universities.

Tephnos · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:45

Random question: How is Aberdeen compared with all these unis, then? If you seem to value the uni you go to as the most important thing, and not the degree.

lukeharvest · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:54

Moses said:
They get crushed with work... but aren't doing it, if they're getting 45%.

I had this attitude before going to Oxford, that if I work hard, I'll avoid getting a third. While it is true for the most part, it really doesn't compare with other Universities (other than Cambridge and potentially the others in the top 5). I have some friends who do maths at Universities in the bottom half of the table, and the difference in workload is just ridiculous.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 18:58

lukeharvest said:
I had this attitude before going to Oxford, that if I work hard, I'll avoid getting a third. While it is true for the most part, it really doesn't compare with other Universities (other than Cambridge and potentially the others in the top 5). I have some friends who do maths at Universities in the bottom half of the table, and the difference in workload is just ridiculous.

This.
Getting a good grade at somewhere naff (and/or in something naff) just means you did well in something that was easy.
My cousin is doing Maths at Sheffield Hallam and got a 1st in his first year. He is thick as pig **** and has shown many signs of being a bit slow in his younger years.
I would be suprised if he could cope doing it somewhere that actually has standards for students it lets in.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 19:02

Moses said:
I know you have to work harder at better unis - I know I have to do less than Oxbridge law students, I'm not denying that. All I'm saying is that someone has to have issues if they're getting a third... anywhere! If someone's getting a third, they're not trying, imo. Hence why I said I'd probably rather employ someone who's put some effort in, ahead of a layabout.

You need to understand that Camebridge and Oxford students are all getting A*A*A*B (there or there abouts, or even 4 A*s!) and therefore you are competing against the absolute best in the world. Being a layabout at any of these places would cause you to have a catastrophic failure in your first year.
Getting a bad grade at Oxbridge just means you fared badly against the top 1% in the world.

Where you studied>>>>>the grade.

The grade is of importance, but grade alone 'oh I got a 1st' doesn't mean much in modern times.

lukeharvest · 1 Feb 2012 at 19:03

Moses said:
I know you have to work harder at better unis - I know I have to do less than Oxbridge law students, I'm not denying that. All I'm saying is that someone has to have issues if they're getting a third... anywhere! If someone's getting a third, they're not trying, imo. Hence why I said I'd probably rather employ someone who's put some effort in, ahead of a layabout.

There's a reason why you have companies still hiring Oxbridge graduates with a third over other graduates with a 2.1 or even a first, I'm sure it's because they also hold the view that someone with a third from Oxbridge hasn't put in any effort.

RomanNose · 1 Feb 2012 at 19:07

But it does really depend on the degree though. For example, if you are doing an engineering degree then the exams are usually regulated/ guided by IET. So the difference between the Universities is not that much compared to other subjects. Same sort of thing with medicine, where iirc all med schools pretty much sit the same exams.

OpenToSuggestions · 1 Feb 2012 at 19:08

RomanNose said:
But it does really depend on the degree though. For example, if you are doing an engineering degree then the exams are usually regulated/ guided by IET. So the difference between the Universities is not that much compared to other subjects. Same sort of thing with medicine, where iirc all med schools pretty much sit the same exams.

Staffordshire and Hertfordshire are IMECHE accredited for mechanical engineering degrees.
It doesn't mean they come close to Bristol/Bath/Birmingham (the proper one)/ Nottingham (the proper one)/Loughborough/Manchester (the proper one)/Lancaster etc.

Only the super turd Universities don't have the accreditation, such as Sunderland.