ruvermillion

I want to go to the UK for university and was wondering which British universities can compete with the US Ivy Leagues in terms of:

-Teaching quality
-Job prospects
-International prestige/reputation etc.

EliKresses

Oxford and Cambridge.

seta

Oxbridge only.

phantasmagoric

I'd include London School of Economics, although you might not consider LSE to be a "university."

beyphy

Oxbridge is obvious. But LSE and maybe ICL might be comparable to the lower ivies (e.g. Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth)

RML

I'd say there are at least 10 British unis that I think can compete with the Ivies in terms of the requirements that you've been asking, and these are:

Oxford, Cambridge
LSE, Imperial
Warwick, UCL
St Andrews, Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh

phantasmagoric

^ are you from the UK, RML? Or have an affiliation with it?

RML

attended one of the unis i listed above. that being said, my list is as biased-free as i could get.

askjeeves

Personally, I don't think any of the schools in the bottom two groups (with exception to maybe UCL) seriously matches up to any of the ivies reputation wise, maybe more like a USNWR #20-35 ranked school. Teaching quality is subjective at best.

alyanj

As a dual citizen who attended universities in both the UK and USA, and has since taught in both systems and had a daughter and her friends applying in both systems, I can categorically say that the universities listed in RML's lower 2 groups do not compare. There is some great teaching at all these places but the quality of students is notas high across the board which, just as in this country, has a knock on effect in terms of the educational experience. We can all site great teachers at numerous colleges across this country but ultimately what adds up to the educational experience and subsequent prestige in the job marked and internationally of the ivied and the top LACs here is the overall package of teaching, quality of students challenging and debating with each other, and rigor of course demanded by the quality of student. Oxbridge absolutely provides this, albeit in a very different format with a very differ feel. Imperial is very focused on science and equates more with the MIT or Cal Tech feel. Durham, Exeter, Bristol are all wonderful universities, but tend to be full of many rejects from Oxbridge and have a longer tail. Yes, you will get some outstanding students there but, give the choice, they would probably have picked Oxbridge. Remember that the financial aid package is not the great decider in the UK. Fees are increasing but they are across the board and there will not be the same tough choices between full scholarship in state as opposed to $50k at an ivy.

RML

Well, to be honest about it, I don't think school names like Dartmouth, Brown or Penn are that highly-respected outside of the US. Only the ones who have heard of them would think of them as highly respectable schools. But, likewise. The ones who have heard of Warwick, Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh, UCL and St Andrews would view them as top-notched universities offering very rigid teaching standard and having great relationship with top employers. So, whilst one can make a claim that Brown is prestigious and a top feeder school to top jobs in the city, all the UK unis I listed can make the same claims.

alyanj

I absolutely agree that one can have a great education at any of the universities listed. The statistics for admission, faculty publication, job placement, and pretty much anything else you choose to use, will support the superiority across the board of Oxbridge. Ultimately we all know, if we have any inside experience of higher education, that there are weak teachers at any institution, that a good, curious student can do well at many institutions, and that ultimately the educational experience will be up tho the student. That said, it is much easier to get into St Andrews or Edinburgh than it is to get into Oxbridge. The debate about what the ivies of Oxbridge offer over other colleges will continue to rage - different institutions suit different students for multiple reasons. Because of that a student may do far better being the top student at st Andrews than one of the top 20% at Cambridge. The reputations of colleges develop for many complex reasons but the draw of the ivies and Oxbridge does continue to perpetuate a top tier experience. As has been said many times on this board, the student needs to find the right fit.

RML

Well, likewise. Who would pick Brown or Cornell over Harvard or Princeton? Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth and Penn are riding on the Ivy League label. If such league does not exist, they're probably not as prestigious as they are now. Ivy League is prestigious because of HYP. Take HYP out of the league and you'll see the league would deteriorate.


Not sure about that, but more than 80% of the students at all the universities listed above have A-Levels of at least, AAB. The the bottom 20% of the students at the lower Ivies have SAT scores lower than 1300/1600.

barrk123

^ Not true, even without HYP in the ivy league Dartmouth, Columbia and Penn would still be considered just as good of schools. Brown and Cornell maybe not so much.

Jedbrien

Only LSE, Imperial and just maybe UCL