Demistyfying Mech Eng in Imperial (2)-- Reading the university guide

For people dont really know the universities in Uk so well . Sometimes the university ranking become a factor of decision , besides the location/friends matter/fees/other stuff.

However, as the output quality of the graduates is strictly controlled by uk Government trough independent third party assessment, the teaching quality in each universities wont differ that much. Instead, you properly get the same teaching quality from Imperial and Cardiff for example....

However, Looking into the details in some column of the ranking table might give you slight overview on what you will get in your undergraduates. Here is some guide,

First, forget about the research quality part unless you planning to continue your PhD ( even so it doesnt matter much as you can apply for other uni for your PHD) .

Teaching score: quite important. Together with students satisfaction percentage , can give you a clue on hows the students feel about learning in that university.

Expenditure per students : Important too. Make sure it match the fees you pay ( especially for international students ) . The higher the expense, the higher the benefits you get from uni ( like free lecture notes, fast broadband, sponsored lunch with tutors, fund on clubs so you get everything subsidied, fund on halls so you get activities subsidied etc. )

career prospect : It indicates two things , first, how well known the university are.
Second, how good the university at organizing career fair and helps.

Value added score. Indicator on how the university help you improve you. If you already a good students, just skip it.

Students : stuff ratio. Important, indicator on how much human resource a university can spend on a students. ( For example, in Oxbridge, the personal tutor will have time to check your progress, while in imperial it may not be so ).

The course structure. Which is out of the table. But will determined what you going to learn from your career.

Peer experience. Quite useful. But beware that it maybe biased/ distorted. As people will tend to overlook on what they dont get.

If you are international students outside Uk/Europe, The famous of the students may need to be counted in. However, the most important is your own ability. Which you need to development during Undergraduates study.

Above all, try to maximize fun! Thats very important.

Conclusion: A higher ranking in universities guide does indicate higher percentage of meeting good department in good universities. Sadly, it just a rough indicator which shouldnt be the deciding factor.