LAMPETER IS 'BEST' UNI, CLAIMS NEW PUSH LEAGUE TABLE

The small Welsh campus of Lampeter is the best university in the UK according to a controversial new league table by the leading independent student advice website Push.co.uk. Meanwhile, Cambridge fails to make the top ten and Oxford is not even in the top 50.

Despite the radical departure from other university rankings, the team behind the study insists this is no April Fool’s joke. Push’s table is unique in terms of both what the public should take from it and the criteria used. As well as academic standards and job prospects, the ranking takes into account many other factors that may be at least as important to most students.

Among the main differences, the Push league table considers the cost of living and average levels of student debt at each university (both of which are based on data exclusive to Push). Whereas some league tables would give credit to universities with restrictive entry requirements, in Push’s case, it is ease of entry that is considered beneficial, especially when it is balanced with high demand for places. Also considered is the range and quality of extra-curricular activities and support.

After Lampeter, come the predominantly Catholic Heythrop College in Kensington and Scotland’s Stirling University. Others that make the top ten include two colleges – Harper Adams and Bishop Grosseteste – that only gained university status in the last five years.

Surprisingly, even though it is based on rigorous research conducted in every university in the UK, Push does not claim its table is superior to others. The exercise is intended to highlight the message that no league table properly reflects what any individual actually looks for in a university and too much emphasis is placed on rankings such as these which are all based on arbitrary judgements.

Push.co.uk’s approach is to help students make such judgements for themselves. A key features of the website is the Uni Chooser tool which allows to set for themselves the importance of over 200 criteria in order to create their own personalised 'league table'.

 Johnny Rich, Editor of Push.co.uk, said:

“There is no such thing as a ‘best’ university. It all depends on what the individual student considers important. Other league tables tend to focus on very traditional academic indicators, such as research standards, which may have little bearing on most undergraduates. They serve only to reinforce stereotypes about UK universities. Given the diversity on offer and the variety of students’ needs and desires, these stereotypes have never been further from the truth.”

“Over the next few months, various league tables will be published in the media – after all, they do make good copy. However, applicants need to recognise these are no more than a list of universities that fit a particular type. Rather than treating such a list as any kind of ladder to climb, applicants would do better to consider what they themselves want and find which universities best match that description.”

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For the full table, click here
For the methodology, click here

For further information and interviews with Push Editor, Johnny Rich:

Online: http://www.push.co.uk/press/
Tel: 020-7005 3650/4
E-mail: press@push.co.uk
Outside office hours, contact Johnny Rich: 020 7703 4873 (direct); 078 1111 4292 (mobile)

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Push was founded in 1992 as an independent organisation that visits every university in the UK every year gathering the country’s largest resource of information for prospective students.

This information is presented in an accessible and user-friendly style and published without fear or favour at www.push.co.uk. The site provides an invaluable resource for anyone hunting for a university place. It features comprehensive information about each university, application and survival advice, financial guidance, forums and a uniquely powerful search function to help applicants identify the right university for them.

Each year Push also visits hundred of schools, colleges and sixth forms giving advice direct to students and is a respected supplier of information about higher education to media outlets and businesses.