Hi
i’m currently a high school student in the last semester and looking into what universities to apply to
i have some questions that i suspect a single person can answer all of them, so if you can help me with one or two points please don’t hesitate, and if you can help me with all of them that’s even better !
now to the main point
1)how hard are the universities in the UK in general and how is the workload ?
2)are the best universities in the UK harder than normal ranked universities ?
by the best universities i mean (( no oxford or cambridge, 0% of entering them )) :
Manchester
Southampton
Bristol
Loughborough
Nottingham
Edinburgh
Birmingham
and the normal ranked universities are:
the universities that are ranked 35-65
so again
are the universities that i mentioned above noticeably harder than normal ranked universities and have tougher workload ?
how hard are the universities in Canada in general and how is the workload in universities like :
Simon Fraser University
University of Victoria
Queen’s University
University of Waterloo
York University
1.) Difficulty is very subjective. In the UK you apply for a specific course, rather than in the US where you don’t need to know what you’re majoring in. The UK system is geared towards only studying a specific subject, so in that sense, maybe it’s more difficult. Can’t really answer the question though. Workload naturally varies from uni to uni.
2.) Yes. But then again, what do you mean by harder? More academically rigorous? The universities you’ve listed aren’t the best. Loughborough isn’t that respected here (even though for some reason it’s about 15th on rankings) and the others (with the exception of Edinburgh, Bristol) aren’t considered the best Oxbridge alternatives either.
It’s more difficult to say, but in my opinion:
LSE, UCL, Bristol, Bath, Warrick, Durham, Imperial, St Andrews, Exceter, Edinburgh are the hardest universities outside of Oxbridge. All others are easier and have less workload
i’m sure that the universities i listed aren’t the best in the UK, that’s why i listed them
i chose them because they are technically ranked in good spots in some lists i looked into + i meet their requirements unlike other universities
i will be studying civil engineering, sorry for not stating that earlier
and by harder i mean hard in general, a lot of workload + little free time + am i expected to study almost daily and for long periods of time ?+ a lot assignments or researches
It’s engineering. For any engineering that’s half-way decent, you will have to learn a lot.
In the UK, there’s less hand-holding, however. You’re expected to study on your own. Then at the end of the year/term, they give you a test. How well you do on the test is your grade for the course.
My understanding is that Canada unis are also more sink-or-swim with grade deflation. In that sense, they’re like a lot of state schools (which they are).
You haven’t articulated why you are looking abroad, though. To work as an engineer in the US, going to an ABET-accredited school will matter. ABET seems to have some bi-lateral agreement with Canada, but I doubt any UK program in civil engineering is accredited.
Yes, Canadian universities are pretty sink or swim. There’s no single test that determines your grade on an individual course however.
Queen’s University engineering is also very competitive. The other universities on your list are less competitive. Engineering in general is known to have the highest workload of any program.
It’s all very subject-dependent. Loughborough for example is very well known for engineering and consequently I bet it has higher entry grades required for engineering than other unis (roughly higher entry grades mean it is harder).
There is quite a big attitude difference compared to US colleges. In the UK you are considered a responsible adult at 18. No-one will come after you don’t turn up for lectures or don’t hand work in. No-one will check you do any studying at all. Quite often you will simply be given problems to work through or reading to do for your own benefit. The benefit being practice for your end of year exams which will determine much of your grades. Some people will spend hours on this work, others not so much. It is up to you.
Also, everyone expects to graduate. It amazes me the responses on this forum given to anyone struggling with engineering. Quit, give up, switch majors. I am surprised there are any American engineers at all (in the future there probably won’t be). Don’t for one second work at anything if there is any chance of getting less than 100%. That is such an alien attitude to me. You will be expected to suck it up and work hard wherever you attend uni in the UK.
This concerns me “am i expected to study almost daily” => basics (not engineering, not hard workload) would be 5-6 hours of studying every day. Each class hour has about 2-3 hours of work (you’ll have 8-12 hours “in class”, everything else is independent. If you don’t do it, it’s your problem, and when you fail, there’s no make up, no etra credit, nothing. It’s good bye for you.)
Engineering has a tougher workload in general.
