Max Said:

Which is better: Times or Guardian's good university guide?

We Answered:

Guardians for me, tho there is probably little difference between the two and theres more to uni than results.

Mattie Said:

Who should I rely on, The Times or the Guardian Good University Guide ?

We Answered:

I don't think anybody believes anything the Guardian says. No-one reads it to learn facts; just to find what they ought to think. Only numpties read it, or write for it for that matter.

Nathaniel Said:

How can I convert a UK degree to a US GPA?

We Answered:

Grade Point Average in the U.S. :
A= Excellent (4)
B=Good (3)
C= Average (2) ((Average is usually not acceptable))
D= Almost Failing (1)
F= Failing (0)
To get the grade point average before entering a U.S. college or University ...you would take all of your high school grades (last four years before your graduation) and add up all the final grades that you get at the end of the year and divide by however many grades you have added up. For example if you got A,A, A, C, B, A... then each of those grades are equal to a number which I gave you at the top, so that would be: 4 +4+4+2+3+4= 21 /6= 3.5 .

Anyways, your GPA isn't the only thing a school would look at. You have to write an excellent personal statement. Its great to show you participated in extracurricular activities. So a good GPA would be if you made mostly B's or A's in high school.
Lastly, you have to take a Standardized Achievement Test. Its not very hard, but the higher your score, the better you look to a prospective University. If you want to get into graduate school then you would most likely need to take the GRE examine instead, as well as getting letters of recommendation.

*This is not with every school but some schools may still consider you if you are below average in some things they ask for such as a gpa or GRE score. But if you lack in one area, definatly try to make yourself look great in other areas...such as with your recommendation letters, and and personal statements. Also try to talking to some professors (via email if you cannot visit the school right now) and see what they can tell you about getting into the program. They have the best tips...when they are not to busy and are able to help. Good luck.

Hugh Said:

Law degree at University of York?

We Answered:

This year is the first year York has offered Law, hence they wern't around when the rating for last year were compiled.

Marian Said:

which university ranking table is the most accurate?

We Answered:

I really don't think any are very accurate at all. Lets see what they are based on:

Student Satisfaction Survey: This year the BBC obtained evidence that students were advised to fill out the survey favourably to push their uni up the league tables and make their degree more respected. Also as students nearly always only attend one uni asking them how good it is when they have nothing to compare it to may give more of an indication of how positive their outlook on life is than how good the uni is!

Value Added: This measures how well students do in comparison to their qualifications before entering uni, this obviously favours poorer unis who have to take people with worse qualifications.

Staff to Student Ratio: At first this sounds like a useful statistic until you realise what university academics are like. Some do very little teaching and are only really their for the research, they see undergraduate students as an inconvenience. Some are brilliant though, do loads of teaching, put on extra classes for revision, run small group tutorials, and will usually make time for students who are struggling and ask them for help. The staff members attitudes and the teaching responsibilities that the department gives them are more important than how many of them there are.

Student Spend: How much money is spent on things that can benefit teaching per student, I actually think there is very little wrong with this statistic.

Entrance Requirements and research quality are other statistics used which are all well and good but go against what I am about to say:

University is a personal thing, what one person finds good another might not. The top unis for research and entrance requirements do tend to have an air of arrogance, despite their quality some students find this off putting, some don't mind and some actually buy into it! Really a lot depends on how well organised things are and how much the staff actually care about the students and these aren't things that can easily be tabulated. The best thing to do is visit unis, unis who treat their applicants well are often ones who treat their students well, you can also see what kind of facilities they have, talk to current students and entrance requirements can be seen in a prospectus. What I am saying is that you can find out everything in the table for yourself and more, and you can look it at from the point of view of what you find important, not the table's author. Forget tables, get visiting!