How are third and pass degrees regarded these days?

talksalot81

If the prestige of simply having been to exbridge (even ending in a fail) was enough to get you a job any better than you would have got with simply your A-levels, then that is a sad reflection on UK employment.

missk_ensington

talksalot81 wrote:

If the prestige of simply having been to exbridge (even ending in a fail) was enough to get you a job any better than you would have got with simply your A-levels, then that is a sad reflection on UK employment.

I think the thinking behind this may be the reasons you got into Oxbridge in the first place. Still there's no denying that employers like to say their staff come from Oxford and Cambridge, one major copmany who I can't say for legal reasons stood up and said at our conference last year (a conference advocating vocational learning by the way!) that they only employ graduates from Oxbridge!

I'd say a top degree from any medicocre uni, or a mediocre degree from a very leading red brick university have equal worth. Its time to worry when you have a mediocre degree, from a mediocre university!

talksalot81

I guessed that much, but it is a bit short sighted in my view. Someone had to be spectacular to get into Oxbridge. So they should be capable of a good grade at degree level. In not achieving it I would have to guess one of several things...

1) They are not as good as A-level grades suggest
2) They are fine with simple A-levels, but when the going gets tough, they failed.
3) They picked uni as a good time to get lazy

None of those options inspire confidence in me. I would sooner have somoene who got B's or C's at A-level then blossomed to a 2.1 or a first at a non-oxbridge uni.

missk_ensington

talksalot- I agree with you, this is quite similar to myself although in relation to GCSE's. I moved away from home the day I was 16, but because my birthday is October this resulted in me living by myself through my last year of school which was tough as I was working 35 hours a week doing bar and restaurant work. As a result my GCSE's weren't as good as I could have done with the exception of A*s in English (which I'm going at degree).

This is now coming back to haunt me, I have seen my ideal job and I fit the criteria in terms of personality, Alevel grades etc but it requires an A in Maths GCSE and I only got a B!

Sometimes things just aren't fair!

studentphil

missk_ensington wrote:

talksalot- I agree with you, this is quite similar to myself although in relation to GCSE's. I moved away from home the day I was 16, but because my birthday is October this resulted in me living by myself through my last year of school which was tough as I was working 35 hours a week doing bar and restaurant work. As a result my GCSE's weren't as good as I could have done with the exception of A*s in English (which I'm going at degree).

This is now coming back to haunt me, I have seen my ideal job and I fit the criteria in terms of personality, Alevel grades etc but it requires an A in Maths GCSE and I only got a B!

Sometimes things just aren't fair!

I think the whole thread shows it is very very hard to judge someone just on grades and you have to look deeper to find out how good a person really is.

I would still apply that job even if you only have a B!!

studentphil

But again because a person gets less than a first does not make them stupid or lazy, but there could well be good reasons why they did not get a first.

Heth_2

studentphil wrote:

But again because a person gets less than a first does not make them stupid or lazy, but there could well be good reasons why they did not get a first.

Of course, in fact if everyone got a first then the system wouldn't be working, just like with so many school leavers getting a grades it is hard for employers/universities to distinguish between the students.

(of course I am not saying grades, whether at school or degree level, or the only thing that shows ability by any means).

studentphil

But sometimes people with grade As can be really lacking in other things that you need for a good career, so it is all swings and roundabout.

studentphil

Still no answer. If they can not help me, why do they ignorne stuff? They always do that though and just never answer if it is tricky problem

melancholly

studentphil wrote:

Still no answer. If they can not help me, why do they ignorne stuff? They always do that though and just never answer if it is tricky problem

it's probably not a 'vindictive' ignoring, as in they don't want to help, it's more likely to be really busy and being shoved down priority list - neither is any help to you, but i can't see any better solution unless you can go and try to speak to someone. if you don't want to face an academic member of staff directly, perhaps try getting a student representative to go on your behalf? a lot of staff are also away on holiday at the moment, just before the craziness starts of term, so bear that in mind too. sorry they're not sorting this out for you - i think you have to take it to them a little more because so far, emails haven't done much.