You might have heard of the Ivy League, a collegiate conference of some of the top-ranked institutions like Harvard University and Princeton University in the northeastern United States. Every country has its so-called “Ivy League class” universities: India has the “Institutes of National Importance” while South Korea has the “SKY Universities”. The United Kingdom’s “Ivy League Class” is called the Russell Group of Institutions. The Russell Group encompasses 24 universities around the United Kingdom and are perceived as the ‘best’ universities in the country.
The Russell Group was so-named because the first informal meetings of the members took place in Russell Square, London. It started in 1994 with 18 universities participating. Today, this group of 24 receives over three quarters of all research grants in the United Kingdom.
List of Russell Group universities:
There are currently 24 universities belonging to the Russell Group:
University of Bristol
Why should you apply to Russell Group of universities?
Almost all the universities are globally ranked in the top 100. But there are few factors that sets the Russell Group aside from the Ivy League other than the number of institutions.
That is -
1. Admission Rate:
After listening to all the stats and some names in the group, you might be thinking “Let’s keep one or two of these universities be in the ambitious category.” But, the Russell Group’s average admission rate is not 20%, not 40% but 80%! 80 out of 100 undergraduate applicants are shortlisted for admission! You need two more ambitious universities for your matrix because your ambitious ones are now in the safe category.
2. Tuition Fees:
The tuition fees is a big win-win. The Russell Group offers so low tuition fees that the Group senate is working to hike up the fees in order to keep the education and research up to the mark. Did any of you decide to go to the UK now instead of Germany for further studies because of the low fees and no need to learn German?
3. Alumni Network:
In case you want to know about the alumni network, let me tell you this: the University of Exeter, one of the members has J.K. Rowling, Vanessa Kirby and James Tanner (famous for making the Tanner scale to measure growth in children) as its alumni. The London School of Economics includes 53 heads-of-state around the world as its alumni. Sir Tom Kibble, who discovered the Higgs Boson is a professor at the Imperial College, London. The college is also reputed for its mechanical and chemical engineering departments. The alumni list is endless.
4. Job Prospects:
Grades, skills and interview - is all you need to get that dream job! However, a brand name can also be beneficial while applying for jobs. Russell Group of universities is a brand which will definitely add value to your resume and also will open a lot more doors as compared to a degree from other universities. These universities also make sure that the students ace in their competitive career sectors by implementing various schemes. At times, some recruiters might prefer a student from Russell Group of universities over a student graduating from another university.
What is the difference between Russell Group of Universities and other universities?
No doubt that the facilities such as infrastructure, libraries provided to the students is of top-notch. Undergraduate students are offered the opportunity to be a part of academic research during their final year. They can also be selected to work on a vacation project which will increase their efficiency in their chosen field as well as help in seeking better job opportunities.
For Masters and PhD students, going to one of the Russell Group of universities works in favour especially if you have some research work done in the chosen department.
Irrespective of the program, be assured that you will learn from the best faculty and tutors working on the front line of the top research work.
In case, you are planning to study in UK, the Russell Group of Institutions should be your first and last stop to shortlist your universities. Low tuition fees, high research grants, high admission rates and better job opportunities make the Russell Group of Institutions an ideal place to study.
