Russell Group | Our universities (2024)

FAQs

What is the easiest Russell Group to get into? ›

1. University of Liverpool. Liverpool is officially the easiest Russell Group uni to get into if you want to look smart but still just have a good time. The average entry tariff for The University of Liverpool is 147 UCAS points.

What is the hardest Russell Group university to get into? LSE (36.5%), Imperial College London (42.9%), and the University of Edinburgh (51%), all members of the Russell Group, have the lowest acceptance rates after excluding Oxford and Cambridge.

It all depends on your degree and industry. Truth be told, most employers care more about your skill and suitability for the job, rather than the university you attended. The vast majority of employers won't mind if your university is not in the Russell Group or even in the top 20 or 30 universities in the UK.

Across the board, it's good news if you go to a Russell Group university. 16 out of the 24 institutions all handed out more firsts than the national average. Four out of ten students from Leeds and Manchester walked away from uni with a first last year.

The Russell Group of elite universities had very low dropout rates. The University of Cambridge had a dropout rate of 0.6% while the University of Oxford saw 0.9% of students discontinue their courses. On average across the Russell Group, just 2% of undergraduates dropped out after their first year.

The top 5 universities in the Russell Group according to the are the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London (UCL), and University of Edinburgh.

The Ivy League is a more exclusive group known for its undergraduate programs, while the Russell Group universities are primarily research-intensive institutions. Admissions to the Russell Group universities are generally more competitive, and the Ivy League universities are more expensive.

Queen Mary's strength and variety of its accessibility scheme backs up the data, which suggests that the university is at the forefront of social inclusivity for Russell Group universities across the UK.

But figures compiled by the University Alliance group – which represents professional and technical institutions – found that satisfaction levels recorded in 2023's national student survey were higher in university groups outside the Russell Group, where satisfaction was below the sector's average.

What are the original 17 Russell Group universities? ›

The Russell Group of universities was formed in 1994 by 17 British research universities – Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial College London, Leeds, Liverpool, London School of Economics, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, University College London and Warwick, ...

The Russell Group's 24 members are world-class, research-intensive universities. They are unique institutions, each with their own history and ethos, but they share some distinguishing characteristics. Our universities believe people and ideas are the key to meeting global challenges.

The group is seen by many as the most prestigious group of universities in the country, with many of the members being some of the best in the academic world. 61% of successful job candidates, with 60% of all doctorates in the UK handed out by the Russell Group.

There's a reason you're required to put the name of the college you attended on your resume and job application. Despite what you may read to the contrary, most employers do care about where you went to school for your degree.

Academic Requirements: Russell Group universities typically have high academic entry requirements. Applicants are generally expected to have strong A-level results (or equivalent qualifications) or achieve high grades in other recognized qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) or Scottish Highers.