Newcastle University is top in the UK for student experience

The University Compare Annual Student Experience Awards are based on nearly 10,000 student reviews from institutions across the UK

November 15 2017
University of Newcastle is top for student experience

Newcastle University has been named the best university in the UK for overall student experience, according to the Annual Student Experience Awards from University Compare

University Compare’s table is based on four key elements: institute and course, accommodation, employment prospects, and social life. 

Newcastle University was also the number one university for social life and just missed out on the top 10 for accommodation. 

University Compare invited students to write reviews to help prospective students identify the right course and university for them. The table was based on data from almost 10,000 students across 425 institutions throughout the UK in the past 12 months. 

Many of the universities in the top 10 of the overall ranking are located in the Midlands and in the North such as Nottingham Trent UniversityAston University and Loughborough University. The University of Bristol was the only university from the South included, at number 10. 

Scottish universities performed the best in the institute and course quality category, with the University of St Andrews, University of Dundee and University of Stirling all making the top five. 

In the accommodation category, Loughborough University took the first place position. The North West of England performed particularly strongly in this category, with Liverpool Hope University, Edge Hill University and Lancaster University all in the top six.  

London universities didn't fare too well in the majority of the categories, except for employment prospects where sports university UCFB, King’s College London, UCL and Imperial College London all made the top 10. 

Top 10 universities for overall student experience

Overall ranking University
1 Newcastle University
2 Nottingham Trent University
3 Loughborough University
4 University of Leeds
5 University of Dundee
6 University of Liverpool
7 Liverpool Hope University
8 Aston University
9 University of Nottingham
10 University of Bristol 

Top 10 universities for institute and course quality

Institute and course quality rank University
1 University of St Andrews
2 The Open University
3 Nottingham Trent University
4 University of Dundee
5 University of Stirling
6 University of York
7 University of Sunderland
8 University of Suffolk
9 Teesside University
10 University of Chester

Top 10 universities for accommodation

Accommodation Rank University
1 Loughborough University
2 Aston University
3 Liverpool Hope University
4 Aberystywth University
5 Edge Hill University
6 Lancaster University
7 Imperial College London
8 Liverpool John Moores University
Nottingham Trent University
10 Bangor University

Top 10 universities for employment prospects

Employment prospects rank University
1 UCFB
2 University of Bath
3 Robert Gordon University
4 King’s College London
5 Durham University
6 UCL
7 Loughborough University
8 University of St Andrews
9 University of Warwick
10 Imperial College London

Top 10 universities for student societal experience

Societal experience rank University
1 Newcastle University
2 University of Leeds
3 Nottingham Trent University
4 University of Liverpool
5 Leeds Beckett University
6 Liverpool John Moores University
7 University of Sheffield
8 Northumbria University
9 Cardiff University
10 University of Glasgow 

Read more: THE Student Experience Survey 2017 results

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