Student Beans’ Best University Guide

14 Jul 2022, by Megan Cushnahan, min. read

When it comes to filling out your UCAS application, or making decisions around Clearing on A Level results day, there’s nothing more valuable than a university league table.

These are the top 10 universities according to The Guardian:

Sometimes it’s important to look past the technicalities of a university to take stock of the local vibe in order to see if the campus and surrounding city fits with your loves and lifestyle.

Whilst some people are strictly only interested in Russell Group establishments (i.e. the top 24 leading research universities), others are on the lookout for cities that will offer only the very best vegan eateries.

Want to know more about the best cities for pub lovers, the worst UK university regions for Freshers Flu, or where to go for the lowest entry requirements? Check out the Student Beans uni comparison tables for all the juicy breakdowns.

Pub lovers unite: the top university bar scenes

Data sourced from Office for National Statistics

Warwick / Bath / Bath Spa / Stirling / Chichester / Winchester / York / York St John / Brighton / Sussex / East Anglia / Worcester / Cumbria

If the classic university experience is important to you and you want to get your fill of pubs and bars, look into universities in Warwick, Bath and Stirling and you’ll have the biggest ratio of population to drinking spots. Shocked to not see some cities at the top of the list? So are we… (we’re looking at you Newcastle).

Interested in which are the most expensive uni’s to buy a pint at? We’ve got the answers. Or if alcohol isn’t your thing, there are plenty of fun alternatives to drinking during Freshers’ Week.

The vegan vote: the top university cities for vegans

Data sourced from TripAdvisor

Bath / Bath Spa / Nottingham / Nottingham Trent / Chester / Brighton / Sussex / Durham / Stirling / Edinburgh / Edinburgh Napier / Heriot-Watt / Queen Margaret / East Anglia / Cambridge / Anglia Ruskin / Oxford / Oxford Brookes

While some restaurants have the most *chef’s kiss* options for vegans, there’s still some places that are severely lacking in plant-based dishes. If you head to Bath, Nottingham or Chester, you shouldn’t have that problem as these cities have the highest vegan restaurants per capita.

However, if you’re on a tight student budget you might need to forgo fancy dining for some accidentally vegan snacks at home, like Pot Noodles and Party Rings. Didn’t know they were vegan? Here’s some other snacks you might not have known are plant based.

Avoiding the lurgy: the worst regions for catching freshers flu

Data sourced from Student Beans’ own data

If you haven’t heard of Freshers Flu yet, you will soon. After a packed out Freshers Week, hitting all the new local bars, mingling with new people and getting up to exciting adventures, your body will no doubt start punishing you for it. We’re talking sore throats, pounding headaches and persistent coughing as the symptoms for Freshers Flu.

Doesn’t sound like your thing? Avoid Wales like the plague — in 2021, 27.87% of Freshers there believed they experienced Freshers Flu, whilst only 10.71% of those in London had to endure the constant sniffles.

Bookmark our advice on the best vitamins and supplements students should take to stand a chance against the dreaded Freshers Flu.

Lowest entry tariffs: the most accessible universities

Data sourced from The Guardian’s Best UK Universities 2022 – Rankings

Canterbury Christ Church / East London / London Met / Roehampton / London South Bank / Northampton / Hertfordshire / Leeds Trinity / Newman / Bedfordshire

A lot of people want to know how many GCSEs you need for university but, in fact, it’s all down to the A-levels you take (but remember you need to perform well at GCSE level to get the right A-levels for your chosen uni course).

To give some piece of mind, plenty of universities have an average entry tariff of around 100 UCAS points, which can look like three A-Levels at grade B, C and E, along with an AS-Level Grade B, for example.

If you want to know the UCAS point for the A Levels you’re taking, you can use the official UCAS calculator to see how your predicted grades might compare to your dream uni’s average tariff.

Getting Top Marks: top universities for getting a first-class degree

Data sourced from HESA

UCL / London School of Economics / Imperial College / Bradford / University for the Creative Arts / Queen Mary / St Andrews / Salford / Durham / Manchester Met

If you’re paying a lot for a university, you ideally want a stellar transcript by the end of it (a university transcript is a record of your academic performance, if you didn’t already know). While final grades are down to you and your own abilities, let’s look at the universities with the highest amounts of firsts, AKA the top-level grade at uni.

At UCL, London School of Economics, Imperial College, Bradford and the University for the Creative Arts, OVER HALF of their 20/21 graduates walked away with a first-class degree. Congrats class of 2021!

Biggest hustlers: the top cities for starting a side hustle

When cash gets tight at the end of the semester, many students start looking for easy jobs to make extra money. If you’re particularly entrepreneurial, you may want to look at universities in London, Manchester, and Glasgow which boast the biggest clusters of side hustlers across the UK.

Percentage of Etsy sellers in each region

London (37.5%)
Manchester (9.6%)
Glasgow (5.2%)
Bristol (3.7%)
Birmingham (2.9%)

Graduate Prospects

Top universities with the best graduate prospects (i.e. those who secured a career within 15 months of graduating)

Imperial College – 96%
Cambridge – 93%
London School of Economics – 93%
Oxford – 93%
Bath – 91%
King’s College London – 90%
Durham – 89%
UCL – 89%
Dundee – 88%
Warwick – 88%

Data sourced from The Guardian’s Best UK Universities 2022 – Rankings

Whilst the university experience itself needs to be everything you hoped for, it’s important to think about what to do after university. So, it can be helpful to look at which universities have the most successful graduates. For example, 96% of Imperial College London grads get a career within 15 months of graduating, meaning they’ve bagged a graduate-level job or are in further study.

Cambridge, London School of Economics, Oxford, Bath, and King’s College London also all have a career success percentage of over 90%.

What course you do at these universities can make all the difference. Check out the 5 Uni Subjects You Need To Study To Make Lots Of Money, According To New Study.

Teaching & Course Satisfaction

The National Student Survey always gives some great insights on what university is really like, including student satisfaction when it comes to teaching and course quality.

Universities like St Andrews, Aberystwyth, Strathclyde, Glasgow, Bath, and Aberdeen that have similar course and teaching satisfaction rates are sure to leave you feeling content with your higher education experience.

Top universities for teaching satisfaction

St Andrews – 92.3%
Glyndwr – 87.2%
Aberystwyth 87.1%
Strathclyde – 86.3%
Abertay – 86.1%
Glasgow – 86.1%
Bath – 86%
Chichester – 86%
West London – 86%
Aberdeen – 85.3%

Top universities for course satisfaction

St Andrews – 93.1%
Bath – 87.1%
Loughborough – 86.8%
Robert Gordon – 86.7%
Aberystwyth – 86.6%
Swansea – 86.2%
Aberdeen – 86.1%
Strathclyde – 85.5%
Glasgow – 85%
Lancaster – 84.7%

Data sourced from The Guardian’s Best UK Universities 2022 – Rankings

Support for low-income students

The Institute For Fiscal Studies (IFS) also conducted research to reveal which universities are doing the most (and least) to help students who come from lower income backgrounds. The research showed that while low-income students were less likely to attend the most selective universities and, unpredictably, it was students who attended private schools who were most likely to attend Oxford or Cambridge. Here are the universities that rank the worst when it comes to helping students from lower income families.

For more information on inclusivity in education, have a look at Beans Academy, our programme which aims to help you thrive no matter your background.