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Cambridge tops Guardian university league table
17 May 2011
The University of Cambridge has topped the Guardian University Guide 2012 league table, ahead of Oxford and St Andrews. The University Guide is based on data for full-time undergraduates at UK universities.
In the league table, universities are ranked according to how much they spend per student; their student/staff ratio; the career prospects of their graduates; what grades applicants need; a value-added score that compares the academic achievements of first-years and their final degree results; and how content final-year students are with their courses, based on the annual National Student Survey.
The tables, compiled by an independent consultancy firm, Intelligent Metrix, are weightedin favour of the National Student Survey. As part of the survey, final-year students are asked to score their universities for overall satisfaction, feedback and contact hours. Other league tables concentrate more on research ratings.
The tables show that Cambridge has overtaken Oxford in philosophy, law, politics, theology, maths, classics, anthropology and modern languages.
Universities with high rankings tend to have fewer students who drop out, and fewer students per academic. The top 20 institutions have a drop-out rate after the first year of just 4%, compared with almost 12% for the bottom 20.
Cambridge Pre-U, developed by University of Cambridge International Examinations, is an alternative qualification to A Levels, and is designed to prepare sixth-form students for success at university by developing their independent study and research skills. Cambridge Pre-U students typically choose 3 or 4 Principal Subjects (or a mixture of Principal Subjects and A Levels) and can gain the Cambridge Pre-U Diploma by studying the Global Perspectives and Indepedent Research componenent.
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