Here are the 50 hardest unis in the UK to get a first from
You need to maximise the odds, obviously
Stats from HESA have revealed the unis where the fewest students end up with a first – finally telling us where the hardest university in the country to end up with a first from is.
Scottish unis take the top spots – perhaps showing how hard it is to think clearly when you’re really, really cold.
Only two Russell Group unis make the list – Newcastle and Glasgow. Sussex, SOAS, and Nottingham Trent also figure in the rankings.
The lack of really posh unis might suggest they tend to take people who are already more likely to get a first – whereas unis who take people from more diverse backgrounds may see fewer students getting firsts. These students tend to have higher dropout rates, are more likely to need to work to support themselves through uni, and are also less likely to be young – all factors which mean the ferocious pursuit of a first is that much harder.
These are the hardest universities in the country to get a first from:
1. The University of the West of Scotland – 7.85 per cent
2. University of the Highlands and Islands – 14.45 per cent
3. The University of Sunderland – 15.72 per cent
4. Harper Adams University – 16.38 per cent
5. Edinburgh Napier University – 16.51 per cent
6. The Open University – 16.89 per cent
7. The University of Stirling – 17.04 per cent
8. Roehampton University – 17.09 per cent
9. Glasgow Caledonian University – 17.38 per cent
10. The Nottingham Trent University – 17.45 per cent
11. The University of Dundee – 17.65 per cent
12. University of Abertay Dundee – 17.76 per cent
13. Birkbeck College – 17.93 per cent
14. The Robert Gordon University – 18.00 per cent
15. St George’s, University of London – 18.07 per cent
16. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh – 18.24 per cent
17. Buckinghamshire New University – 18.25 per cent
18. The University of Chichester – 18.59 per cent
19. The University of Winchester – 18.62 per cent
20. Bath Spa University – 19.01 per cent
21. The University of Westminster – 19.37 per cent
22. University of Worcester – 19.64 per cent
23. Aberystwyth University – 19.74 per cent
24. The University of Brighton – 20.07 per cent
25. Liverpool Hope University – 20.09 per cent
26. Canterbury Christ Church University – 21.85 per cent
27. The Arts University Bournemouth – 21.89 per cent
28. The University of Bolton – 22.22 per cent
29. York St John University – 22.62 per cent
30. Bournemouth University – 22.84 per cent
31. SOAS University of London – 23.03 per cent
32. Newcastle University – 23.11 per cent
33. University of Plymouth – 23.12 per cent
34. Leeds Beckett University – 23.22 per cent
35. The University of Northampton – 23.22 per cent
36. University of Gloucestershire – 23.45 per cent
37. The University of Leicester – 23.87 per cent
38. University of the West of England, Bristol – 23.97 per cent
39. The University of Glasgow – 24.05 per cent
40. University of Bedfordshire – 24.07 per cent
41. Cardiff Metropolitan University – 24.11 per cent
42. University of Hertfordshire – 24.19 per cent
43. The University of Hull – 24.33 per cent
44. Falmouth University – 24.34 per cent
45. University of Cumbria – 24.42 per cent
46. City, University of London – 24.56 per cent
47. Norwich University of the Arts – 24.59 per cent
48. Oxford Brookes University – 24.96 per cent
49. The University of Sussex – 25.00 per cent
50. Brunel University London – 25.14 per cent
Note: We only included universities with more than 500 graduates in a year. HESA statistics are rounded to the nearest five, and so smaller cohorts can produce more inaccurate percentages.
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