trustworthy? the "GOOD UNIVERSITIES GUIDE" (1 Viewer)

[HSC 09]

hi, i was wondering how reliable the site is?
1star for teaching quality at USYD?
is that possible??
+
UNSW mostly scores 5 stars (in ALL AREAS), whereas sydney is always beaten by UNSW.

can someone then please explain how the world rankings always show USYD all ways beating UNSW?

any sensible replies are welcome, and thanks in advanced!!

P.S.
just wanted to know, UNSW is better for Science, math, engineering courses,
and USYD is better for law, languages and so on?
just wanted a basic idea! thanks

 

[MJ-47]

To answer your question simply, yes. the "G.U.G" is very reliable thus it is recommended.

 

[Andi0390]

World rankings are based on an entirely different criteria to the Guide.

Generally, rankings are based on the amount pieces published by lecturers in the given year, and THES, which is the most commonly used ranking system is heavily based on peer review. Some ranking systems also skew more towards the sciences apparently.

The Guide uses a different criteria, such as graduate surveys etc.

USYD has a better world wide ranking but that in no way guarantees that it is better for an individual. As USYD is a big university there are probably larger classes and less personalised instruction. Also, while good universities attract experienced or knowledgeable lecturers, these lecturers may be crap teachers.

I don't know what you mean by "reliable". Obviously you cannot take everything you read as fact, but its just what it says it is, a guide. It shows you what previous graduates have thought of their time at the given university. It doesn't tell you how you'll experience it. As good as USYD is I've heard many complaints about class sizes, understanding lecturers, facility availability etc. from people who have attended there.

Go with what course you think is best with you. If it doesn't work out you can always change later. Rankings might be important for some industries for graduate employment, but after a few years your experience and personal ability is going to be a much larger selling point that the ranking of the university you attended.

Read what you have available and keep it in mind, but go with your gut.

 

[HSC 09]

To answer your question simply, yes. the "G.U.G" is very reliable thus it is recommended.

plz clarify? how is it compiled or what makes u think that??
obviously the teaching quality of USYD is NOT the worst in AUS.

 

[kevinx2]

eh, gooduni guide is based on sample data, a very small sample too. At the end of the day, the guide should be only one of many other means in which you should decide what uni you go to

 

[Triangulum]

eh, gooduni guide is based on sample data, a very small sample too. At the end of the day, the guide should be only one of many other means in which you should decide what uni you go to

what methodology does GUG use to do its star ratings? i've never looked at a copy and i've never really seen it taken that seriously, but i'd be interested to know.

 

[ajdlinux]

To answer your question simply, yes. the "G.U.G" is very reliable thus it is recommended.

I hope there's some sarcasm in that. It seems to me that everyone has different experiences and different opinions about each uni, so the GUG should only be one factor in making a decision.

 

[jet]

As kevinx2 said, the star ratings are based on a very small sample.

It could possibly be biased in a number of ways, making it unreliable. I would take it with a grain of salt.

 

[MJ-47]

plz clarify? how is it compiled or what makes u think that??
obviously the teaching quality of USYD is NOT the worst in AUS.

Sorry, I percieved your opinion as a subtext diversion to your main question.

Anyway you cant really say one uni is better hands down than that of another (i very much dislike ranking schemes such as GUG etc...). its like comparing a bananna to an apple, as they each have their own advantages and pitfalls. when referring to Usyd and UNSW i believe (my opinion) that there is no real difference as these are both renowned outstanding universities and you would be splitting hairs if you really tried to compare them to each other.

 

[kevinx2]

what methodology does GUG use to do its star ratings? i've never looked at a copy and i've never really seen it taken that seriously, but i'd be interested to know.

i've seen face-to-face surveys being given seemingly at random on campus. Though i doubt that's the only way they collect their info, nonetheless it's still based on a small sample.

Hobsons, the publisher of gooduniguide also has another website Home | Rate Your Uni which is similar (if not identical?) to GoodUniGuide and is based soley on ratings provided by whoever wants to rate the unis, whether they be students or not... It's also silly that this is claimed to be "authoritative".

Despite this, i don't mind GUG for the fact that it provides what seems mostly independent data, as opposed to the muddled bullshit the respective unis feed us