Student Soapbox: Is Warwick in a league of its own?

It is that time of the year again when many of the ‘more reputable’ newspapers release a multitude of university league tables that mean very little to the majority of people going about their daily lives.

Students, however, thrive on the tribal warfare that exists between universities. This reaches frenzy when aggravated by a few column inches in the nationals. Students delight at the losses of certain institutions, whilst they froth at the mouth in disdain at some establishments’ unwarranted positioning.

Maybe is it something about being a Warwick student that makes this process all the more essential. We are consistently reminded of the horrifying youth of our establishment (born in 1965, Warwick is only 47 years old). Despite its age, Warwick has recently received the accolade of being named the best university in Europe, and third best in the world … under the age of fifty, that is.

[pullquote style=”left” quote=”dark”]When Warwick is name-dropped in conservation, many people outside the bubble do not appreciate the academic prowess of our institution.[/pullquote]

Every student clutches league tables to their chest, as some vain ‘badge of honour’, helping to make ourselves feel better about our future prospects. When Warwick is name-dropped in conservation, many people outside the bubble do not appreciate the academic prowess of our institution. It has not become a household name as synonymous with achievement as some of our older cousins.

We look enviably at Oxbridge, occupying the lofty heights of the league tables. Long forgotten is the short-lived phenomenon of ‘Woxbridge’ when in 2010 the Guardian ranked Warwick the third finest institution in the United Kingdom. Now but a distant memory of a halcyon age, we resent those other plucky universities that hog some of the rings of the higher education ladder from these ancient institutions.

Not that we are bitter, not at all; we chose Warwick because of its ‘academic grandiose’ and its ‘anti-establishment vibe’, not silly archaic notions of prestige, derived from subjective league tables. We tend to ignore the international tables, despite their obvious importance. Warwick tends to lag behind in this respect, despite QS having ranked Warwick 50th best in the world in 2011. The Times Higher Education has ranked Warwick only 147th.

Do league tables really matter? Warwick is consistently in the upper end of the top ten national tables, and is renowned around the world for its academic prowess, but will it helps us get a job? Warwick is the second most targeted University by employers besides Cambridge after all. Our obsession with ranking ourselves against other universities is at best arbitrary and at times naive.

Perhaps we should spend less time being fixated by figures and instead pride ourselves on the fact that we are still leagues above our arch-nemesis: Coventry University.