London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE vs University of Nottingham - UoN vs Heriot-Watt University - HW vs University of the West of Scotland - UWS vs University of Derby - UoD

Side-by-side comparison from 836 verified student reviews. Scan one row at a time — winners are highlighted

Quick verdict
Higher overall rating: Le Cordon Bleu Paris (4.70)
London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE: wins 2/7 categories
University of Nottingham - UoN: wins 1/7 categories
Heriot-Watt University - HW: wins 0/7 categories
University of the West of Scotland - UWS: wins 0/7 categories
University of Derby - UoD: wins 2/7 categories
University of Brighton - UoB: wins 0/7 categories
Le Cordon Bleu Paris: wins 2/7 categories
Comparing
Best programme: Economics
Nottingham, The United Kingdom
4.30
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171 reviews
×
Best programme: Chemical Engineering
Edinburgh, The United Kingdom
4.00
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208 reviews
×
Best programme: Accounting and Finance
Best programme: Human Resource Management
Derby, The United Kingdom
4.40
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34 reviews
×
Best programme: Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Brighton, The United Kingdom
3.90
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59 reviews
×
Best programme: Accounting
4.70
Top
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9 reviews
×
Best programme: Culinary Arts
Category ratings
Facilities
4.04
4.35
3.87
4.16
4.32
4.10
4.56
Win
Location
4.78
Win
4.42
3.45
3.84
4.21
4.36
4.78
Professors
4.26
4.09
4.09
4.42
4.30
4.11
4.67
Win
Internationality
4.80
Win
4.18
3.78
4.29
4.21
3.86
4.67
Student life
3.63
4.55
Win
3.80
3.48
4.03
4.33
4.00
Value
4.04
4.11
3.85
4.10
4.21
Win
3.82
4.00
Accommodation
3.78
3.92
3.61
3.40
4.03
Win
3.74
3.22
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • +Expert and experienced faculty
  • +Supportive and collaborative community atmosphere
  • +Diverse and flexible learning and assessment methods
  • +Excellent campus facilities and supportive faculty.
  • +Strong academic programmes with a focus on practical skills and cultural understanding.
  • +Vibrant student life with diverse societies and convenient city access.
  • +Supportive and approachable staff and technical teams
  • +Valuable and recognized academic programmes with international recognition
  • +Opportunities for personal and professional growth through projects and societies
  • +Supportive, knowledgeable, and accessible faculty
  • +Engaging, innovative, and comprehensive course content
  • +Vibrant campus life and diverse student community
  • +Excellent lecturers and quality education
  • +Strong student support and feeling heard
  • +Modern facilities and practical, employability-focused learning
  • +Engaging and supportive faculty
  • +Rich student experience and personal growth
  • +Abundant resources and extracurriculars
  • +exceptional quality of teaching and knowledgeable, approachable instructors
  • +strong emphasis on precision, quality, and professional skill development
  • +welcoming environment and supportive alumni network
Cons
  • -Poor teaching quality and lack of structure in academic programs.
  • -Inadequate support services and limited social opportunities.
  • -High fees with perceived low value and administrative issues.
  • -Limited module choices despite high tuition fees.
  • -Poor teaching quality and lack of academic support result in unhelpful education.
  • -Insufficient or outdated facilities hinder learning and career development opportunities.
  • -Administrative issues and lack of clear direction create a confusing and negative experience.
  • -Lack of academic and administrative support.
  • -Ineffective teaching and unclear assignment guidance.
  • -Insufficient time for major projects.
  • -Inconsistent teaching quality and lecturer availability, including frequent reliance on pre-recorded materials.
  • -Misleading course promises and unexpected shifts to online learning.
  • -Poor academic support and teaching quality.
  • -Disappointing course content and relevance.
  • -Unwelcoming environment and difficult social integration.
  • -Administrative and management issues cause significant frustration.
  • -Outdated facilities and technology hinder the learning experience.
  • -Lack of career support and industry relevance leads to dissatisfaction.
Rating summary
What students say

Perceived strengths of this institution lie significantly in its **Location** and **Internationality**, both receiving top marks. Conversely, **Student Life** emerges as the area with the lowest reported satisfaction. Ratings for Facilities, Professors, Accomodation, and Value fall within a moderate to good range, indicating generally positive feedback across these aspects.

This institution receives outstanding reviews for its student life, scoring a remarkable 4.55. Location also garners high praise at 4.42, closely followed by facilities at 4.35. Conversely, accommodation presents a weaker area with a rating of 3.92. Other aspects like professors, internationality, and value fall within a solid range, indicating a generally positive university experience.

A comprehensive assessment reveals a university with generally positive feedback. Professors are a standout strength, earning the highest score. In contrast, the location received the lowest rating among the surveyed aspects. Other areas like facilities, student life, internationality, and value also scored well, demonstrating a solid overall performance. Accommodations also received a respectable, though not top-tier, evaluation.

Demonstrating robust strengths in key areas, this university excels with particularly high marks for its professors and internationality. Facilities and value are also well-regarded. Conversely, student life and accommodation present as areas for potential improvement, receiving the lowest scores. Location also shows room for enhancement.

With most categories scoring well above 4.0, this university demonstrates robust strengths, particularly in **Facilities** (4.32), closely followed by **Professors** (4.30). **Location**, **Internationality**, and **Value** also received consistently high marks at 4.21. The areas with the most room for improvement, though still rated positively, are **Student Life** and **Accomodation**, both hovering around the 4.03 mark.

This institution demonstrates considerable strengths, particularly in its **location** and **student life**, both scoring above 4.3. **Facilities** and **professors** also receive strong marks around 4.1. However, **accommodation** stands out as the weakest area, receiving a rating of 3.74. **Internationality** and **value** are mid-range at approximately 3.86 and 3.82 respectively, indicating areas for potential improvement.

This institution receives high marks for its Location, scoring 4.78, and for its Professors and Internationality, both at 4.67. Facilities also rate well at 4.56. Student Life and Value are both solid at 4.00. The weakest area is Accomodation, which received a rating of 3.22.

Reviews summary
Highlights

Most reviews (~74%) are positive, praising academic reputation, expert faculty, and excellent resources. A small percentage (~3.4%) express dissatisfaction with lecturing quality, course structure, or career services.

University reviews are overwhelmingly positive (~90%), with students praising supportive faculty, excellent facilities, and enjoyable campus life. The single negative review mentioned curriculum limitations.

Approximately 74% of reviews are positive, highlighting good professors, valuable learning, and supportive staff. A small ~1.9% of feedback mentions a lack of course support and teaching, or career/internship opportunities.

Approximately 74% of reviews are positive, highlighting valuable courses, supportive faculty, and a lively student environment. A single negative review mentioned a lack of course support and unhelpful lecturers.

Most reviews (around 91%) are highly positive, praising incredible lecturers, top-notch facilities, and strong support. A small percentage (around 3%) mentioned issues like inconsistent grading or lecturers not showing up.

~74% of reviews are positive, highlighting excellent teaching quality, faculty dedication, and student experience. A small portion (~8.5%) of feedback mentioned poor academic support and course content.

All 9 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.67/5. Students highlight exceptional teaching quality and knowledgeable instructors, along with impeccable facilities. The curriculum and emphasis on precision are frequently praised.

Rating distribution
5★
34%
42%
26%
39%
56%
36%
67%
4★
44%
48%
51%
36%
32%
31%
33%
3★
19%
10%
21%
21%
9%
25%
0%
2★
2%
1%
1%
3%
3%
7%
0%
1★
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
0%
Most useful review
Most liked
Great Experience

LSE is a great place to create life-long connections and friends. There's a certain sense of community that is special to the university. The staff are hands-on and approachable. The facilities are modern and well-equipped.

great uni

The university of Nottingham is a fantastic Russell Group university. Even speaking objectively, the university has a reputation for academic excellence; accordingly, it is ranked 66 in the world and 10 in the UK for employability according to QS 2022 rankings. In my experience, I can see why this is the case! I can only speak for the Faculty of Arts, but the staff are great and the content they teach is generally very interesting. The lectures are well prepared, and the powerpoint slides are always provided to students - many lecturers also record their lectures for those that can’t attend. Reading lists for each module are comprehensive, with core readings, recommended readings, and further readings available, alongside many other online resources to help with your studies. My biggest piece of advice is to take full advantage of what is available to you, especially the brains of your professors! They are there to help and will happily meet with you to discuss your work; they have always been quick to respond to my own queries on email and friendly and helpful in person. As is to be expected at uni, you will not be spoon fed. While I stand-by the fact that the lectures here are interesting, you are expected to go above and beyond with your reading and research. Sometimes the lectures may not even have any relevance to the assignments; do not make the mistake of thinking the lecture materials are all you need for your courseworks. In my first year a professor reminded me that I am meant to be a full-time student, which means I need to study like one! This means at least a few hours of work outside of lectures or seminars a day - of course in first year this isn’t as necessary but in second and third year I would try to take this advice on board if you want to do well. In relation to lectures and university staff, be aware that there are a lot of strikes ongoing, and so lots of teaching and some assignments are likely to be impacted. This seems to be a nationwide issue, but staff in the Faculty of Arts here often partake in the strikes. Nottingham is a super sporty university! There are a huge number of sports and societies to get involved with, make sure you go to the freshers fair to check out all your options and sign up to trial anything that might interest you. Don’t overlook the importance of these as a source of entertainment and places to meet new people. However, I will say is that there is a big drinking culture that is especially evident in sports teams so if that doesn’t appeal to you then its something to be wary of. As far as I can tell though, this isn’t limited just to UON, and many big universities have this culture. Furthermore, uni sports are pretty expensive. If you are part of a team you will have to pay a membership subscription, some sports require you to have a sports village pass, and will have to pay for kits/uniform. Even when trying new sports or wanting to play for fun instead of for competition, you will have to pay £5-10 per session. at the moment, only catered halls are available on campus, with self-catered halls being a little more further out, although all are within a reasonable distance. If I could repeat first year, I would pick one of the catered halls - I think the shared dining halls encourage more social interaction, the fantastic facilities on campus are much more easily accessible, and of course there is the added bonus of not having to cook or clean up! Finally, the surrounding areas are lovely. The main campus is absolutely gorgeous and green, with tons of wildlife. Keep an eye out for the bunnies! There are free hopper buses between University park, Jubilee and Sutton Bonnington. Beeston and Lenton in particular have wonderful student communities, where most students will live in their second and third years, but the city as a whole feels very student-oriented given the presence of two huge universities.

The campus

Love Heriot Watt! I’ve been studying in the Dubai campus and I’ve now transferred to the Edinburgh one and it’s amazing! The campus has many useful facilities and there always creative events taking place for students to interact.

More programme coordination

The lecturers in my programme are quite helpful. Would recommend they infuse some kind of practice or practicality into the program. A little bit of programme coordination, and more interaction with peers should be incorporated.

Derby is Lovely

Derby is amazing, they are super organized and is great with communication. They ensure that all their students feel heard, safe, and involved in everything. I'm in my second year, and I have no complaints thus far.

Working while studying

Studying at the University of Brighton allows me to flexiblility of working and studying at the same time - so I don't have to chose between the two. As the course I'm studying is also online, this allows me to keep up with my social life and job in my home town while enjoying the range of oppounities Brighton has to offer.

Student in 2013

I really enjoyed my time at LCB! I've found that my skills when I entered the work force were much higher than others. I think though there was a big portion missing in recipe development and composition. True- we did learn it through memorizing the recipes, but we really were missing classes on how different ingredients affect the final textures.. how you can change them... etc. That I still am not an expert in .. and I create recipes! Ouf! Also, I don't know if you still do a month of sugar work... but that really wasn't necessary and should be either cut or minimized to just 2 lessons. It's such a niche skill to know that I would have really preferred more technical skills. I loved the old location. The "rumors" I'm getting about the new location are that it's not as good, unfortunately - that i's become more of a money focused/marketing machine. I really hope that this image can be fixed as I love LCB and enjoyed my time there! Oh also - there should be more help for students to get jobs and featuring old students accomplishments - from cookbook launches to new bakeries so that current and old students can support them.

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