South bank university?

Question

Ive read an article on the london south bank university website that says according to a survey that undergraduates who study there will earn £185,600 more than someone without a degree. it also says that the average graduate earns £160,000 more than someone without a degree. southbank claims that there degrees are worth £25,600 more than the average graduate earns in his working life. is this article true or is this a load of nonsense?.

Answer 1

I imagine that it is true. The £160,000 figure is in line with what I have heard in the US. As for South Bank University graduates doing slightly better than average -- you have to realize that most of its graduates probably get jobs in London, where the average pay is higher than elsewhere. I doubt that its graduates do better than University of London or LSE.

you have to be careful about these kinds of statistics. For example, in the USA, Duke University and Columbia University have similar rankings for their MBA programs. On average Duke students make $5000-$10000 less than Columbia students. However, most Columbia students end up in New York. Many Duke students stay in the South where pay and cost of living are less. It turns out that the Duke students who go to NYC make as much as Columbia students.

Answer 2

You should ask yourself the reasons why a university would want to emphasise a point like that in its marketing. I'd then suggest you draw up a quick list of all those universities that market themselves on tube trains, the side of buses, flyers on car windscreens etc and then... all those that don't. Of those that do use these tactics see if you can see a common themes. And then compare those universities with the published university league tables and other common indicators of popularity. You'll quickly find your answer.