Campus Contacts Send Our Friends in the North to Top Table Web Site Reveals Friendliest Universities in 2006
(PRWEB) June 7, 2006
Northern and Scottish universities come out on top as the UK’s most friendly, as they make up 80 per cent of this year’s Top Ten Friendliest Universities listing produced by Friends Reunited.
The results suggest that the North’s reputation as a land of hospitality and fun is stronger than that of the South among today’s young people, contradicting the stereotype of northern blunt stand-offishness.
The list, headed by Manchester Metropolitan University, is a ranking based on each establishment’s ‘friendliness rating’, governed by how much ex-students stay in touch with each other through the Friends Reunited website.
In addition to the league table, Friends Reunited separately questioned more than 2,000 students and alumni on how student life has changed over the decades.
The contrast revealed between the generation that attended higher education in the 1960s and today’s scholars is fascinating.
The type of course on offer remains the most important reason behind a modern student’s choice of university. However, students are now around 10 times more likely to choose a university on the basis of its social life than their grandparents.
Michael Murphy, Chief Executive of Friends Reunited said, “This explains why places renowned for their busy social scene like Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds are in the top ten of most friendly universities.
“The results indicate that the majority of these are based in more northerly latitudes. The institutions from the South that have performed well in friendliness are in London – the capital – and Brighton, often described as the social capital of England.
“The survey results show that northerners are more likely to stay in the North than southerners are to stay in the South.”
Perhaps an even bigger surprise is that even though students now face considerably more debt than the ‘60s generation, they are half as likely to attend an institution near their home.
Michael Murphy said: “It may be that there is a link between the cost of living and friendliness that could be worthy of further study.”
Vice-Chancellor of top ranking Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor John Brooks said: “Students at MMU not only get a first-class education, they’re also equipped for life with great communication skills which helps them build and maintain lasting friendships.
“As a Londoner myself, who worked for many years in the West Midlands, I’m well-placed to vouch for the very warm welcome afforded to visitors to Manchester.”
Jo Ellis, 22, a 2005 Philosophy graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University said: “Manchester Met has always been the underdog to Manchester Uni and so we’re constantly striving to be the best in everything, including the friends we make! Such a huge student population probably helps and northerners are, in general, far more down to earth and friendly than southerners.”
And Susan Quantrell, a 34-year-old former speech pathology student, confirmed that her experiences at Newcastle University – which came second in the Friendliest Top Ten – agreed with results.
“Geordies really know how to party – so the students at Newcastle just try and out do them. It makes for some awesome – and bizarre – nights out.”
Offering an explanation of why Manchester Metropolitan University has topped the table this year, Jamie Bulger, President of the University’s Student Union said: “Being set across seven campuses, has created seven small, close-knit communities where students forge life-long friendships. On top of this, the city itself is very student friendly and local businesses appreciate having several thousand students on their doorstep. Northern towns and cities, in general, seem to be more welcoming to students than in the south.”
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
The full top 100 list is available
Case studies and quotes from ex-students are available
The Friends Reunited University Friendship League Table 2006
University Friendliness Rating
1 Manchester Metropolitan University 96.2%
2 University of Newcastle upon Tyne 96.0%
3 University of Brighton 95.7%
4 University of Hull 95.6%
5 Goldsmiths College – London University 95.2%
6 University of Bradford 95.1%
7 University College London 94.6%
7 University of Wolverhampton 94.6%
8 Leeds Metropolitan University 93.9%
9 Glasgow University 93.3%
10 Aberdeen University 92.4%
About University Friendship League Tables
The University Friendship League Tables have been formulated by analysing data from the Friends Reunited website to give each university a ‘friendliness’ rating. This is determined by the average number of emails sent by each ex-student to their uni mates and the average number of students who send messages. Friends Reunited has looked only at the number of messages sent, not at the contents, which remain confidential. Only people who actively use the site to correspond with other members are taken into account. Visits by those who are ‘just looking’ to see who from their university is registered are not included.
About Friends Reunited
Friends Reunited was launched in July 2000 as a back bedroom hobby. A combination of word of mouth and immense media attention has propelled the site to phenomenon status, expanding beyond the school friends proposition to include workplaces, teams/clubs and streets. Friends Reunited has touched many thousands of lives, reuniting friends and family around the globe.
12 million people registered (about half of all UK households with internet access)
5,000 new members registered on average per day (more than enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall every day)
4,500 years have been spent looking at the site by the UK public (if you started reading when the Pyramids were built, you’d just be finishing now)
6.5 billion pages of the Web site have been looked at in total (that’s the same as reading 4.2 million copies of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
###
©Copyright 1997-
, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
may I share this posting on my facebook..?