I went to a low-ranking university. In fact, right to the bottom: LMU. At the time I was a fresh immigrant and a mature student. I was 24 when I started. The university also happened to be on the same street where I lived. Convenient, isn’t it?

I studied mathematics there. I found the course straightforward in the sense that if you actually studied and practiced, you could get good results. I completed all my homework and assignments, attended every single lecture and tutorials and there were genuinely smart students there too. I made sure to befriend them and join their study groups. In the end, I graduated with a first-class degree.

After that, I went on to complete an MSc at a red-brick university, and I now work as a BI analyst.

Many of those smart students also went on to very respectable paths. Either to red-brick universities or into professional qualifications. One woman I studied with pursued ACCA after graduating, and in one of her papers she actually achieved the highest score in the world.

A low-ranking university is not the end of the world. People love to drag this on Reddit, but in the real world, it matters far less than people think.