Middle class, oversubscribed and highly satisfied: Welcome to Exeter

You are studying at the seventh best uni in the country, according to the Sunday Times.

The paper ranks Exeter top in the battle for best uni in the South West, beating Bristol and Bath.

Our strong showing is down to high scores on student satisfaction and employability, and a low drop-out rate.

And Exeter students were cockahoop at the news, even if they felt a little guilt about their privilege.

Mia Jones, a second year English student, said: “I’m delighted by the fact that Exeter has been named the top uni in the south west, as my brother goes to Bristol and it’s always good to beat them at things.

“But it doesn’t hide the fact that we are a uni full of white, middle class, private school kids.”

Admission to the Russell Group and being named The Times Uni Guide’s Uni of the Year 2012 led to a surge of applications, with over six people applying for each place.

And not only is it number one in the South West, Exeter is now ranked seventh nationally.

But Exeter hasn’t managed to shake off the image of a gilet-wearing, polo-playing, privileged university.

It came in sixth in the Middle Class league with only 69.1% of its students coming from state schools and just 15.8% from the lowest social classes.

University of Exeter’s Business School