University of Manchester on research and international reputation, whereas national rankings are largely based on entry standards, graduate prospects and student satisfaction with teaching at the university. In fact, a recent poll voted Manchester as the third "most underrated university in the UK" More students apply to Manchester than to any other university in the country, with more than 55,000 applications for undergraduate courses in 2014 resulting in 6.5 applicants for every available place. Manchester had the 17th highest average entry qualification for undergraduates of any UK university in 2015, with new students averaging 431 UCAS points, equivalent to just above A*AAb or
The Great Courses was coherent and logical. Analyst Heather Mac Donald, writing in the conservative publication "City Journal", described the courses offered by "The Teaching Company" as more mainstream than what is offered at traditional American liberal arts colleges. She described the course selection as being driven by market forces, with the firm's founder, Tom Rollins, querying customers as to what subjects they wanted to learn about, and using market research techniques to figure out what courses to offer, and even what lectures to include, to satisfy an intensely loyal customer base. As a result, there is less emphasis in the catalog on