I'm a student from India, and I have recently received my class 12 CBSE results in which I have scored 96% in the science stream. I have applied to 5 universities in the UK through UCAS for mechanical engineering, the details of which are given below :
Manchester : ME + Management (90% entry requirement)
Warwick : ME + Management (85% entry requirement)
Bristol : ME (80% entry requirement)
Nottingham : ME (75% entry requirement)
Southampton : ME (75% entry requirement)
My concern is that your league tables seem to suggest that Southampton and Nottingham are among the top universities for Mechanical Engineering in the UK, but the comparatively lower entry requirements do not seem to suggest so. Warwick isn't even accorded with a rank in Mechanical Engineering in your table, while Manchester (which has the highest entry requirement) has a considerably low ranking for ME. Thus would it be possible for you to suggest which university would be ideal for ME with a percentage like mine, and it would be helpful if you could also throw some light on why the colleges with the highest rankings have a considerably low entry requirement.
P.S - At this late stage would it also be feasible/possible to apply to a top tier institute like the Imperial College of London since I have obtained a reasonably high percentage? If so, it would be helpful if you could elucidate the steps that need to be taken to do so.
