Questions about Biology/Zoology at uni

[BlueMarigold]

We have started looking at unis for DD (Year 12) so she will know where to apply next year.

Does anyone know about Bangor and Aberystwyth and what they are like? She is very interested in Bangor but I am worried because I read in the news that Bangor are making staff cuts.

What is happening at the universities this year with regards to field trips? Are they just cancelled?

Does anyone have experience of their child doing Zoology or Biology that can offer some advice and reassurance? How are they getting on at the moment during this pandemic?

TIA

Update... DD has target grades of AAB. I realise that this is not the same as predicted grades but they are higher than I thought they would be!

So if she applied to somewhere like Sheffield which says it requires AAB, would she be likely to be given an offer?

What is the importance of the personal statement?

For Zoology or Biology? If she meets the entry grades she will probably get an offer.

Check out whether Sheffield use the PS in their selection criteria. It should be on their web site. Some universities use it as a tie breaker. For under subscribed science subjects it might be less important. Were the courses in clearing? They probably give advice on the PS too. Basically put down why you want the course. What your interests are that support your application, what you have done regarding extra reading etc. Then a bit about you. But mostly it should be about your suitability for the course.

Not sure exactly which subject she will end up going for but they have the same entry requirements and once you’re in, you can change from one course to the other as they have the same modules in the first year.

I am trying to stay positive but now and again I have these doubts about my DD and whether or not she will be good enough to get accepted into university. We are not at all clued up on EPQs and Personal statements etc. She’s at a non-selective state school and you hear all this stuff about how universities favour children from private schools and grammar schools and they will probably have better grades than her.

You mentioned Bristol in an earlier post, and the fact that she meets their criteria for a contextual offer. That's BBB for biology. If those grades are likely to be her predicted grades then she's very likely to get an offer
I'd talk to the head of sixth form or at least the head of biology about her personal statement. If not, the universities have information on their websites telling you what they're looking for. Please don't worry too much about the personal statement; it takes time to do but as long as she's interested in the course and can talk about the things that interest her the most, the rest is following the formula.
My DD is also from non selective state school and FE college, now studying a bioscience at university. Her college helped her draft her personal statement and she received offers from all five universities.
If your daughter meets contextual offer criteria for a number of universities then it's probably worth checking if an EPQ at grade A or B is of any benefit in securing a lower offer; it may be that contextual offer is the lowest offer anyway

She’s at a non-selective state school and you hear all this stuff about how universities favour children from private schools and grammar schools and they will probably have better grades than her.

Not true at all! The vast majority of kids at uni went to normal state schools. With predicted of AAB she should get four, if not five offers.

Thank you! I think she will meet some university contextual offer criteria based on our postcode and Bristol lists some schools and her school is included.

Sheffield say they give a lower offer if you get a B or above in the EPQ. I don’t know if that is on top of a contextual offer?

I know she will be applying around this time next year but when will she have to do her personal statement? Is it over summer?

That’s so good your DD got offers from all 5 unis! I hope that happens for my DD too.

She'll need her personal statement ready to go on her application. For most courses ( everything except medicine, dentistry, vet med and Oxbridge) the deadline in early January in her y13. School will probably want her to work on it from summer in y12 and will probably set an internal deadline some weeks before the actual deadline.
My DD dropped her EPQ in the end so can't help you on that point but that's what I was wondering too. It might not actually confer any grade benefit if a student meets criteria for contextual offer. You can message the universities directly for an answer to that one.
A level grades are the most important thing though so if she's struggling to do her EPQ don't let it get in the way of her studies. Good luck

The attached will get you clued up about the personal statement. Two pieces of great info from Cambridge and slightly different info from Leeds. Bristol and Sheffield will probably be happy with the Leeds version! But the Cambridge one is really helpful but is very focussed on academics. As you would expect.

Thank you @Guymere! That is very helpful especially since I tried to find that information on the Leeds website and couldn’t!

DD can’t apply for Oxford and Cambridge as she isn’t doing Chemistry A level but she doesn’t want to go there anyway. She wanted to specifically do Zoology. She’s only recently started thinking about Biology but only at unis that do Zoology so she can pick mostly Zoology modules.

She still likes Bangor and wants to put it on her list.

@Tickledtrout thank you for that advice. We don’t know for sure whether she will be doing an EPQ. She has to put forward a proposal soon and the best ones are selected.

I am more worried about the personal statement because it seems that even if she gets good grades, she may not get an offer if they don’t like the sound of her. I found some examples of PSs online and there are full of quotes and people having attended academic lectures, read way beyond the subject for fun or have some pretty amazing work experience. Although DD likes her subjects, I just don’t think she is going to want to spend her spare time researching biology.

Although DD likes her subjects, I just don’t think she is going to want to spend her spare time researching Biology.

That might be her main issue tbh. Most people don't have amazing job experience, but it is cheap and easy to listen to pod casts, read on line journals, follow the zoology news of the day and therefore be able to define exactly why you want to study it.

My nephew did Zoology at Aber, and was accepted with Btecs, no ALevels. He loved it and did some amazing job experience with big cats, monkeys and birds. Sadly he never got a job in his field, and neither did anyone else on the course.

My nephew did Zoology at Aber, and was accepted with Btecs, no ALevels. He loved it and did some amazing job experience with big cats, monkeys and birds. Sadly he never got a job in his field, and neither did anyone else on the course.

I suppose the answer might be 'Yes', if he has never managed to get a job at all, or only deeply uninteresting ones leading nowhere, or had to undergo expensive further study / training for a career that, with hindsight, he wishes he had chosen at 18, but - Would he rather not have had all that at all, than only be able to have it for his time at university...?

@Baaaahhhhh I am sorry to hear about your nephew. What does he do now?

As far as I'm.aware (in Aberystwyth at least) a lot of the biological sciences are quite transferable in first year. So she could changed the main degree Biology to Zoology (or another) if she decides it's best for her.

I think Aber is up there with being one of the best universities for students too.

To clarify I mean it rates high for student satisfaction.

BlueMarigold He has done a mix of bar work and retail. Now lives in Dublin, which he loves.

That’s why it should be Biology! It’s a much broader course and it’s possibly unwise to specialise too early and then be disappointed. Most people aim for a job in their field with a science degree. So it must be disappointing not to get anything.

Regarding the PS: don’t look online! There will always be people who have gone to Kenya to raise orphan leopards etc. What you can do is look at the course content, decide what is most interesting and write about how your interests fit in. You don’t have to have read book after book but, for example, what got DD interested in the subject? What motivates her to study something in greater depth? Was it a book, a film, Big Cat Diary etc. Something must have triggered an interest? Does she read BBC Wildlife magazine?

Then look at what she has done to support her application. Anything school has provided? Has she studied any animal in depth? I’m not an expert at writing a PS on Biology but most students don’t have amazing experiences to quote. They do read about their subject because it’s a low cost option and they look at relevant tv programmes and get inspiration from aspects of life they have encountered. I’m wondering if my haddock supper was a fish sustainably caught! What might be a concern of your DD where the study of Biology Or Zoology could make a difference? What about studying a SSI area near you? Or any area of biological diversity? Then write about how that made her want to study at x university.

Got a virtual open day at Aber next week.

Got a virtual open day at Aber next week.

Sounds good.

I really enjoyed traipsing off round the country with our three for open days etc - I'm tempted to sign up for a few more virtual ones myself, given that a day trip to Canterbury in the pouring rain for a campus tour at Kent with DS2 last month was almost the nearest thing to a holiday I've had this year...