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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Which uni for psychology with A * A A year 12 results

76 replies

Rainydaysgetmedown · 04/05/2023 15:13

DD has just got A * A A for her year 12 exams and wants to apply for psychology. Wasn’t expecting this so I think she will probably have a realistic chance of applying most places. Any suggestions: she doesn’t want any London uni’s, Leeds or Nottingham. I can’t see her in somewhere like Exeter. Don’t think GCSE’s are good enough for oxbridge, all 7’s, and not currently doing maths or biology A level. She’s keen on Bristol or Liverpool and that’s about as far as we have got.

OP posts:
crazycrofter · 04/05/2023 18:02

When dd applied for Psychology all the unis we looked at asked for a science - but Psychology counted. Her other A Levels were humanities, but her GSCEs were all at 8/9

Delphigirl · 04/05/2023 18:15

Cardiff and Southampton are also good psychology departments not yet mentioned.

recklessgran · 04/05/2023 18:17

My DD went to Warwick - great course which she enjoyed and came out with a 1st. She also had offers from St. Andrews, UCL, Durham and York all of which offered course content that interested her. Honestly I think the best thing is for your DD to look at the course content and see which would best fit her particular interests.

NotmykingEatCake · 04/05/2023 18:19

Cardiff! Outstanding course and research, top 5 for psych, amazing small city, friendly and safe.

I went there and have an excellent career in psychology as have many of my course mates.

caringcarer · 04/05/2023 19:12

Warwick is good for Psychology.

Carmelalefou · 04/05/2023 19:15

Bath. But they may want A level maths.

EwwSprouts · 04/05/2023 19:51

DS's friend is loving psychology at Newcastle. Psychology A level is acceptable as the science A level they require.

Original poster
Rainydaysgetmedown · 04/05/2023 20:24

titchy · 04/05/2023 17:42

Psychology is incredibly competitive and while those are great predictions, not having Maths or Biology may be problematic - what is she doing? Some previous suggestions may well not accept an applicant without those subjects.

This is my concern to be honest, that she doesn’t have maths or biology

OP posts:
Original poster
Rainydaysgetmedown · 04/05/2023 20:25

Fifthtimelucky · 04/05/2023 17:20

What is it about Leeds and Nottingham that she doesn't like? And what is it about Bristol and Liverpool that she does?

My daughter did psychology at Exeter but she also really liked Birmingham and found it very tough to choose between them.

Nothing to do with the courses. They’re v popular with students from our local area and for that reason alone I can’t convince her to consider them. I have tried as agree they’re great options

OP posts:
Original poster
Rainydaysgetmedown · 04/05/2023 20:26

crazycrofter · 04/05/2023 18:02

When dd applied for Psychology all the unis we looked at asked for a science - but Psychology counted. Her other A Levels were humanities, but her GSCEs were all at 8/9

She’s doing psychology a level

OP posts:
HuntingoftheSnark · 04/05/2023 20:29

DD read Psychology at York and didn't have maths or biology. She had A levels in psychology, English and economics. Loved it.

InglouriousBasterd · 04/05/2023 20:32

Cardiff! RG Uni, amazing established department with incredible equipment and Cardiff is generally just a lovely little city.

redrobin75 · 04/05/2023 20:39

My dd has applied for psychology this year with 9/8s at GCSE and A*AA. She has offers from York, Cardiff, Warwick and Exeter and waited until late April for an offer from Bath.

With her predictions she wouldn't have considered Durham or Oxbridge.

Titsywoo · 04/05/2023 20:40

My DD has those predicted grades and has firmed Cardiff for September. Great city and uni and very well respected for psychology (this is what my DD is doing too).

Titsywoo · 04/05/2023 20:41

Plus the uni fees are slightly lower and the accommodation cheaper.

CaloriecountMay2023 · 04/05/2023 20:43

York does a psychology degree and in year 2 they pick the students who get the best results to be fast tracked onto the PHD course in Hull after they finish their 3 year degree I think it’s six years in total.

Gatekeeper · 04/05/2023 20:46

EwwSprouts · 04/05/2023 19:51

DS's friend is loving psychology at Newcastle. Psychology A level is acceptable as the science A level they require.

In contrast my dd is at Newcastle and isnt. Tuition sketchy to non existant at times. Very poor ans she has gone from wanting to take Masters/PhD to just leaving it all far behind her

EwwSprouts · 04/05/2023 20:50

@Gatekeeper Wow that is a very difference experience. I know face to face is less than DS has on a STEM course but friend said strikes hadn't had a big impact. He was round here over Easter and it was so lovely to see him beaming.

Fifthtimelucky · 05/05/2023 06:54

My recollection from when we were looking was that the content of all the BPS-accredited courses was much the same.

The main differences were around options for doing a 4th year. Some offered an integrated masters, which was more competitive. Others had a year abroad, or a year out.

Other than that, it was about the feel of the place and whether you think can see yourself living there for 3 or 4 years. We had a quick visit to Cardiff, which my daughter liked, but when we later went to Exeter and Birmingham she decided that she really wanted a campus university.

In terms of grades and subjects, Bath was ruled out for us because they wanted at least an A for GCSE maths, which my daughter didn't have. Her only science A level was psychology (others were very unscientific - English and drama) but that wasn't a barrier anywhere and she received offers from Exeter, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

ManyRiversToCross · 05/05/2023 07:14

Any uni that requires maths or biology doesn't properly understand being a psychologist.

The skills of being excellent at seeing the bigger picture and also analysis of detail are much more likely to be found in someone who excels at English Lit or history.

The need for statistical analysis - a big thing in A level psych and uni - is irrelevant in actual working as a psychologist, unless the person plans to be a research psych in a uni (and even then, most psychology research is qualitative and thematic not numerical). It makes me cross that some unis stress this and reject people who would be excellent actual psychologists on spurious grounds.

I didn't like York's course, which had a large vivisection theme, as did UCL (they kept rats for experimenting) but this was a while ago. Manchester and Nottingham were good; Birmingham very workload heavy. But again things may have changed.

As an actual working psychologist of 25 years, we never even enquire about which uni someone attended when we hire them....as long as they are bps accredited, it's the work experience and post graduate courses (eg clinical or educational psych training) that matter more.

Original poster
Rainydaysgetmedown · 05/05/2023 08:08

Thank you very much for all your advice.

OP posts:
Martinisarebetterdirty · 05/05/2023 08:20

I read Psychology at Liverpool over 20 years ago, I don’t know if they still hold the criminology department there but it was excellent. There wasn’t a lot of face to face tuition, you were expected to be self sufficient, I thought this was par for the course with Psychology.
Unlike PP I do understand the biology or maths requirements, when I studied there were a lot of statistics and a fair chunk of my syllabus was neuroscience. Having said that, perhaps that is not the best grounding for someone who wants to practice as a Psychologist, very few on my course took the clinical route as it was just too competitive.
Birmingham is good, Manchester always had a good reputation, Sheffield is excellent (and Sheffield Hallam has always had a good Psychology department although appreciate she may want red brick). I’d not discount Oxbridge, it still opens doors later in life and some colleges are easier to get in to than others. Wishing her the best of luck!

Whichwhatnow · 05/05/2023 10:31

I don't know about for psych specifically but can just reaffirm that Bristol is an excellent university and a great place to be a student - I've also ended up living back here a decade after graduating with no plans to leave again, it's just a brilliant city! So many great pubs, live music venues, exhibitions etc etc.

I haven't lived in Cardiff but go there quite regularly for gigs etc and it seems like a really fun, lovely place to live with an awful lot going on if that's important to her.

Sorry, not helping much on the academics side but I think it's important to be somewhere you really love living as a student, provided that the course and uni is very well respected too, which Bristol and Cardiff both are.

Crikeyalmighty · 05/05/2023 10:37

Bath, Cardiff and York - all great places to live as a student without being overwhelming. I live near Bath Uni and I do know psychology there is very competitive to get in- some students were discussing it on the bus !

bottleofbeer · 17/05/2023 01:28

I'm absolutely shit at maths, I genuinely think I may have dyscalculia. I got a first in psychology. They understand you're not doing a maths degree so there are statistical packages like SPSS.

Although yes, a lot of unis will still ask for good maths grades. But it's arses on seats, so a lot will look the other way if your maths isn't wonderful. Yes, it was a BPS accredited degree.