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Higher education

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Original poster

Hot to maximise chance of an offer at York or Bath

63 replies

Failingteenparenting · 22/07/2023 08:45

DS very focused on going to York or Bath to study Politics with International Relations. At Bath he would do it with Russian as a new language.

Both courses seem pretty oversubscribed. Both have A*AB as average offer. He is predicted exactly that. His GCSEs aren’t great (3x8, 5x7, 2x 6). He has a great reference from his politics teacher and some work experience with an MP. He is studying AS French but nobody seems to count that.

anything we can do to maximise chance of an offer?

OP posts:
clary · 22/07/2023 12:33

OneHundredOtters · 22/07/2023 12:29

If his other trades are in doubt and he doesn't need it I'd drop As French and concentrate on getting the best grades he can in his three subjects as that is what his entrance will be based on.

I was assuming he had sat AS French this summer tbh - but yes, if it is something he is taking in yr 13 then I would drop it.

Piggywaspushed · 22/07/2023 14:13

I am not convinced York are big PS readers. My DS applied for SPS at York. Got an offer within days. I think most York applicants do. Bath might be the more fussy of the two in terms of offers, and definitely the slower. But , again, DS, got an offer from them.

Your DS's GCSE grades are not remotely humble OP.

He'll get an offer - he'll just need to make it.

Piggywaspushed · 22/07/2023 14:15

What do you mean by average offer by the way? Their offer is what it says it is in the prospectus?

Rummikub · 22/07/2023 14:24

Btw those are great GCSEs - equal to BB AAAAA Astar Astar Astar. How sad that we are now in a place where those grades are disappointing. The vast vast majority of DC don't get all 8s and 9s, despite what you might read on MN.

completely agree. They are great grades. The introduction of a grade 8/9 has changed perception of a grade A and that’s demoralising for our young people.

Id suggest a conversation with teachers regarding predicted grades. Is there any movement on that? His work experience sounds good too. This needs to be reflected in in the personal statement.

SideWonder · 22/07/2023 14:31

He needs to get the grades. It's that basic ...

What might also help is if his personal statement doesn't just talk about his work experience with an MP, but HOW that has filtered into his academic study.

Not everyone has the opportunity to do this kind of work experience (a lot of kids need to earn money in part-time jobs to help support their families) so we can't take that alone into account. It wouldn't be fair. But a thoughtful reflection on what learning has come out of the work experience he's had.

NotDonna · 22/07/2023 23:45

Different course (Business) - DD firmed Bath and insured York currently awaiting grades. Both York and Bath reduced their offers (AAB to ABB & AAA to AAB respectively) for a B or above in core maths, which she already had plus predictions of AAA. Same applies for a A in the EPQ (if either of those are an option in yr13 without them affecting his other grades).
York definitely did not read her personal statement as offer made within 48 hrs. Conversely Bath state they are read by two independent assessors and took a good while to offer.
The fact he’s adding a language is a huge bonus. I looked at Bath today and saw ‘Business’ in clearing but it’s only the two which include a language. There’s a lot of talk around students with a language having an edge.
I’d recommend DS writes a personal statement with Bath in mind - they offer quite a bit of guidance on their website and include videos of what it needs to include.
Good luck to him!

AliTheMinx · 23/07/2023 08:38

I work at Bath (not in Admissions) and know that every PS is read and this is an important factor, so a tailored PS which shows a real.interest in the subject will be essential. It's a wonderful university!

Nextlifestage · 28/07/2023 11:07

Truthfully I'm not sure there's anything he can do to improve his chances. One of my DC's applied for the same course last year, not to those specific unis but to similar ones. All 5 offers came through within a week of their applying, 3 within 24 hours. There's no way their PS etc was read in that time! I suspect predicted grades and possibly the school reference are much more relevant.

Nextlifestage · 28/07/2023 11:08

Ok - apologies, Bath is obviously different with regard to a PS.

thecatinthetwat · 28/07/2023 11:12

A professor at Bristol told me to read something from the first year reading list, understand what would be taught and then talk about being interested in that. Shows that you understand the course that’s on offer and that it’s what you want to learn. Great advice imo.

TizerorFizz · 28/07/2023 18:05

The York course is in clearing so presumably it’s not that competitive.

As so few people do MFLs these days, he might be ok at Bath because he wants to do Russian. Although not much fun the year abroad I think! Bath are very clear about what they like in the PS so why not do what they want evidence of. It’s not rocket science.

Some unis clearly say they use the ps to distinguish between borderline candidates so always make it count. It might matter. At Bristol it’s used as I have described above. I would look at, say, the top 12 for P&IR and see who is in clearing. They will be easier to get into. Bristol, for example, offers a study abroad year (very valuable for this subject) and MFL if you want to do it. Plus you can also opt for Quantitive Research methods as part of the degree. I would say York is less attractive as a course when compared with Bath and Bristol.

However look at what Bath and Bristol want and you won’t go wrong with the ps. The main thing is to explain why you want to do the course and evidence that with what you have done to support the application. He probably needs to get more involved with something and not just tagging along and observing.

Piggywaspushed · 28/07/2023 18:15

In the Good University Guide ( The Times) , rather amusingly York is 13th for politics. Bristol is 14th.

Piggywaspushed · 28/07/2023 18:20

Guessing you put top 12 because Bristol is 12th in CUG?? But these are really fine differences.

But I assume OP's DS has his reasons for liking Bath and York, both of which have excellent reputations all round and are known for social sciences.

Not saying Bristol isn't.

Piggywaspushed · 28/07/2023 18:21

BTW , on said CUG, Bath is shown in clearing but not York.

TizerorFizz · 28/07/2023 20:13

@Piggywaspushed Didn’t look at CUG! However Bristol offer the year abroad as a 4 year course. So this is similar to Bath. It’s useful. Plus mfl is available with the course. I’ve yet to meet a politics grad working in politics. It’s definitely who you know. It’s a degree that sells dreams.

York’s web site says it’s in clearing! Well - places available. Not quite sure who could apply for these other than IB or Scottish students with results. Could the 2023 cohort of A level students apply?

Original poster
Failingteenparenting · 01/08/2023 07:28

Sorry to be dumb but what is CUG and where does it show the Bath course in clearing?

DS visited Bristol but unfortunately the open day fell on a strike day and it was chaos and he really didn’t like it. He also likes campus unis. Shame as I really wanted him to love Bristol.

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2023 07:31

Complete University Guide.

One of the multiple league tables out there
Here is the page

Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2023 07:33

I’ve yet to meet a politics grad working in politics.
The 30 year old recently appointed to The Lords had a degree in politics form York, by way of interest. I mean, who knows how she got so high, so fast (!) but she did definitely work in politics , with a politics degree.

Dotcheck · 01/08/2023 07:34

Go visit Bristol again, and a few others.

Bath do read personal statements.

His statement should not just be a tick list of activities- make sure he reflects on his experiences/ reading. It should show genuine academic curiosity.

Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2023 07:43

Not sure why he really needs to visit Bristol again if he didn't like it. These gut responses are often important. Some people just don't like city universities.

Bath and York are perfectly good - nay excellent - choices, at least as good , if not better, than Bristol for politics.

I was on a thread a year or so ago where quite a few posters had DCs applying for Bath for politics. They take along time , in genial, to send out offers, presumably because they read all the personal statements. My DS applied for social policy and his offer came through relatively quickly, so this probably indicates politics is very popular.

Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2023 07:43

in general!

user4750 · 01/08/2023 07:45

That pp always promotes Bristol where her dd went..

Drop the AS French giving more time to focus on the grades of the three A Levels.

I’d be concerned he is trying to spread himself too thinly. IR isn’t vaguely about languages and they won’t give him an advantage. It’s primarily international politics with strong elements of history and increasingly an overlap with environmental stuff like climate change etc. DC (predicted three A stars plus an A in EPQ) had offers from York and Bath for the same course but is off to Lancaster. They recommend that the three subjects taken in Year 1 (it’s a part 1 part 2 degree structure with three subjects studied in year 1) are IR, politics and history. DC was actually put off York since whilst he loved the university itself it is ultra left wing in the politics and IR department and he was concerned that influenced the degree too much.

This year lots of decent IR courses are potentially in clearing (although nobody knows which will remain in clearing once the results are through). Lancaster, Surrey, Birmingham and Aberystwyth (which has an excellent IR department) all potentially have spaces so whilst that doesn’t always mean they will accept a grade drop, it can mean that in some places.

Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2023 07:53

The ultra left wing York produced Charlotte Owen! I think, in general , politics and humanities departments are left wing. According to DS , history less so which also seems to feature an alarming number of very right wing academics. But he says the politics department (Birmingham) is indeed left wing. Academia tends to be. The famous Hull course was started by a Tory peer , years ago.

To be fair it wasn't tizer who said the OP should revisit Bristol user.

user4750 · 01/08/2023 07:58

Dc does know politics departments will tend to be left wing but his conversations with York were extremely so. He’s a fully paid up Lib Dem so he was searching for a bit more balance since his real focus is IR.

point taken about the revisit Bristol comment but Bristol wasn’t even in the mix..

CocoonofDavid · 01/08/2023 08:04

Aber will drop grades, I’m fairly sure.

We went to an offer holder day last year and the guy said as much. Aber absolutely do read PS- DS got a really lovely letter back from them pulling out bits from his PS saying why they thought he’d be a good match.

Last year Lancaster dropped to BBB in clearing.

I hope your DS enjoys Lancaster @user4750. Mine has had the best time (tho frustrating that a lot of the marking wasn’t done in time for results. He is still missing 2 out of 3 exam papers, and at least 2 essays).