Warwick vs Birmingham for Psychology

Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 09:09

pastayum · 02/11/2023 08:57

DD is still deciding which Uni to put in her UCAS for Psychology.
Warwick seemed to have raised the offer from AAB to AAA this year. Birmingham's entry requirements are AAA (include one science subject).
DD's predicted grades are A A A (math, psychology & biology), which Uni is a safe choice for her?
Thanks for your advice!

DD's predicted grades are A(star) A(star) A
Warwick seems to be more competitive than Birmingham but not sure if it is the case for Psychology. We likes to put a safer choice in UCAS. Which one to put? Thanks!

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Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 09:13

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user1471530109 · 02/11/2023 09:19

It was over 20 years ago, but Birmingham was the much stronger uni for psychology at the time. They had an amazing department doing lots of research.

But that also showed in the grades they were asking for at the time. So I'm guessing things have evened out.

Sorry, that's not helpful! But also shocked they are both asking for 3As. Warwick was 3Bs at the time and Bham was AAB (or ABB).

I wouldn't say any uni asking for 3As is a safe choice. Surely you need somewhere asking for lower for it to be safer? Anything can happen in the exam. I appreciate she has v high predictions, but you only have to read the threads on here every results day to know that sometimes things don't go to plan.

TizerorFizz · 02/11/2023 09:27

It reflects the numbers of Dc now wanting psychology. I think it’s offered just about everywhere but so many want it. Most don't become psychologists so have to compete with every other humanities grad for jobs. Cambridge want maths and a “hard” science so she could apply for anywhere with her subjects and grades. I also think she should look at these unis. Warwick is stand alone campus. Birmingham is more integrated into a suburb of Birmingham. Overall Warwick outranks Birmingham but I would look at outcomes for students. Who is employing the grads? What are they doing afterwards? These clever Dc cannot all be psychologists!

WrittenOrf · 02/11/2023 09:27

Depends what her other choices are. If this is the “safe/insurance” option and the only one then you may want to consider one with lower grades. As I’m sure you know Psychology as a subject is v competitive so it’s unlikely either of these unis would allow slipped grades. You may be safer having one of these and then picking a lower one in case, unless you’re sure she will get the grades.

hockeygrass · 02/11/2023 09:48

@pastayum , it's not much help but my dd had Warwick as her insurance with AAB this summer just gone, she got Astar A B so missed her first choice of Bath and is now at Warwick and loving it. She is really pleased she did Biology and Psychology A levels as they are helping her with the course content. Most of the friends she has met in her hall are studying Law, Economics, CS Maths and Eng lit and many are all A star Oxbridge rejects. I'm sorry to hear that Warwick have raised their grades but I'm not surprised as it's a top uni for so many subjects.

I did think on results day that if my dd had put her York with it's A x 3 offer as her insurance that she would have got in with her results, she never thought she would drop to a B in a subject so hadn't seriously considered Warwick. Also for anyone else reading Bath made it very clear on results day that that there was no space for her with her B grade.

RachelGreensHair · 02/11/2023 09:53

Tbh I don't think there's much between them so she should make sure she's visited both universities (on open days and non-open days) and decide based on which one she feels is more "her".
I went to Birmingham and its lovely but heard great things about Warwick.

BoohooWoohoo · 02/11/2023 09:53

My dd had offers from both and decided on Birmingham because she preferred the location. AAA is not really a safe choice imo. I would pick at least one uni where typical offers included Bs as the safe choice.

TizerorFizz · 02/11/2023 12:47

Psychology really is not competitive everywhere. So many unis offer it. Top ones are always competitive but places like Surrey are great for insurance. A safe choice.

Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 15:34

BoohooWoohoo · 02/11/2023 09:53

My dd had offers from both and decided on Birmingham because she preferred the location. AAA is not really a safe choice imo. I would pick at least one uni where typical offers included Bs as the safe choice.

How does your DD like Birmingham so far? The campus and building is beautiful.

What were the offers from Warwick and Birmingham before? Thank you!

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Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 15:41

hockeygrass · 02/11/2023 09:48

@pastayum , it's not much help but my dd had Warwick as her insurance with AAB this summer just gone, she got Astar A B so missed her first choice of Bath and is now at Warwick and loving it. She is really pleased she did Biology and Psychology A levels as they are helping her with the course content. Most of the friends she has met in her hall are studying Law, Economics, CS Maths and Eng lit and many are all A star Oxbridge rejects. I'm sorry to hear that Warwick have raised their grades but I'm not surprised as it's a top uni for so many subjects.

I did think on results day that if my dd had put her York with it's A x 3 offer as her insurance that she would have got in with her results, she never thought she would drop to a B in a subject so hadn't seriously considered Warwick. Also for anyone else reading Bath made it very clear on results day that that there was no space for her with her B grade.

May I know what predicted grades did your DD apply for Bath and Warwick last year?

This year Warwick's typical offer is AAA which I can't rely on previous statistics. Perhaps they are getting too many applicants so your DD must be so pleased to be in Warwick this year!

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Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 15:44

WrittenOrf · 02/11/2023 09:27

Depends what her other choices are. If this is the “safe/insurance” option and the only one then you may want to consider one with lower grades. As I’m sure you know Psychology as a subject is v competitive so it’s unlikely either of these unis would allow slipped grades. You may be safer having one of these and then picking a lower one in case, unless you’re sure she will get the grades.

At the moment, I am more concern if DD can get any conditional offer from both or either Uni.

Would there be any Uni with psychology at clearing in case can't meet the offer?

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WrittenOrf · 02/11/2023 15:55

I would imagine there would be some unis with Psychology in clearing yes, even though it’s a popular subject. It may be that unis with much lower grade requirements might be in clearing rather than the very competitive ones. Have you checked Uni guide for Warwick and Birmingham ? If you type in the subject and place and click on the course you can scroll down as see what A level grades most that are on the course actually got.

Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 15:59

@WrittenOrf May I know where should I type in the subject and place and click on the course to see what A level grades most actually got?

Thank you!

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WrittenOrf · 02/11/2023 16:02

uni guide dot com

BoohooWoohoo · 02/11/2023 16:07

I think my dd was offered AAB or ABB. Her A-levels were Psychology, Biology and Maths which meant a slightly lower offer.

hockeygrass · 02/11/2023 16:13

@pastayum , she applied with predicted A star psych, A biolo, A history and all 8/9's Gcse teacher assessed grades.

She got in August Astar hist, A psy, B biology. As I said I think York may have taken her if she had firmed rather than Bath but she would have needed an AAB insurance as history was her weakest subject (except she got the Astar for it on results day)!

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 02/11/2023 16:39

which Uni is a safe choice

Do you mean this is a back up choice, behind another uni asking for higher grades? In which case, I guess Warwick is safer.

I did psychology at Birmingham 10 years ago and I really enjoyed it. It's a lovely uni and a great city.

Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 16:43

@WrittenOrf thank you

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Original poster

pastayum · 02/11/2023 17:01

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 02/11/2023 16:39

which Uni is a safe choice

Do you mean this is a back up choice, behind another uni asking for higher grades? In which case, I guess Warwick is safer.

I did psychology at Birmingham 10 years ago and I really enjoyed it. It's a lovely uni and a great city.

Yes, as a safe choice I like to decide whether Warwick or Birmingham has a higher chance to give offer even both has same typical offer AAA. May I know why you think Warwick is safer? I

How did you like Birmingham? Is it a safe city to stay? Thank you!

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CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 02/11/2023 19:40

@pastayum ah sorry, I wrote that with it in my head that what you'd put as your DD's predicted grades were the entry grades for Birmingham. In that case, I'd go for whichever she prefers.

In 2nd and 3rd year, Warwick students tend to live a bit further away from the campus and have to get a bus in if I remember correctly. For Birmingham, they tend to live a stone's throw away which is very convenient.

It was 10 years ago but I always felt it was safe. Part of that may have been that the studenty area was so close to the uni. But I had part time jobs in the centre and in another part of the city and felt safe. Birmingham is very convenient, there is a train station at the uni and another right in the student area.

But it comes down to how she feels as much as anything. I visited Warwick and just didn't like it. No specific reason I can point to, just didn't like the feel of the campus. But my best friend went there and loved it.
For psychology, because the degrees are accredited by the BPS, they all pretty much have the same content in years 1 & 2, and I imagine both Warwick and Birmingham are big enough that they have lots of choices for modules in 3rd year. So it's probably hard to split them by the actual course.