Psychology AAA

[UniMom101]

DD is predicted AAA so far although still in Y12 so that may change. Only 1 science (psychology) and wants to do psychology at uni, maybe with criminology although that is only a slight possibility.

So far she is looking at Newcastle, Glasgow and Durham - would AAA be enough? She does meet widening access criteria. Could anyone offer any advice on these options please, particularly accomodation and what we should be looking for when visiting the cities?

Hi, OP -

The standard offer for Psychology at each of the institutions you mention appears to be AAA. As a former Russell Group admissions tutor I have not stayed caught up with the details of how Contextual Applications are processed. I believe that for the most part it is automatic. However if there are any optional Contextual Admissions opportunities for your DD I would encourage her to pursue them. Studies have shown that students on CA do well at university, performing about the same as others one or two A level grades higher.

Glasgow is one of my current favourite UK universities, but TBF I am in STEM and don’t know much about Social Sciences. I think people focus on Edinburgh and St Andrews as the glam Scottish unis but in many aspects of research & teaching Glasgow currently comes top. (Well, St A’s is outstanding for teaching but on the combination Glasgow clearly wins) Their BSc Psych requires two sciences but the MA Psych does not. These boards have contained many posts from mums with DC who are or have been very happy at Glasgow. TBF I am sure it has its share of problems but I honestly don’t remember many negative posts, unlike eg Edinburgh.

Newcastle and Durham seem to have only minimal restrictions on permissible A levels for Psychology and I have not picked up a requirement or even a preference for science. Newcastle appears to have a good Study Abroad or Placement year, with minimal fees. I did not check Durham or Glasgow.

DD can do her on search, by inputting

university psychology entry requirements

Best wishes

What should you be looking for when visiting?

DD’s reaction to each university and city us the most important thing. Ideally some places will simply feel right. As you may have guessed, I have always felt at home in Glasgow.

BTW, DD will need an Insurance choice with a lower offer. I like to see everyone with an Insurance offer two grades below their predictions, so for DD that would be ABB.
(Some pupils think their Insurance should be their second choice, but this is of no use if both offers are AAA and your results are AAB. Some pupils bank on the hope that a less popular place will take them, but this is risky at best. If your Firm Choice turns you down because you didn’t make its offer and if you achieve your Insurance offer, your Insurance choice must take you)

I think these days, looking into accommodation options is key. Not just the first year but also second and third. In terms of cost and availability. Having gone through the Bristol experience (which may be an outlier) I think it’s important to look at what you can afford as a family for living costs. We are not poor but it’s been an eye-opener.

I think the examples you give are not the worst for housing at all but others can advise better.

Definitely research the accommodation. Glasgow didn't have enough accommodation for first years last year.

Just visit and get a feel for the place really, my DD had Glasgow on her list then removed it. She thought she'd really like it, and we were pleased as have family there, but she just didn't click with it. She's studying Psychology at Liverpool now and loving it.

Durham you apply to faculty and college. High grades. Plymouth have a good Psych. Dept.

Hi again, OP -

Some universities will guarantee accommodation to all who Firm the uni by a certain date. This is definitely something to ask each place you visit about.

If Glasgow did not do this last year I hope they have learnt lessons.

At many unis, higher year students tend to group together and rent private accommodation

This is great information, thank you all so much! I will try and answer/comment on a few things here -

@poetryandwine many thanks for your reply, some great points to mull over with DD. I'm a bit unsure how to ensure DD should pursue the CA side of things, I am hoping that her school will cover that although it is a school where not many people would be in the same position as it is in an affluent area. We are certainly not affluent - DD will be on the maximum loan with me unfortunately not able to top up very much at all. The cost of accomodation is a huge consideration.
The MA in psychology is also confusing me. Is that not a masters for which you need a degree first?

At the moment Northumbria seems to be DD's choice of insurance - she really likes Newcastle as a city

@StCHouse I'm trying not to let DD see how worried I am, but the cost of accomodation is a huge worry. I am a full time carer with my own health issues meaning money is very limited. DD would be eligible for any bursaries that universities offered, but obviously those may change by the time she goes so we are not really considering them at the moment.

@Jandob the whole Durham system really confuses me so I am going to let school lead on that one!

I am making a list of questions to ask when we visit, many thanks to all
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You don’t apply to college at Durham. You apply to Uni and if offered have the opportunity of ranking colleges. (My dd is a current fresher at Durham).

@UniMom101 have posted above but just seen your comment about bursaries. I think DU may have Uni wide ones but the individual colleges also have bursaries / grants - have a look on the individual college websites. My dd is at St Chads and I know they have a number of grants available for students from families on low incomes.

for chads the info is here: https://www.stchads.ac.uk/admissions/scholarships-bursaries/

Hi, OP -

Yes, if DD needs to do anything towards CA (I don’t know) the school ought to be able to help her. Actually the UCAS application ought to make this clear.

You are correct that MA is usually a PG degree. However Glasgow has an integrated Master’s with a UG degree called something like Masters/ Masters (Social. Integrated Masters have become more common in the last 10-15 years and I think they generally work well.

The Glasgow integrated Masters has entry requirement AAA including English or a Humanities.

If your DD already knows she likes Newcastle, that’s huge. And I am glad she has an Insurance in mind.

Hi, psychologist here. Does she have a sense of what she wants to do with it afterwards? If so I would check out the curriculum for each (she can do this online and then probe on a visit potentially) eg some have more industry connections, some offer a clinical Doctorate, some more experimental etc.

@poetryandwine We are thinking that Classics counts as a Humanities?

@HappyHedgehog247 She's a bit unsure at the moment. Kind of switching between Ed Psych and Clinical although I think that's probably because that's the 2 she has heard of! She has a strong interest in social work (doesn't want to be a social worker though) and ASD assessments due to sibling involvement. We do know that any pathway is probably very competitive though.

@KittyMcKitty many thanks for that. Is your DD enjoying Durham?

@UniMom101 she absolutely loves it! Both Course and college have been perfect for her. Re college events (balls etc) there is financial assistance available and also the colleges have dress lending services (plus dd and her friends all seem to wear each others clothes) and of course yiu don’t have to go to balls / formals etc if they’re not your thing. Chads has also got a very active (student led) social mobility committee to support students as appropriate.

Ooh that sounds amazing! I'm glad your DD is happy, that's all we want for them isnt it!

Yes, the Classical Civilisations A level is a core Humanities, OP.

@UniMom101 my dd applied for Psychology at B unis, all were officially AAA but because she met contextual conditions for some, she had offers of ABB. She's ended up at Nottingham (second year now). She also only had one science (Psych) along with History and RS. At school she was really a humanities student, but she wants to work in mental health so went down the Psych route as she wasn't sure what occupation to pursue (considered OT and mental health nursing too). She thought it would keep her options open and she only looked at BPS accredited courses in case she wanted to pursue pscyhology careers.

One thing to be aware of is how sciencey the BPS-accredited courses are. Dd has struggled with some of the stats and lab reports, even though she got an 8 at GCSE Maths. She was saying in the summer that she really missed writing essays and we found that Nottingham do Pscyhology and Philosophy joint honours. Not BPS accredited so no good for going on to a pscyhology career, but it would have been fine for an OT masters, which is what she wants to do now. However they wouldn't let her switch, having not done the first year Philosophy modules.

In hindsight, we should have looked at courses like the Human and Social Sciences one at Cardiff, which is BPS accredited but also has the sociology side, which would presumably involve essays and more of a balance. So have a think about where your dd's skills and interests lie. Glasgow might be a good shout as I think you can do a range of different subjects in the first year?

@crazycrofter that is really helpful thank you. I will show DD your post later which will hopefully prompt some further thought

DD is at Newcastle studying Psychology and loves it! Good first year accommodation in halls for all and there is plentiful accommodation to rent for second year onwards. DD is currently on a placement year. Many students do this and they get support to apply for placements. There are choices of units for second and third year and the degree is accredited. Your daughter should check if she is eligible for the Partners scheme there which would result in a lower grade offer.

I think DD would be eligible on a couple of fronts, home postcode and she's a young carer. It's great that your DD is enjoying her time there as I think realistically that's where DD wants to go.

Liverpool and Sheffield are AAB also great unis and cheap to live in. What about one of them? DD has offers from both also with one science (psychology) and 2 very much not science

Reading University seems great for Psychology

My dd got those grades and is doing psychology at Portsmouth

She probably could have aimed higher but she felt comfortable there and they seem really good .

At these grades, I'd always recommend having a look at York and Hull. They offer a unique fast-track clinical pathway to their graduates. https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/prospective/undergraduate/routestoclinicalpsychology/