Psychology - where to apply?

[EducatedElephant]

DS is struggling to narrow to 5.

Pretty sure on
Bath
Loughborough
Warwick

also likes
Manchester
Nottingham
York

Predicted grades AAA (or A* AA)
GCSEs 6-8s

Any thoughts or insights into any of the above welcomed please….

Nottingham is meant to be top in the UK for psychology. One of DD’s close friends is in her 3rd year of Notts psychology and has absolutely loved it - the rather large concern now however is whether she’ll be able to get a graduate job or not! It’s not the most employable degree.

Check that courses are BCP accredited, not all are

To me Manchester is the outlier there as in it is a big big city while the others are big campuses in or near smaller places (Lboro, Bath, Warwick) or a smaller city (York) or a biggish city admittedly but a big campus a few miles out of town (Nottingham). The student experience in Manchester could be very different.

Certainly Lboro versus Manchester – two very very different places – small town, very uni-centric, vs big city, very strong cultural offer. So I wonder if that is a factor. In terms of the course – is there any difference to help decide? All of those six are great unis tbh so she can't really go wrong – but you need to be happy to live in the place for three years.

They all are. Not shortlisted any that were not.

Cardiff is extremely strong for psych plus does a placement year. Must stronger than Bath or Loughborough.

All the ones on their (long!) shortlist do a placement year.

They weren’t keen on Cardiff but to be honest we’ve not seen anything indicating it’s stronger than these. If it is that may encourage them to revisit it. Can you elaborate (or link to some information) so that I can show them please?

Might Cardiff be more risky if you’re not living in Wales? Might they prioritise Welsh applicants? I’m not sure if they do, but worth finding out if Cardiff is going to go onto the shortlist.

York is a good one if he's interested in clinical psychology.

They offer a unique fast track doctorate in Clinical Psychology for their undergrads.

www.york.ac.uk/psychology/prospective/undergraduate/routestoclinicalpsychology/

Apologies @EducatedElephantI said she but you clearly says DS.

Agree with @Skuleabout York. Anyone considering a career in Clinical Psychology should consider York (and Hull) as both are part of a ‘fast track’ programme which means students can go straight from undergrad to the Clinical Psychology doctorate. It’s a very hard career to get into, and can take a long time otherwise.

There are lots of rankings but this is a good start: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/psychology

Hi Op.
Re Cardiff, firstly I would say if your DC is serious about pursuing psychology then they need to get used to independent, rigorous research e.g it would take seconds for them to learn Cardiff is a top ten department for teaching and research, rather than me sending links. I’m not trying to snarky, Ive interviewed and hired many aspiring psychs and the ones that succeed have an obsession with research and being proactive.

Cardiff’s rigor in how they teach psychs to think is exceptional and even better than Oxbridge. And the university city is friendly, lower cost of living and has many green spaces. It’s overlooked by applicants as it’s not a posh uni like Bath or Warwick but it’s extremely well respected within the profession.

What kind of psychologist does your DC want to be? There are many kinds of us. This should also inform their decision

I have a relative who did his MSci at York after doing his undergraduate degree elsewhere. I don't think he's got a job since finishing his MSci. Just shop work.

Your son should start narrowing unis down by thinking about whether they prefer the idea of campus unis or city unis and whether they are the sort of person who feels more comfortable in big cities like Manchester or small cities like Bath or York (Lancaster could be another option to consider if they like the idea of campus unis in small cities). Then attend some Open Days to get more idea.

There aren't many jobs directly linked to Psychology but lots of jobs where it is an accepted or useful degree. Getting a graduate job is very much up to the individual.

My daughter did a Psychology degree and now has a good job in Marketing. Friends of hers from her course went into a variety of jobs such as Human Resources, General Management roles and Teaching. Only one has become a Clinical Psychologist, that girl was very focused on this career from the start and got a First.

@EducatedElephanthow do those gcse grades split out - looking at the website for bath you generally need 5 at 8/9 unless contextual. I am aware of one person going to Bath for psych and was told their offer was 3 a*

Where do you get that from?
CUG has it at #19
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/psychology

My kid just started the MSCi at York. Early days but so far, excellent.

Yes that’s a good point. It’s always good to drill down into entry reqs. Bath in general has a standard requirement of six GCSEs above grade 6 plus pass in English and maths - but for a popular course like psych the chances are they will need more 8/9 grades. If they have five x8 then no worries.

If their considering Loughborough then I’d look at DMU in Leicester

Is DMU noted for psych? Not sure what the link is to Lboro unless area of the country. In which case, if wanting to be in East Mids, Uni of Leicester is a better shout tbh.

When we were looking into this last year, it seemed that only Bath was active in terms of setting up industry jobs for the optional year. However, we've since found out that York does actively help with placements that take place alongside study, during the 3rd year at least. So not all the nitty gritty of what is on offer is there in b&w on the websites.

Going to subject specific open days will help because these kinds of questions can be asked.

Realistically, all the other unis on the list are prestigious unis so rightly or wrongly, they are unlikely to be interested in DMU.

Anglia Ruskin is fabulous for psychology.

See above.