Hey all, I'm applying for Aeronautical Engineering at Glasgow and Aero-Mechanical Engineering at Strathclyde (maybe Aerospace Systems at Glasgow too) and I've got the grades for the MEng courses - I'm wondering how competitive these courses are. Anyone here studying them just now? What do you think of them?
I'm doing neither, but I have friends doing Aero at both Glasgow and Strathclyde. As I understand it they are both competitive, Strathclyde more so since it's department is smaller and the uni does have a specific reputation for engineering (don't let that be your deciding point though, Glasgow's just reputable for everything :P).
If you've got the grades to get into the MEng courses though I'd say all you have to do if focus on making a killer PS and you're a shoo-in.
What about the competition level for Pharmacy at strathclyde and Chemistry at glasgow?
I don't know anyone studying Pharmacy at Strathclyde, but judging from this page I would think that competition is not as "intense" as they'd like you to think. For one thing, it's a Masters degree and the entry requirements are 4B's (higher). They also go on to encourage you to apply regardless of the time of year "in case places unexpectedly become available after the school results have been published" ..they do mention that some years they go into clearing.
I do have a friend who started Chemistry at Glasgow this year. As with most unis the physical sciences are not the most competitive ..so relatively speaking it's not very competitive compared with other courses at Glasgow, but competition to get into Glasgow itself is reasonably high ...reasonably. Something to note might be that Glasgow admits you to their science department, first year you pick 3 subjects, second year you pick 2, third year and beyond you focus on your degree science. This could work in someones favour if they wanted to take a more competitive science, in that you could apply for entry to an uncompetitive one ..although chemistry's one of their less competitive ones anyway.
What about the competition level for Pharmacy at strathclyde and Chemistry at glasgow?
As mentioned, Glasgow admit by faculty. However, the information above isn't necessarily correct- they tend to fill things up uniformly, so there isn't really an 'easy' route in. That said, entry isn't that tough compared to other courses- it's a big faculty and it tends to have a lot of people who are also applying to medicine/vet/dentistry etc and thus a chunk don't take up their offers. Because of that, getting an offer isn't that hard- and while ABBB is high for a Scottish university and for a science degree, it isn't out of this world in difficulty. Arts by contrast look for anyone resitting anything to get a minimum of at least AAAB at higher or AAA at A-Level. Those sort of grades at A-Level would get you into second year in the science faculty. Secondly, some science degrees have set second years, so you don't really get the flexibility to do three subjects, then two and so on. Entry to third year is also competitive in certain degrees- so just getting decent grades might not be enough if they're only taking the top 60 into the genetics degree, etc.
Strathclyde also has the problem of pharmacy being a backup choice to medicine etc, so they get a lot of applicants who subsequently decline their offer. It's a degree which qualifies you to be a pharmacist, unlike the pharmacology degree, but competition isn't that intense either.
As mentioned, Glasgow admit by faculty. However, the information above isn't necessarily correct- they tend to fill things up uniformly, so there isn't really an 'easy' route in. That said, entry isn't that tough compared to other courses- it's a big faculty and it tends to have a lot of people who are also applying to medicine/vet/dentistry etc and thus a chunk don't take up their offers. Because of that, getting an offer isn't that hard- and while ABBB is high for a Scottish university and for a science degree, it isn't out of this world in difficulty. Arts by contrast look for anyone resitting anything to get a minimum of at least AAAB at higher or AAA at A-Level. Those sort of grades at A-Level would get you into second year in the science faculty. Secondly, some science degrees have set second years, so you don't really get the flexibility to do three subjects, then two and so on. Entry to third year is also competitive in certain degrees- so just getting decent grades might not be enough if they're only taking the top 60 into the genetics degree, etc.
Strathclyde also has the problem of pharmacy being a backup choice to medicine etc, so they get a lot of applicants who subsequently decline their offer. It's a degree which qualifies you to be a pharmacist, unlike the pharmacology degree, but competition isn't that intense either.
Okay, thanks for that. Though, How would Glasgow uni feel about me applying with a personal statement directed towards Pharmacy, I'm using glasgow as a backup to apply to chemistry. I can get the right grades, however i feel they may reject me due to my personal statement
Or would they give me an offer based on my grades anyways?
Okay, thanks for that. Though, How would Glasgow uni feel about me applying with a personal statement directed towards Pharmacy, I'm using glasgow as a backup to apply to chemistry. I can get the right grades, however i feel they may reject me due to my personal statement
Or would they give me an offer based on my grades anyways?
I'm sure they'd be ok- PS isn't hugely important for Scottish unis. Because they're broader, a general interest in science might be enough. I graduated in History and am now pursuing Economics and History. However, I very nearly did Law (Strath) at UGrad, before getting into Glasgow's science faculty while still unsure of whether I wanted to do Chem/Pharm or Computing. I did the latter then changed to History, and rejected/insured various other unis such as Edinburgh and Durham along the way. Anyway, point of this is, my PS was pretty broad and essentially just emphasised I had a good academic track record and had some pretty normal interests. It got me offers from things as far as computing, law and pharmacology- yet I still ended up with a degree in History while specialising in Economic history. It was six years ago now that I applied, so things may have changed- but unless its a super-competitive course I don't think it'll matter unless there's another huge applications surge.
However, Strath's BBBB with priority given to ABBB with A in a science subject is a bit less than Glasgow's ABBB to include a minimum of two sciences, so I think you're probably likelier to get an offer from Strath, even if they try and claim it's very competitive.
However, Strath's BBBB with priority given to ABBB with A in a science subject is a bit less than Glasgow's ABBB to include a minimum of two sciences, so I think you're probably likelier to get an offer from Strath, even if they try and claim it's very competitive.
Oh right cool, though the thing is strathy tends to ask for particular grades in first sitting. Ie. A minimum of BBBB in the required subjects in first sitting for their particular science courses, while glasgow on the other hand don't specify the first sitting so it can be regarded over two sittings.
It appears I will get a higher offer from strathy maybe with the condition involving advanced highers, as compared to Glasgow where I'll probably get a condition for just one more higher , since my grades for strathclyde's pharmacy course are half complete.
I need ABBB for pharmacy at first sitting, though at first sitting i only sat 3 highers so only AAA was achievable. However the third A is in computing, a subject not required for Pharmacy hence only my two A's in chemistry and physics count. I am at a particular disadvantage compared to people who sat all their highers in 5th year.
May I ask did you have english or scottish qualifications?
Oh right cool, though the thing is strathy tends to ask for particular grades in first sitting. Ie. A minimum of BBBB in the required subjects in first sitting for their particular science courses, while glasgow on the other hand don't specify the first sitting so it can be regarded over two sittings.
It appears I will get a higher offer from strathy maybe with the condition involving advanced highers, as compared to Glasgow where I'll probably get a condition for just one more higher , since my grades for strathclyde's pharmacy course are half complete.
I need ABBB for pharmacy at first sitting, though at first sitting i only sat 3 highers so only AAA was achievable. However the third A is in computing, a subject not required for Pharmacy hence only my two A's in chemistry and physics count. I am at a particular disadvantage compared to people who sat all their highers in 5th year.
May I ask did you have english or scottish qualifications?
Scottish, but things have changed since then (although it's still the case that virtually all Scots stay in Scotland because of the qualifications and the price of a degree). Even six years ago, Glasgow/Edinburgh/St Andrews only looked for around BBBB for the majority of their courses across faculty (arts is something like AAAB now), and that could be over as many sittings as necessary. Strathclyde was even less- these were the days when medicine at certain places was only AABBB or better, and Caledonian looked for BCC for most things. Pharmacy still suffers from a horrendous rate of people not taking up their offers though- anyone that gets into Med/Vet/Dentist or even Optometry tends to backup with Pharm. Since Strath is the only Pharm university in the central belt of Scotland and surrounded by universities that teach the abovementioned, it's usually got a heap of applications, but they have to make several times the offers because of uptake- in other words, I think you should be fine.
Im studying Aeronautical Enginering at Glasgow, this is my first year. The course has 90-110 people. Alot of people i have spoken to have the grades for entry to the BEng i.e. the have maths/physics A/B or B/A and a C pass in english so if you have MEng requirements you should be fine for the unconditional. I'm on the MEng but plan just to the BEng and head straight into airline pilot training after that. It's a great choice but there is so much content. 4 exams at christmas time and each exam is a module and each module feels like a highers worth of content so its like studying 4 highers over less than 6 months and then a further 3 moduels in the 2nd semester. A good 3hrs a night of revision is a good shout me thinks!
Im studying Aeronautical Enginering at Glasgow, this is my first year. The course has 90-110 people. Alot of people i have spoken to have the grades for entry to the BEng i.e. the have maths/physics A/B or B/A and a C pass in english so if you have MEng requirements you should be fine for the unconditional. I'm on the MEng but plan just to the BEng and head straight into airline pilot training after that. It's a great choice but there is so much content. 4 exams at christmas time and each exam is a module and each module feels like a highers worth of content so its like studying 4 highers over less than 6 months and then a further 3 moduels in the 2nd semester. A good 3hrs a night of revision is a good shout me thinks!
Yes, 100%. They are all there to help you. The flight testing course in 4th year is also a good plus to keep working hard. Go for it! Just remember the amount of work you're about to head into haha!
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