Philosophy applicants for 2012 entry!

Original post by edgood93

applying for a blend of philosophy courses, post A level applicant with A*AA in RS, economics and english. managed to get a 198/200 in RS!
applying to Oxford for theology and philosophy, religion philosophy and ethics at kcl...then also to warwick, southampton and bristol.

That is awesome! well done for the A*! I got 198/200 for my AS...so hoping to get an A* now!!

Reply 82

edgood93

Original post by lampshade1

That is awesome! well done for the A*! I got 198/200 for my AS...so hoping to get an A* now!!

very good scores!
what are you applying for and where?

Reply 83

Original post by edgood93

very good scores!
what are you applying for and where?

if you read my essay of a comment up there it explains it pretty much!! ^^^ :')

Reply 84

edgood93

Original post by lampshade1

if you read my essay of a comment up there it explains it pretty much!! ^^^ :')

i applied for ppe last year but pulled out half way through because i realised i just didnt want to do it anymore, and that only the philosophy part of it interested me. if i could possibly lend you some advice on the universities that you have mentioned...
from those five, i would choose
nottingham ABB (very realistic and generous requirements considering the stature of the uni and the course looks great!)

im from Leeds and i am personally not a huge fan of sheff...it's dull and a bit grotty haha. and the uni overrates itself. i personally love the look of UEA. ABB is really good in terms of asking as well.

lancaster and york are both top unis, if i were you i'd really consider them both closely.

if i remember rightly, is reading 320 points (ABB) or 340 from 3 A levels and an AS? if so, it might well work out at being something like BBC or BBB for you in the end. definitely a top back up.

Reply 85

Original post by lampshade1

Exeter (pretty much scrapped going there though, wasn't that impressed by it)AAB

hey! i was looking at exeter too, but haven't actually been to the uni itself, can you explain a bit why you didn't like it? i'm not sure if i want to apply or not.

also i recently emailed dundee about their official requirements, and they have not replied. since i am applying for a joint honours i wrote in philosophy very solidly, and then vaugly spoke about religion and theology (i mentioned a lot about personal belief and experiences), because i'm still not sure if all my choices are for the joint degree, and am waiting for my teacher to read through and feedback!

thinking about insurance unis though, looking for good unis with lower offers.
any suggestions?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 86

IceCool

13

Original post by jacksonriddle

hey! i was looking at exeter too, but haven't actually been to the uni itself, can you explain a bit why you didn't like it? i'm not sure if i want to apply or not.

also i recently emailed dundee about their official requirements, and they have not replied. since i am applying for a joint honours i wrote in philosophy very solidly, and then vaugly spoke about religion and theology (i mentioned a lot about personal belief and experiences), because i'm still not sure if all my choices are for the joint degree, and am waiting for my teacher to read through and feedback!

thinking about insurance unis though, looking for good unis with lower offers.
any suggestions?

I'm looking at Dundee as well, what's your opinion on it? And i would recommend Stirling.

Reply 87

Original post by jacksonriddle

hey! i was looking at exeter too, but haven't actually been to the uni itself, can you explain a bit why you didn't like it? i'm not sure if i want to apply or not.

also i recently emailed dundee about their official requirements, and they have not replied. since i am applying for a joint honours i wrote in philosophy very solidly, and then vaugly spoke about religion and theology (i mentioned a lot about personal belief and experiences), because i'm still not sure if all my choices are for the joint degree, and am waiting for my teacher to read through and feedback!

thinking about insurance unis though, looking for good unis with lower offers.
any suggestions?

I liked the University itself! but the department didn't wow me at all! The talk I went to was a real let down, but this may have been because I've heard so much about Exeter Uni and was expecting so much. So yeah, I was pretty disappointed!
and what grades are you thinking for your insurance then?
like IceCool says..Stirling would be a good insurance, but depends on what grades you're aiming for what your insurance is? as Reading or Essex could be insurance for some people with ABB-BBB
they were really good for Philosophy :biggrin:

! I was very impressed

Reply 88

Peachz

17

Having visited quite a few uni's whilst applying here are some thoughts..

Sheffield - I though the campus was really nice, the course was good as you could chose units fairly freely. Although the accom was about 20 mins from the main philo buildings, it was really good compared to some others I had seen.

York - Personally I didn't like York. I felt it was too much like a 1960's housing estate. The accommodation was outdated, the course was extremely rigid with very little that could be chosen by you. For me, it was too quiet and felt very far from everywhere. Having visited twice, I felt the same both times. The only good points were that the general reputation of the uni's/the course's rep.

Birmingham - I didn't like it. The city didn't feel like a nice place. The sample lecture I attended was good, but the man who was supposed to take us was on sabbatical and they didn't seem to know until 20 mins before it was taking place. Such unorganisation put me off. I was swayed to apply here on the fact that John Hick used to/still does lecture some modules - my bad I know!

Warwick - Very nice place, felt busy despite it being a campus uni which I thought was especially good (after being put off from the quietness of York). Obviously, the uni speaks volumes/course rep etc. This was my first choice but I didn't get an offer :frown:

!

Heythrop - Few people know about this place, but honestly do some research on it! I knew of it, and I went through clearing to get here. Peter Vardy is the Vice Principle! :biggrin:

! They have relatively low-average entry req's, 11% of people get a first which I thought was impressive. The course is especially good, I'm very much into Philosophy of Religion/Ethics as oppose to Logic, and their course reflects this. And obviously, it is in London which I had never explored but am happy with.

I hope that some of this has helped some people!

Reply 89

carry on dr

Original post by lampshade1

Hey fellow philosophy people!

For AS Level I got A Philosophy and Ethics (full marks in philosophy paper! ahh!! :biggrin:

) A in GS, A in History (although resitting one paper as I got a B) B in Spanish (resitting to see if I can get higher) and B in English.

Looking at:
Nottingham (students were brilliant to talk to...lovely campus) ABB
Sheffield (really good feel for the place)AAB
UEA (yet to see)ABB
Reading (LOVED!!)ABB
Essex (LOVED!!)ABB
Stirling (yet to see)BBC
Lancaster (yet to see!)ABB
York (very close to me, but good all the same)AAB
Exeter (pretty much scrapped going there though, wasn't that impressed by it)AAB
to name a few..
Sheffield and York are AAB..my sister thinks I need another one with that level and should scrap Stirling as my insurance at BBC..she thinks I'm selling myself short and should be aiming higher, although I disagree....think i've got it about right?

Any idea which of these Unis accept General Studies too ? (as that would definitely bring the pressure off!)

Books I've read/reading:
Philosophy the basics - Nigel Warburton
Bertrand Russell's - The Problems of Philosophy
Reason, Faith and Revolution - Terry Eagleton
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
The Puzzle of Ethics - Peter Vardy (so good!)
The Reason for God - Timothy Keller
Why I am not a Christian - Bertrand Russell
and The Moral Law - Kant
Sophies World -
Think - Simon Blackburn

Obviously I won't just list these in the manner I have for my PS, I'll select a few and actually talk about what I thought about them etc

any help/advice on anything would be good!

and would people recommend getting UCAS in asap?..as my sister recieved offers as soon as, even though they claimed to wait until they had had all applications...

Thank you fellow philosophers! :smile:

Hi my son's off to Stirling this weekend to study Philosophy. He was predicted AAB he also got top marks in his AS phil exam, he took Chemistry, Biology along with Philosophy at A2. He received offers from all of his 5 choices, Southampton, after interview AAB, uea ABB, Birmingham, ABB Leeds ABB firm & Stirling BBC insurance.

He got offers quickly from all of the above uni's exept Stirling they kept us hanging on & was rejecting potentially very good students from what I read on tsr so even tho the initial entry req are lower it is no easy alternative & having visited it we have to say it's simply stunning.

My son got BBB at A2 7 marks from AAA had re-mark grade remained unchained.

The humanities dept is strong at Stirling. I like the way Stirling in the first year give you the oppurtunity to choose two other subjects to trial alongside Philosophy V500 so for instance my son will do Philosophy, Management & Law then after his first year he can swap his degree to either Management or Law if he has enjoyed one more & drop Philosophy, so Stirling is so totally flexible,

Also was impressed with the Philosophy lecturer who went to Cambridge then taught at Cambridge & now works at Stirling & rates it very high, he & my son just spoke for awhile there Philosophy chat & they was on the same level.

At the end of the day it's best to visit but Stirling was a 9/10 hour drive for us & we didn't even have the offer when we visited it back in April but it made up my son's mind that he wanted it as his insurance.

Good luck to you, remember everyone has different opinions I just gave you mine & hope it helped in some way.

:smile:

Reply 90

IceCool

13

Original post by Peachz

Having visited quite a few uni's whilst applying here are some thoughts..

Sheffield - I though the campus was really nice, the course was good as you could chose units fairly freely. Although the accom was about 20 mins from the main philo buildings, it was really good compared to some others I had seen.

York - Personally I didn't like York. I felt it was too much like a 1960's housing estate. The accommodation was outdated, the course was extremely rigid with very little that could be chosen by you. For me, it was too quiet and felt very far from everywhere. Having visited twice, I felt the same both times. The only good points were that the general reputation of the uni's/the course's rep.

Birmingham - I didn't like it. The city didn't feel like a nice place. The sample lecture I attended was good, but the man who was supposed to take us was on sabbatical and they didn't seem to know until 20 mins before it was taking place. Such unorganisation put me off. I was swayed to apply here on the fact that John Hick used to/still does lecture some modules - my bad I know!

Warwick - Very nice place, felt busy despite it being a campus uni which I thought was especially good (after being put off from the quietness of York). Obviously, the uni speaks volumes/course rep etc. This was my first choice but I didn't get an offer :frown:

!

Heythrop - Few people know about this place, but honestly do some research on it! I knew of it, and I went through clearing to get here. Peter Vardy is the Vice Principle! :biggrin:

! They have relatively low-average entry req's, 11% of people get a first which I thought was impressive. The course is especially good, I'm very much into Philosophy of Religion/Ethics as oppose to Logic, and their course reflects this. And obviously, it is in London which I had never explored but am happy with.

I hope that some of this has helped some people!

What's the Heythrop university/college like? It looks very small.

Reply 91

Original post by carry on dr

Hi my son's off to Stirling this weekend to study Philosophy. He was predicted AAB he also got top marks in his AS phil exam, he took Chemistry, Biology along with Philosophy at A2. He received offers from all of his 5 choices, Southampton, after interview AAB, uea ABB, Birmingham, ABB Leeds ABB firm & Stirling BBC insurance.

He got offers quickly from all of the above uni's exept Stirling they kept us hanging on & was rejecting potentially very good students from what I read on tsr so even tho the initial entry req are lower it is no easy alternative & having visited it we have to say it's simply stunning.

My son got BBB at A2 7 marks from AAA had re-mark grade remained unchained.

The humanities dept is strong at Stirling. I like the way Stirling in the first year give you the oppurtunity to choose two other subjects to trial alongside Philosophy V500 so for instance my son will do Philosophy, Management & Law then after his first year he can swap his degree to either Management or Law if he has enjoyed one more & drop Philosophy, so Stirling is so totally flexible,

Also was impressed with the Philosophy lecturer who went to Cambridge then taught at Cambridge & now works at Stirling & rates it very high, he & my son just spoke for awhile there Philosophy chat & they was on the same level.

At the end of the day it's best to visit but Stirling was a 9/10 hour drive for us & we didn't even have the offer when we visited it back in April but it made up my son's mind that he wanted it as his insurance.

Good luck to you, remember everyone has different opinions I just gave you mine & hope it helped in some way.

:smile:

I was worried about that, as when I apply to Stirling it would be so obvious that it'd be my insurance...would they turn me down? and of course there is the age old thing that they are more likely to accept Scottish people...

But it does sound really good, so I'm definitley going to see it on the next open day :biggrin:

!

Thank you!

and good luck to your son!

Reply 92

Original post by IceCool

I'm looking at Dundee as well, what's your opinion on it? And i would recommend Stirling.

ah, i've never actually been, but from what i've heard the town is very small... so if you like quiet locations, it might be your thing.
but i really really liked the course they presented. looking at the modules they have selected, they've got a really wide range of options. oddly enough were the only uni that i've seen so far which is not including SOME kind of religious content in their course, mainly the reason why i'm reluctant to apply... about a quater of my statement was about religion.

Original post by lampshade1

I liked the University itself! but the department didn't wow me at all! The talk I went to was a real let down, but this may have been because I've heard so much about Exeter Uni and was expecting so much. So yeah, I was pretty disappointed!
and what grades are you thinking for your insurance then?
like IceCool says..Stirling would be a good insurance, but depends on what grades you're aiming for what your insurance is? as Reading or Essex could be insurance for some people with ABB-BBB
they were really good for Philosophy :biggrin:

! I was very impressed

Ah, here's the catch: i do the IB, so the offers are actually quite different. i don't know why but universities refuse to believe that it's actually equivalant to doing like 6 a levels and still give crazy high offers, but more so in england than in scotland. the thing is, you need to have a really massive point difference between your first and insurance choices because if you slip up by a point in each subject, that's it you've lost 6 points. the unis i've looked at and their typical offers:

Glasgow: 36
Edinburgh: 34 (with 5, 5, 5 at HL)
Lancaster:34
Exeter: 36 - 34
Nottingham 34 -32
Sheffield: 33
Stirling: 32
Dundee: 30 (with 5, 5, 5 at HL)

THE biggest problem, is by far, the ones with a 5, 5, 5, requirement for the higher level subjects. i am doing higher level physics and it is EXTREMELY difficult for someone who is not actually gifted in that area (me) and for the past year i've been fluctuating from between levels 6 to 3 (so like dropping 4 grades in A levels), i'm okay with having edinburgh as a reach, i really liked it and it's a great uni. so i'm doubtful of dundee as a backup (risky to need to achieve a 5 for physics), exeter is a high offer that i don't want, i reckon stirling isn't my type of university either. so i'm pretty stuck, i think i have Glasgow, Edinburgh and nottingham as certain choices... the rest i still need to look into. suggestions?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 93

outoftownstrange

9

Yeah! Excited now! I WAS going to do Philosophy and Politics, but NOW I'm just going to go for Philosophy :smile:

.

Almost certainly applying to:
KCL
Warwick
Heythrop (as insurance)

Still deciding on:
UCL
Exeter
Bristol
Southampton
Reading
Essex
Sussex

By the way, what's everyone intending to do, job-wise, after their degree. I want to do a masters but after that, I'm not sure.

Reply 94

Original post by forrestgump19

Yeah! Excited now! I WAS going to do Philosophy and Politics, but NOW I'm just going to go for Philosophy :smile:

.

Almost certainly applying to:
KCL
Warwick
Heythrop (as insurance)

Still deciding on:
UCL
Exeter
Bristol
Southampton
Reading
Essex
Sussex

By the way, what's everyone intending to do, job-wise, after their degree. I want to do a masters but after that, I'm not sure.

ohh! everyone on here is saying essex is good, and i personally quite like reading, went to visit and it was quiet, but very nice.
what exactly are you looking for in unis?

job-wise... i have no idea. i might actually just do something completely unrelated, get a teaching degree and teach philosophy, or do a masters in art or something. :biggrin:

it seems so odd now that i've phrased it in words :O

Reply 95

outoftownstrange

9

Original post by jacksonriddle

ohh! everyone on here is saying essex is good, and i personally quite like reading, went to visit and it was quiet, but very nice.
what exactly are you looking for in unis?

job-wise... i have no idea. i might actually just do something completely unrelated, get a teaching degree and teach philosophy, or do a masters in art or something. :biggrin:

it seems so odd now that i've phrased it in words :O

Ah cool, what specifically about Essex? I'm finding it hard to choose. My sister went to Reading and loved it. She did Geography, but still. :smile:

To be honest, I'm not sure. I can't really put my finger on why I like the Unis I do. I'm sure it will all completely change when I actually visit them though!

They all sound like decent ideas! I'm sure in the near future there will be loads of people telling me how bad my job prospects will be, but hey! I want to do a masters in a field of philosophy, but more related to something that I can get a job in, if that makes sense...? :P

:smile:

Reply 96

funkymonkey94

what about the comparisons between exeter and bristol?!

Reply 97

electric-wars

11

I have my heart set on Sussex and don't really want to go anywhere else, so was wondering if anyone could shed some light on if I would be able to apply to two separate courses (ie. single honours Philosophy and Philosophy & Spanish joint honours) to increase my chances? I understand that this would take up two applications but I would be happy to do so if it meant I had a greater chance of being accepted.

Reply 98

obstupefacere

13

Original post by electric-wars

I have my heart set on Sussex and don't really want to go anywhere else, so was wondering if anyone could shed some light on if I would be able to apply to two separate courses (ie. single honours Philosophy and Philosophy & Spanish joint honours) to increase my chances? I understand that this would take up two applications but I would be happy to do so if it meant I had a greater chance of being accepted.

You can, although I would be wary about thinking this will increase your chances.

The university sill be able to see both applications, and may see this as a lack of real commitment to a specific program.

Furthermore; it will be difficult to tailor a Personal Statement, and have a Good Reference written for both; as either you will not mention Spanish; or on your Philosophy application you will have space used up talking about languages.

You should still give a few applications elsewhere, it is almost impossible to be certain you will get a place; even if you are way above criteria it is not guaranteed.

Reply 99