Applying to 5 Russell Group universities...

do you think this is a good idea?

basically, i am applying for biomed and I want to do further research (PhD) afterwards. however, i just dont see myself at a poor university. coming out with 20,000+ worth of debt, for a degree at a poor university just seems pointless.

I meet all the requirements (ABB) going slightly over with AAB or even A*AB. My personal statement seems decent. I took part in published medical research, charity work including climbing a mountian, mentoring ect (although i have no work experience as such).

I just think I would be very unfortunate to be rejected by 5 universities. even then i would just re-apply.

Incase you wondered, i am applying to:

Leicester
Warwick
Manchester
Leeds
Sheffield

Reply 1

skunky x

14

... I did it, I got accepted by all.

And as you can see by what I need to get in, I am by no means going to get AAAA, so I think it's sensible if anything. Obviously BioMed is slightly different to Ancient History, but in my view you're just ensuring quality.

Reply 2

Cybele

14

It's up to you to take that risk, however I would have applied to one 'lesser' Uni just incase. I knew a guy from college who got better grades than me, and for whatever reason got rejected from his 5 choices (who were all asking for high grades).

Reply 3

hedfunk

Leicester is not part of the Russell Group, it's part of the 1994 group which has many good uni's aswell. I wouldnt get to hung up on these groups. Visit unis and apply for the ones you like best.

Reply 4

stracano

OP

10

hedfunk

Leicester is not part of the Russell Group, it's part of the 1994 group which has many good uni's aswell. I wouldnt get to hung up on these groups. Visit unis and apply for the ones you like best.

oh yeah, sorry i forgot to mention that.

Reply 5

Innately_Hedonistic

10

yah so i swear lots of those unis aren't that great

Reply 6

Stressworthy

14

The Russell Group may receive a lot of research grants, but that doesn't necessarily mean that those alone are the best universities in the country or anything. There are some great ones in there, and the rest are pretty good too, but there are also good unis outside the group on top of that. So as long as the five unis you're applying to are decent ones you think you have a shot at getting into, and you actually like them/the departments, that's all that matters really.

Reply 7

Drew.

15

I would take the risk, rather get rejected and apply next year than throw 20k away.

Reply 8

mrt23498

14

I don't mean to be weird, but I prefer Leicester than most, if not all of the Russel Group UNis

Reply 9

Jack.O

University 'prestige' is not a terribly good de facto indicator of how appropriate their course will be for you. Considering the fact that you definitely want to enter postgraduate studies afterwards, your central priority should be on analysing departments, not universities as a whole, in order to ascertain where you would be most likely to respond well to the teaching and achieve a good mark.

Otherwise, you run the risk of picking a university due to its world leading status in, let's say, Law or Economics, only to find that its score in these subjects was propping up a failing biomedical faculty invisible to the league tables, which would end up damaging your chances of a 2:1/first. And without a good classification, you will have difficulty entering postgrad, regardless of where you happened to study.

Good luck in any case with your applications! :smile:

Reply 10

orca92

13

Those unis aren't that good; i wouldn't go to any of them by choice for biology. Obviously biomed and biology are pretty similar and i know biomed applicants; it seems pretty straightforward to get an offer so i would go for those 5 unis. Thing is, theres no point applying to a uni that you don't want to go to so apply to 5 that you do want to go to even if theres not one or two there which you're certain of an offer from.

Reply 11

greenpeas

orca92

Those unis aren't that good; i wouldn't go to any of them by choice for biology. Obviously biomed and biology are pretty similar and i know biomed applicants; it seems pretty straightforward to get an offer so i would go for those 5 unis. Thing is, theres no point applying to a uni that you don't want to go to so apply to 5 that you do want to go to even if theres not one or two there which you're certain of an offer from.

Actually Leicester's dept. is one of the best it even includes the guy who invented PCR (btw I dont go to leicester but my cousin went and has just completed a Phd from Oxford)

Reply 12

burka

greenpeas

Actually Leicester's dept. is one of the best it even includes the guy who invented PCR (btw I dont go to leicester but my cousin went and has just completed a Phd from Oxford)

Sheffield's Bioscience department came 3rd in the tables this year.

Reply 13

deathbeforeimmortality

16

I applied to five Russel group uni's for life sciences.
I got one rejection, three offers and withdrew one application.

There isn't much risk involved to be honest, especially if your qualifications are good and you have a good personal statement. I think it's a good idea you're looking at RG uni's because they get a lot of funding. I chose Manchester because it is 8th in the country for research. Check the Times league tables for 2011 and check out life/biological sciences.

Reply 14

WhatTheFunk

17

5 uni that are good if you think you will enjoy yourself at them for the next 3 years, nothing like being in a place you dislike for 3 years

i wouldn't pick a uni place on league tables as most of them are pretty useless

work experience in biomed dosn't really matter, its hard to get into labs, any work experience is good even if it is working in tesco

some will say its a risks other say go for it, as long as you have got what they ask for , have a good PS, and if called for a interview you don't mess it up, you have a good as change are any to get a offer, plus these sorts of uni you will have people applying to that course as a 5th choice from medicine a back up

Reply 15

burka

stracano

do you think this is a good idea?

basically, i am applying for biomed and I want to do further research (PhD) afterwards. however, i just dont see myself at a poor university. coming out with 20,000+ worth of debt, for a degree at a poor university just seems pointless.

I meet all the requirements (ABB) going slightly over with AAB or even A*AB. My personal statement seems decent. I took part in published medical research, charity work including climbing a mountian, mentoring ect (although i have no work experience as such).

I just think I would be very unfortunate to be rejected by 5 universities. even then i would just re-apply.

Incase you wondered, i am applying to:

Leicester
Warwick
Manchester
Leeds
Sheffield

Those are good choices, I've just finished Biomedical Science at Sheffield. :biggrin:

I'd also recommend Newcastle's Biomedical Science course if you decide you want to change one of your choices.

Reply 16

greenpeas

burka

Sheffield's Bioscience department came 3rd in the tables this year.

I didn't mean to make it sound like I was dissing the other unis. the OP said it's just that Leicester is the only one that I know anything about.

Reply 17

stracano

OP

10

burka

Those are good choices, I've just finished Biomedical Science at Sheffield. :biggrin:

I'd also recommend Newcastle's Biomedical Science course if you decide you want to change one of your choices.

I would have chosen Newcastle but they ask for a B in GCSE maths; It was the only C i got at GCSE :frown:

Reply 18

Gizmo!

11

i fink some of you ave a very distorted view of universities.

'russell group' is merely a title bestowed by the universities concerned on themselves. its not a measure of there ability to teach or offer research, although there are obviously many strengths to all their research departments.

very obious point (but worth mentioning on tsr, given the level of intelligence on the forum, including me hehe) - obviously obviously obviously i am not suggesting you dont apply to your choices.

Reply 19

stracano

OP

10

Gizmo!

i fink some of you ave a very distorted view of universities.

'russell group' is merely a title bestowed by the universities concerned on themselves. its not a measure of there ability to teach or offer research, although there are obviously many strengths to all their research departments.

very obious point (but worth mentioning on tsr, given the level of intelligence on the forum, including me hehe) - obviously obviously obviously i am not suggesting you dont apply to your choices.

a more appropriate title perhaps would be "is it worth applying to 5 highly ranked universities" the thread was more about not giving yourself a backup choice and choosing 5 more respected and competitive universities, rather than being hung up on russell group unis.

Applying to 5 Russell Group universities...

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