[mehhh.....hi.]

I just looked at the guardians league table for psychology,and Stirling is placed 12th. I'm unsure how it can be so high up and yet only ask for CCC
I was considering applying but thought it wasn't that good a university for psychology, but looking at this it seems pretty good

Also places like Durham and Warwick are lower down... maybe I'm reading too much into it but it seems odd to me.

Any views on how the entry requirements are so low with it being placed 12th?

[mehhh.....hi.]

If anyone does comment please quote me otherwise I wont know, but I am intrigued by others views on this, particularly if someone has been to Stirling and can give me some info as I have wanted to go there since I first looked into it

[Delaney]

Scottish Universities mainly make offers for Scottish Highers (AS Level equivalents), A Levels are worth a lot more compared to Highers in the terms of UCAS points so the requirements for English students are lower .

A Level (+ AS Level) at C = 120 UCAS Points
Scottish Higher at C = 80 UCAS Points

[Revolution is my Name]

Probably because the methodology for the Guardian league table this year was to write the names of Universities on the side of snails, then race them and do the league table according to where they came (with Universities ordinarily at the top written on the snails that looked slightly faster, although of course guessing such things is an imperfect science).

[0404343m]

(Original post by mehhh.....hi.)
If anyone does comment please quote me otherwise I wont know, but I am intrigued by others views on this, particularly if someone has been to Stirling and can give me some info as I have wanted to go there since I first looked into it

There are two main reasons, but it has little to do with the quality of the university or course. One is that Scottish students leave school a year earlier, or at least can choose to, to go to university. So degrees in Scotland are a year longer, and first year isn't as advanced. Therefore entry doesn't need to be as high, although some universities are as high anyway.

The second reason is simple supply and demand. Stirling is a bit out of the way, and in reality the lion's share of applications go to Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews from A-level students (Scots sit highers, not A-Levels), so they drop their requirements to encourage applications. It doesn't mean the courses are bad or easy. Aberdeen after all is a very good university but being where it is it doesn't get as many applications per place. Stirling is a small town in the middle of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The only small rural place to escape this is St Andrews, and that only started 10 years ago when the Prince went there, causing applications to quadruple.

In short, Stirling is still a good university, especially for that subject. Consider it a bargain at those grades.

[River85]

(Original post by mehhh.....hi.)
I just looked at the guardians league table for psychology,and Stirling is placed 12th. I'm unsure how it can be so high up and yet only ask for CCC
I was considering applying but thought it wasn't that good a university for psychology, but looking at this it seems pretty good

Also places like Durham and Warwick are lower down... maybe I'm reading too much into it but it seems odd to me.

Any views on how the entry requirements are so low with it being placed 12th?

Have a look at the Independent's tabe. You'll find Durham and Warwick 9th and 10th respectively with Stirling in the 40s. That should probably tell you all you need to know about league tables.

The Guardian often places what are, shall we say, less celebrated/creamed over universities over universities like Durham/Warwick/Bristol/Newcastle/Leeds/Manchester....usually due to the value added score they use.

As a general rule Scottish universities have more modest typical offers. Glasgow and St Andrews have typical offers around the AAB mark. Edinburgh BBB (although realistically you will be predicted at least two As to get an offer in most instances). Aberdeen and Dundee are around BBB - CCC. This is largely due to their more northerly location. Students from England, especially the south, are put off by the long travel distance and they are therefore less popular meaning typical offers (which are as much a sign of popularity than quality) are lower. The same can be said for Stirling to a lesser extent.

[Wesssty]

Any uni named after a currency deserves to be top 5 at least, what an outrage!

They even spelt it wrong!

[mehhh.....hi.]

(Original post by Delaney)
Scottish Universities mainly make offers for Scottish Highers (AS Level equivalents), A Levels are worth a lot more compared to Highers in the terms of UCAS points so the requirements for English students are lower .

A Level (+ AS Level) at C = 120 UCAS Points
Scottish Higher at C = 80 UCAS Points

Ah okay that makes sense However, does that mean it will be a lot harder for me to get an offer? I've got my heart set on it there now Booked my open day and everything

[River85]

(Original post by 0404343m)
There are two main reasons, but it has little to do with the quality of the university or course. One is that Scottish students leave school a year earlier, or at least can choose to, to go to university. So degrees in Scotland are a year longer, and first year isn't as advanced. Therefore entry doesn't need to be as high, although some universities are as high anyway.

The second reason is simple supply and demand. Stirling is a bit out of the way, and in reality the lion's share of applications go to Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews from A-level students (Scots sit highers, not A-Levels), so they drop their requirements to encourage applications. It doesn't mean the courses are bad or easy. Aberdeen after all is a very good university but being where it is it doesn't get as many applications per place. Stirling is a small town in the middle of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The only small rural place to escape this is St Andrews, and that only started 10 years ago when the Prince went there, causing applications to quadruple.

In short, Stirling is still a good university, especially for that subject. Consider it a bargain at those grades.

What he said.

It shouldn't be said that Stirling is a poor university just because of its modest typical offers. It is largely down to popularity/location.

Another example, although not from psychology, is Aberwystwyth for politics/international relations. They have one of the strongest departments in the country but, as it is a less well established name and especially because of its location (small town, relatively isolated on the Welsh coast) they have a very modest typical offer of 280 UCAS. Well below universities like Durham who, because of its superficial prestige and its status as a brand for private school students in particular to cream over, ask for AAA (and have a department which is arguably weaker. Certainly no stronger).

[mehhh.....hi.]

(Original post by River85)
Have a look at the Independent's tabe. You'll find Durham and Warwick 9th and 10th respectively with Stirling in the 40s. That should probably tell you all you need to know about league tables.

The Guardian often places what are, shall we say, less celebrated/creamed over universities over universities like Durham/Warwick/Bristol/Newcastle/Leeds/Manchester....usually due to the value added score they use.

As a general rule Scottish universities have more modest typical offers. Glasgow and St Andrews have typical offers around the AAB mark. Edinburgh BBB (although realistically you will be predicted at least two As to get an offer in most instances). Aberdeen and Dundee are around BBB - CCC. This is largely due to their more northerly location. Students from England, especially the south, are put off by the long travel distance and they are therefore less popular meaning typical offers (which are as much a sign of popularity than quality) are lower. The same can be said for Stirling to a lesser extent.

Ah yeah I see what you mean, I guess it's down to what the different newspapers regard as more important, but with that big a difference in the ranking I think I shouldn't stress too much about where different universities are placed Hopefully as it is quite a qiet place and not with great night life I wouldn't think??) less people will apply there and I can get an offer, as I'm a bit concerned with the fact they will put more preference on Scottish applicants :/

[Ronar]

If you want to go to stirling then ignore that If your application is good at you can meet your requirments then I wouldnt worry about prefrences

don't let low entry requirements put you off I did psychology for a year and it was really tricky It was only a third module heh so I had to drop it

Stirling give low offers to give people chances. A lot of my friends got in through clearing and whatnot last year and are acing it this year with firsts because it is not a based all on exams, but coursework too It's great, and gives people who show a little bit of potential a chance to grow exeptionally

Nobody outside tsr generally cares too much about league tables. According to the times stirling is 2nd in scotland and 9th in the uk for Philosophy and still hand out BBBC offers for highers

The night life is great here, really busy if you want to go out or really quiet if you want it be.

Good luck with your application

[mehhh.....hi.]

(Original post by Ronar)
If you want to go to stirling then ignore that If your application is good at you can meet your requirments then I wouldnt worry about prefrences

don't let low entry requirements put you off I did psychology for a year and it was really tricky It was only a third module heh so I had to drop it

Stirling give low offers to give people chances. A lot of my friends got in through clearing and whatnot last year and are acing it this year with firsts because it is not a based all on exams, but coursework too It's great, and gives people who show a little bit of potential a chance to grow exeptionally

Nobody outside tsr generally cares too much about league tables. According to the times stirling is 2nd in scotland and 9th in the uk for Philosophy and still hand out BBBC offers for highers

The night life is great here, really busy if you want to go out or really quiet if you want it be.

Good luck with your application

Ah thank you Would you say it has a friendly feel there? Sounds silly but I wasn't sure if it was more for Scottish students or what Also, by night life, does that mean going far from the campus for a night out?

[Ronar]

(Original post by mehhh.....hi.)
Ah thank you Would you say it has a friendly feel there? Sounds silly but I wasn't sure if it was more for Scottish students or what Also, by night life, does that mean going far from the campus for a night out?

Incredibly friendly its one of the reasons I came here, I hated the elitism at Glasgow uni. Nope, the union is pretty good but the nearest club is the red rooms and thats a 5 minute walk from the halls at the Med, just next to the uni entrance. A bus is only 10 minutes away too for stirling city centre

And about it bieng for scottish students don't be mad Universities are incredibly diverse, I have made friends with lots of english people, italians russians, germans, welsh, irish... I could go on Yes there are lots of scots here but it doesn't mean its only for scots hehe. If anyone ignores you for being english its very unusual and they just sound like eejits. To be honest scotland is very friendly And you should like it up here

What halls have you applied to?

[mehhh.....hi.]

(Original post by Ronar)
Incredibly friendly its one of the reasons I came here, I hated the elitism at Glasgow uni. Nope, the union is pretty good but the nearest club is the red rooms and thats a 5 minute walk from the halls at the Med, just next to the uni entrance. A bus is only 10 minutes away too for stirling city centre

And about it bieng for scottish students don't be mad Universities are incredibly diverse, I have made friends with lots of english people, italians russians, germans, welsh, irish... I could go on Yes there are lots of scots here but it doesn't mean its only for scots hehe. If anyone ignores you for being english its very unusual and they just sound like eejits. To be honest scotland is very friendly And you should like it up here

What halls have you applied to?

Ah no I'm applying for 2011, but Stirling is a definite as one of my choices, and most probably a firm if I get an offer I just thought it was best to find out more now rather than later if I was to get an offer

Thanks

[Ronar]

Definently visit then!