5th choice? :S

I'm applying to study Biochemistry this year, and because I'm applying to Oxford my application has to be in in a couple of weeks. I've decided on four universities, but I'm a bit stuck as to what to put as my 5th choice. I've got it down to a few:

1. Newcastle - I love the place and know it quite well because I've got family nearby but I wasn't entirely sure about the course - it was very medically-orientated and I don't know for sure if that's the route I want to go down later on.
2. York - I wasn't too keen on the campus, I thought it was a bit too concrete. I went with friends who were looking at other subjects and ended up missing the subject talks because of them wanting to get a later train than originally planned and then wanting to go home earlier than originally planned. The course does look quite good however and I like York as a place, just not the university campus.
3. Leeds - I didn't actually visit on an open day but I live 30 minutes bus ride away from the place and have been using the libraries to do research for my EPQ - I quite like Leeds as a place and the course looks alright but I haven't actually had a look around the department.
4. Lancaster - I didn't visit Lancaster either but I've heard people saying it's really nice; it's high in the league tables for Biological Sciences and the course looks alright.
5. Imperial College - Very well-respected & a good course, but it's London and I'm not sure I want to live in London because it's generally more expensive than everywhere else. Another one I haven't visited.

Which does it seem like it would be best for me to apply to? Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

Dzheity

I would suggest you Imperial college, York, Leeds and Newcastle. Based only on my own opinion. Good luck in making you decision :smile:

Reply 2

francescafrancesca

1

What are the four choices you've already made to stop people recommending it again?

Reply 3

BlueSheep32

OP

11

Dzheity

I would suggest you Imperial college, York, Leeds and Newcastle. Based only on my own opinion. Good luck in making you decision :smile:

Thanks, but I probably didn't make it clear enough in my original post - I've chosen four already (Oxford, Birmingham, Warwick & Bath) and I need to choose my 5th, sorry :s-smilie:

But at least that could rule Lancaster out :smile:

Reply 4

BJack

19

You can add another choice later if you haven't decided by 15th October, so there's no need to rush to find your fifth choice.

Reply 5

ily_em

17

Add your fifth choice later if you want.

Also take a look at bursaries you could get - you say you may not consider Imperial because it is expensive but if you're from a low income family they could give you a good bursary - eg I'm going to UCL and will actually end up better off than my other choices because they give me a much bigger bursary!

Reply 6

hp92

You should probably rule out Imperial as a fifth choice university, especially with your current set being difficult as it is, as you may be taking too many risks. However, I have known someone to get onto the Biochemistry course at Warwick with CCCU at AS so it might not be a great risk?

You seem to like the York and Imperial courses the best, or at least that is implied. York's campus, whilst visually concrete covered in many parts, is actually quite beautiful, especially to the south of lake. The city itself is of course on the small side, alien to that of Newcastle and Leeds (though not that far away), but being a touristy/cultural centre it is one of the busier small/medium cities in England.

If I were you I'd focus on looking at Leeds and York as your fifth choice - and way up their differences in course/location/prospects over the next month or so. Maybe pay them another visit.

Imperial

/thread

BlueSheep32

I'm applying to study Biochemistry this year, and because I'm applying to Oxford my application has to be in in a couple of weeks. I've decided on four universities, but I'm a bit stuck as to what to put as my 5th choice. I've got it down to a few:

1. Newcastle - I love the place and know it quite well because I've got family nearby but I wasn't entirely sure about the course - it was very medically-orientated and I don't know for sure if that's the route I want to go down later on.
2. York - I wasn't too keen on the campus, I thought it was a bit too concrete. I went with friends who were looking at other subjects and ended up missing the subject talks because of them wanting to get a later train than originally planned and then wanting to go home earlier than originally planned. The course does look quite good however and I like York as a place, just not the university campus.
3. Leeds - I didn't actually visit on an open day but I live 30 minutes bus ride away from the place and have been using the libraries to do research for my EPQ - I quite like Leeds as a place and the course looks alright but I haven't actually had a look around the department.
4. Lancaster - I didn't visit Lancaster either but I've heard people saying it's really nice; it's high in the league tables for Biological Sciences and the course looks alright.
5. Imperial College - Very well-respected & a good course, but it's London and I'm not sure I want to live in London because it's generally more expensive than everywhere else. Another one I haven't visited.

Which does it seem like it would be best for me to apply to? Any advice would be appreciated :smile:

hey what A levels did you get, if you dont mind me asking lol

Reply 9

BlueSheep32

OP

11

flubadiblam

hey what A levels did you get, if you dont mind me asking lol

I got 5 A's at AS, I've just gone into year 13 now. They should be in my signature in the original post though :smile:

Thanks for the replies, I'll speak to someone at 6th form about adding a 5th choice later on (my school has a November UCAS deadline so they can process all the applications by January) to give me a bit more time to decide. I know you don't need to fill all of the choices but I just thought I might as well use them if they're there! At the moment it'll probably be York or Leeds, but Newcastle keeps returning to my head because I love the city so much...but I suppose it's better to go with the place that has the best course.

Reply 10

petalo170

Hi,

From your list and what you have said, I would recommend York or Leeds. In my opinion, the most important things are the course and the town where you'll be living, and if you like those I don't think a less-than-perfect campus would really bother you. Your GCSE grades are amazing, so you would probably stand a good chance with Imperial, but think carefully about the expense first. I turned down Kings and UCL offers as the accommodation in London was just too expensive for me at the time, so those spaces on my UCAS form were effectively wasted!

Also, I don't know if you've decided on a career path yet, but I would be careful with Lancaster. I am sure it is a decent uni and as you say it is high in the tables for your subject, but a science degree gives you a lot of transferable skills and you might wish to go into a different area of work area later on. A lot of big corporate graduate recruiters prefer to take graduates from certain universities, and I'm not sure Lancaster is among them yet.

Good luck with your choices!

Reply 11

flubadiblam

9

BlueSheep32

I got 5 A's at AS, I've just gone into year 13 now. They should be in my signature in the original post though :smile:

Thanks for the replies, I'll speak to someone at 6th form about adding a 5th choice later on (my school has a November UCAS deadline so they can process all the applications by January) to give me a bit more time to decide. I know you don't need to fill all of the choices but I just thought I might as well use them if they're there! At the moment it'll probably be York or Leeds, but Newcastle keeps returning to my head because I love the city so much...but I suppose it's better to go with the place that has the best course.

right so your a levels are up to par lol, but i'd say go to a uni that you think you want to spend 3 or 4 years of your life at, so if you dont like the campus... well you can see where im going with this :smile:

5th choice? :S

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