[EierVonSatan]

(Original post by Accalia)
Before applying, did you ever get the feeling that you just weren't good enough to pursue it at a higher level, or worry that you wouldn't be able to cope?

Yeah, sure I don't think such feelings are all that uncommon...just totally unfounded

[BJack]

(Original post by teakay)
[Books] I'm away for a good 3 weeks with nothing much to do but windsurf and lie on a beach so

The only book I read when I applied was Why chemical reactions happen and I don't think I would have gotten all the way through it in three weeks on the beach, so try not to push yourself too hard! I think there is a tendency for applicants to try to read as many books as they can without thinking about how they can use the reading in the application. Reading just a couple of books and getting a lot of useful stuff out of them (which can definitely be the case with WCRH) is a lot better than reading loads of books and then only being able to list them on your PS without any analysis.

Certainly for applying to Oxford, WCRH is a very good book to read because it discusses some things that you won't cover in a lot of detail (or perhaps won't cover at all) at school, which at the same time are some of the things tutors might well ask about to stretch you.

Of course, if you can read them all and get a lot out of them all, that's great — but a little bit of well-focused reading is better than a lot of skim reading.

P.S. Enjoy your holiday!

[archie0705]

I am applying to chemistry...thinking of chemistry at Durham, ICL, UCL and York.

Reading Four laws that drive the universe and Why chemical reactions happen

[Carri23]

How do the different unis offering chemistry compare with regards to the number of hours per week spent in labs? Some of them specify on their website but others don't.

Also does anyone know what Sussex is like for chemistry?? It wasn't a uni I'd ever heard of before but it keeps cropping up and looks quite good. However I wasn't sure about how much of a reputation it had, or whether a degree from there is well regarded by employers.

Thanks

[teakay]

(Original post by BJack)
The only book I read when I applied was Why chemical reactions happen and I don't think I would have gotten all the way through it in three weeks on the beach, so try not to push yourself too hard! I think there is a tendency for applicants to try to read as many books as they can without thinking about how they can use the reading in the application. Reading just a couple of books and getting a lot of useful stuff out of them (which can definitely be the case with WCRH) is a lot better than reading loads of books and then only being able to list them on your PS without any analysis.

Certainly for applying to Oxford, WCRH is a very good book to read because it discusses some things that you won't cover in a lot of detail (or perhaps won't cover at all) at school, which at the same time are some of the things tutors might well ask about to stretch you.

Of course, if you can read them all and get a lot out of them all, that's great — but a little bit of well-focused reading is better than a lot of skim reading.

P.S. Enjoy your holiday!

Hey, yeah I see what you mean, it's pretty heavy going ahaha, but I'm getting there[ish] - talking about WCRH, the others are more wider knowledge than pure chemistry, not really stuff that would be useful in interviews, but really interesting

And so far, very much enjoying it

[robk93]

Hey everybody looking to study Chem at UCL, York, Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester for 2012.

I've got the chance to an extended project, would anyone recommend it? Likewise, is work experience as essential as people seem to make out?

Thanks

[Nymthae]

(Original post by robk93)
Hey everybody looking to study Chem at UCL, York, Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester for 2012.

I've got the chance to an extended project, would anyone recommend it? Likewise, is work experience as essential as people seem to make out?

Thanks

EP won't really add that much. Do it if you want, but meh, it takes up quite a bit of time and it might just be better spending that on doing your actual A-levels. If you do have something you're particularly interested in though, it's a good opportunity to 'explore' that and focus on it. If you chose a chemistry-based topic then it would probably make a decent interview topic but of course, you can read and learn things without doing a project on them.

I didn't have any Chemistry-based work experience. I don't think I actually mentioned any work experience anywhere (I had a couple of weeks in schools, and one in a hospital). If you can get something relevent then it's good, but I imagine it's pretty hard.

[robk93]

Fair enough

I'm taking up maths AS next year, so it'd probably be too much to do it as well.

Also, 'Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving' by John Emsley is well worth a read. Not as good as WCRH though ...

[Accalia]

(Original post by robk93)
Fair enough

I'm taking up maths AS next year, so it'd probably be too much to do it as well.

Also, 'Better Looking, Better Living, Better Loving' by John Emsley is well worth a read. Not as good as WCRH though ...

Have you started/finished your ps yet? How are you incorporating the extra-curric reading?

I'm reading 'Molecules at an Exhibition: the Science of Everyday Life' - not exactly pure chemistry or anything advanced, but it's good for lots of interesting little facts on lots of different chemicals. Just a recommendation for anyone looking

[robk93]

(Original post by Accalia)
Have you started/finished your ps yet? How are you incorporating the extra-curric reading?

I'm reading 'Molecules at an Exhibition: the Science of Everyday Life' - not exactly pure chemistry or anything advanced, but it's good for lots of interesting little facts on lots of different chemicals. Just a recommendation for anyone looking

I've got a first draft of a ps, it'll need a fair amount of tweaking before October though

As for the extra reading - i've introduced a few of the topics in WCRH as areas of chemistry i'm interested in and then linked them with my current studies. I don't know how (or if ) I'll link the 'Better Looking' stuff in though.

I heard of that book, it's by John Emsley as well he's well worth a read, even for biologists

[manishk1993]

Hi guys, Im applying for a pure chemistry degree once I get my results

but I was a lil confused, is it better doing a Masters degree ( Mchem) straight away or doing a Bachelors and THEN a masters ? cos my teacher told me , that once u finish your bachelors, you can add a year and kinda of make it a masters ? how does that work ?

PLUS im confused bout all this experience stuff, do you need chemistry work exp to kind of get in at top unis ? cos ive tried and I cant find any...

ANd are courses with like 6 months or a year abroad good for employment ?

[Nymthae]

(Original post by manishk1993)
Hi guys, Im applying for a pure chemistry degree once I get my results

but I was a lil confused, is it better doing a Masters degree ( Mchem) straight away or doing a Bachelors and THEN a masters ? cos my teacher told me , that once u finish your bachelors, you can add a year and kinda of make it a masters ? how does that work ?

PLUS im confused bout all this experience stuff, do you need chemistry work exp to kind of get in at top unis ? cos ive tried and I cant find any...

ANd are courses with like 6 months or a year abroad good for employment ?

Work experience isn't critical as it is hard to get. You don't have the knowledge to really understand any placements, I expect...

Ideally: apply for the MChem and you can then decide to drop to a BSci at a later date. Going from the 4-year to the 3-year is easier than the opposite, according to every university i've spoken to. I think it tends to be to do with securing funding [loans] from your council. Harder to suddenly say 'ah yes, i'd like an extra year of funding!'.

You can do a MSci seperately though, i'm not entirely sure how differently it pans out. I have a feeling the MChem will still have a few taught modules and a large research project, where as a seperate one is practically all about the research project I think. I confess, I didn't read much into it myself. Heh.

I'm not entirely sure on the abroad placements. The industrial placements are very useful, as it is direct industry experience. I think the placements abroad tend to be in connection with another university, and they always seemed like a good thing to me. I don't know how much it works for employability though.

[MereBeing]

Hello there,
I got my A/S results back today and I am wondering if it's possible to bring up my B in Chemistry to an A overall in A/level without resits. I'd really like to do Chemistry in university and I don't want a B to hold me back from it (probably should have thought of this beforehand but I can't change anything now). Would you guys advice me to resit my papers or carry on and work as hard as possible to get an A next year?

Thanks

[Caprisun!]

(Original post by MereBeing)
Hello there,
I got my A/S results back today and I am wondering if it's possible to bring up my B in Chemistry to an A overall in A/level without resits. I'd really like to do Chemistry in university and I don't want a B to hold me back from it (probably should have thought of this beforehand but I can't change anything now). Would you guys advice me to resit my papers or carry on and work as hard as possible to get an A next year?

Thanks

I was speaking to a Chemistry Professor at the Manchester open day and he said that as long as you have a B in Chemistry it doesn't matter what subjects your other grades are in, if that helps.

As to whether or not you can improve without resits depends on how close you are to the next grade boundary.

[MereBeing]

(Original post by Caprisun!)
I was speaking to a Chemistry Professor at the Manchester open day and he said that as long as you have a B in Chemistry it doesn't matter what subjects your other grades are in, if that helps.

As to whether or not you can improve without resits depends on how close you are to the next grade boundary.

Ah okay, thank you

My UMS mark is 19 marks away from an A so I am still not sure if I should go for resits or just carry on Would taking resits, especially for Chemistry, put me at a disadvantage when applying to university?

[Caprisun!]

(Original post by MereBeing)
Ah okay, thank you

My UMS mark is 19 marks away from an A so I am still not sure if I should go for resits or just carry on Would taking resits, especially for Chemistry, put me at a disadvantage when applying to university?

I doubt it'll put you at a disadvantage but if it does we can be disadvantaged together.

[tpowertj]

I took AS chemistry alongside my A2s as an extra and discovered I like it quite alot! I'm having a gap year to finish it off. Will this sound bad when I apply this autumn?

[Peregrinum]

(Original post by tpowertj)
I took AS chemistry alongside my A2s as an extra and discovered I like it quite alot! I'm having a gap year to finish it off. Will this sound bad when I apply this autumn?

I don't see any reason why it should.

[tpowertj]

(Original post by Peregrinum)
I don't see any reason why it should.

Well will it look like I did my A levels over 3 years which alot of universities don't like? And do I need to justify why I didn't take it in the first place in my ps, because I don't have a reason

[PatrickD]

Hoping to apply to York, Nottingham, Sheffield and two from Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds (haven't looked at the latter two yet). I really want to go to York or Nottingham though - they were both great, and after attending a Chemistry day at York I should hopefully get an offer without the need for an interview!

I was very interested in NatSci at Cambridge (as well as at a few other unis) but I don't do Maths (not even to AS) so I wouldn't be able to pursue Chemistry beyond 1st year there I enjoy Biology/Biochemistry (looking at a lot of the biological/medicinal chem courses now) but I really want an emphasis on Chemistry for my course. Going to Cambridge wouldn't offer this so I've pretty much given up on there - it's annyoing because my AS grades are good enough to stand a chance. My lack of maths also means Durham and Bristol (and a few others) are out.

Ah well, I need some way of narrowing down my choices, right?