Biology/ biological sciences applicants for 2013 entry

Anyone going to Nottingham?
I've just last-minute changed my application and got an offer for Biology which is a massive relief!

Is there a thread for the 2014 applicants? If anyone wouldn't mind making one, cos I'm not a very experienced TSR member and I'm sure I would mess it up :/ haha


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There is already one set up, I think it's biological sciences 2014

I can't seem to find it do you mind posting the link please?


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One sec

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2410150&page=2&p=44187538&highlight=2014%20biology#post44187538

here you are

Hey guys, I know no ones been on this thread in a while but I didn't know where to post this so here goes:
basically I'm applying this year and my first choice is vetmed but as its so competitive I need a back up. Here's where my problem is. I can't decide between doing earth sciences or biological sciences. Now I know there are pros/cons for each but as you all are doing bio, could anyone please tell me the pros of the course and what made them decide to do it, whether anyone else had a similar problem to me and couldnt decide between 2 courses etc. just any info would be great.
Also, personal statement help? Does it matter if you don't have any work experience? Cos the only work experience I have is vetmed related...

Hey, I know you posted this ages ago but I thought I'd still answer your questions . The reason I chose biology is because it is such a broad degree - I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do after my degree but at the moment I am thinking something along the lines of animal conservation. I could have gone with a zoology or conservation degree but I believe with sciences it's important to have a more general approach at this stage. Picking biology would mean that you could study vetmed as a postgrad, but this could also be the case for earth sciences.

With regard to your work experience - my work experience was actually all in a vets! So I don't think that should be a problem .

Hope this helps .

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Oh thank you so much for your reply! Your reasons for choosing biology is pretty much the same as mine tbh, because I would like to go into zoology or conservation too, but then again stuff like genetics and evolution also interest me so I want to give myself time to choose my ultimate degree once I've experienced my first year of uni learning the 'core' bits of the degree before I choose what to specialise in
The fact that your work experience was all in a vets makes me so relieved tho haha :') how did you link it to biology in your personal statement though? If you don't mind me asking! Also which uni's did you apply to and what were your firm/insurance options?
Apologies about all the questions, I just want other people's views and suggestions, as I find it really helpful! Thanks again


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No problem, I don't mind answering questions! Can I ask why you're wondering about Earth Sciences specifically or have you ruled that out now? You would learn some genetics and evolution if you were to choose zoology, just not plant biology .

In my personal statement I just explained how my work experience had confirmed the area of science I was interested in and then just general stuff about meeting new people/time management etc. You might have particularly enjoyed anatomy/maybe they had specimens on show and you enjoyed looking at the features or something? I went to quite a few taster days at universities and that was useful to explain what I'd enjoyed and learnt during the lectures so it might be worth looking into that?

It's a bit complicated as I took a gap year so I applied 2 years in a row! I applied to Cambridge (and Bristol, Sheffield, Bath,York) in Year 13 but was rejected from Cambridge but when I received my results in August I decided to apply to Oxford. I didn't get in, so I am now going to York!

York is quite flexible as they have various degrees which share the same first year (I'm also going to France for a year as part of it!) and I would also recommend that you look into Sheffield as they seem to be very flexible. They have a zoology degree and another called 'ecology and conservation'.

Well I've pretty much ruled out earth sciences now, it was something I was interested in after researching loads into it but biology defiantly beat it because there was a lot more variety in the courses also quite a few of the uni's I wanted to go to for earth science wanted maths or physics at AS and i didn't have either and I didn't want to do an extra year learning all that stuff so yeah :')

And congrats for getting into York! It's actually one of my options, I would love to go there, I've heard such good things about the biology course at York! ;D your other options looked good too, especially Bristol. - what grades did you get at A2 in what subjects?
Going to France sounds amazing as well, are you going there for something specific like research? Also are you planning on specialising in zoology?

I've given my personal statement in for a mark by my teacher so I'll let you know how that goes - I'm praying she won't be too harsh! Haha xD

Trouble with me at the moment is picking my uni's because I'm not really able to move away from home due to personal reasons so I'm trying to pick ones closer to London. I would love to go to either UCL or Imperial! But I'm going to try my best to apply to 1 or 2 uni's outside of London like York or Sheffield cos I know they're amazing for biology and it would be such a shame to miss out on such good uni's


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