Chemistry Applicants 2015

Original post by BJack

Maths, FM, chemistry is the best three-subject combination for Oxford, and presumably any other university with a maths-heavy first year, but you're probably right that some universities might see this as a narrow combination. I can't imagine any universities asking for an A* in physics, and you should be able to get an A just fine if your maths is up to scratch.

WCRH, as I said above, is good bridging material from A2 to university — so don't be discouraged that you've found it hard going. I would encourage you to have another go at it. Even if you don't understand it all, just ploughing through it will expose you to some new ideas that you might find interesting and/or useful. And if you find there's only one or two chapters that you really get/enjoy, that's enough to form the basis of a personal statement discussion.

ffs. I'm doing maths, chem and f.maths. Does this mean that universities would class me as being "narrow" - would this combination of subjects disadvantage me at all?

Reply 42

Original post by theCreator

ffs. I'm doing maths, chem and f.maths. Does this mean that universities would class me as being "narrow" - would this combination of subjects disadvantage me at all?

It shouldn't really be a problem. Chemistry is a mathematical science, so having more maths should only be good. I didn't mean to be so alarmist in my previous post. :dontknow:

Original post by Ari Ben Canaan

Although those are good textbooks I personally didnt find them useful to begin with. If you're looking to actually do something before University begins then have a look at Molecular Orbital theory and MO Diagrams. Learning how to draw MO diagrams is something nice and easy to do.

WCRH covers MO theory....

In terms of textbooks I would suggest buying that one Organic textbook by Clayden. Stick to the chapters on Carbonyl chemistry and if you're feeling adventurous try and do some enol chemistry.

Getting a head-start on carbonyl chemistry is a good idea. I didn't realize just how important it would be — possibly the single most important topic we studied in organic chemistry.

Reply 43

Ari Ben Canaan

16

Original post by BJack

WCRH covers MO theory....

Yes, I know :P Its just that I personally didnt like the way it was introduced in the book. They sort of drop it on you out of nowhere with not much real concrete explanation.

If you do a little research on the net you'll find, in my opinion, better introductory websites.

Are you still at University ?

Reply 44

Original post by Ari Ben Canaan

Yes, I know :P Its just that I personally didnt like the way it was introduced in the book. They sort of drop it on you out of nowhere with not much real concrete explanation.

If you do a little research on the net you'll find, in my opinion, better introductory websites.

Are you still at University ?

Ah, that's fair enough. I thought it was okay but I can see where you're coming from.

Yes, one undergrad year left.

Reply 45

Bookler_Natsu

12

Going to apply to chemistry in university. Just saw some people say further maths is more preferable for some universities such as Oxford. Would it make me more disadvantage because I haven't done FM? Or will the course content be harder because I haven't done FM?

Doing chemistry, physics and maths next year. Got 4 As for bio, chem, phy and maths for AS.

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Reply 46

Original post by Beths_7

Hey guys, thinking about applying to Chemistry! I haven't really done a lot of research into applying, so I would appreciate if anyone could help/point me in the right direction :smile:

I've just finished year 12, I have 4 A's in AS Maths, Chemistry, Biology and French, and an A in A2 Welsh second language.

Some of the unis I'm currently thinking about are Imperial, St Andrews, Liverpool, Oxford (maybe), Kings, Exeter, Bristol, Bath - do you think these are reasonable aims?

1) is it alright for a chemistry applicant to have no work experience? I've recently had a change of heart in career options, and so have no chemistry related work experience at all

2) Do universities look at extra curricular activities? (Non academic)

3) Is AS chemistry a good reason to want to apply for chemistry at uni? I'm applying mainly due to really enjoying the course and doing well in it over the last year

Thanks in advance, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, I'm also a chemistry applicant so I'm not an admissions expert but I have read a lot about the whole admissions process and everything so I'll try answer your questions.

- I don't know what your GCSE grades are but I would say all of those are very reasonable aims. If you do have a few A*'s and mainly A*'s and A's (at GCSE) then you should think about applying to Oxford, the worst that can happen is they can reject you, which is like not applying so it's worth a shot.

- I don't have any work experience and to be honest I haven't seen or heard of any chemistry applicant this year that does. Regardless I watched an Imperial UCAS Personal Statement video and the woman said that you only require work experience for courses such as medicine, veterinary science, teaching, etc. So in no way will you be disadvantaged, obviously work experience would be beneficial but by no means necessary.

- Oxford, as someone put it, "care more about what colour t-shirt you wear at the interview than whether or not you did DofE." so if you decide to apply to Oxford they will literally skip your paragraph in your personal statement where you mention extra-curricular activities they honestly do not care at all. But other universities do look at them, I know Imperial like a more rounded individual, someone who won't just study all day like at Oxford, but join clubs and socities, etc. Having said that, as long as you put on your personal statement a short sentence or maybe a few sentences just to show that you have outside interests and hope to pursue them at university then I think that is enough. note: they sometimes ask you about these at the interview, mainly as an ice-breaker so be prepared to talk about your sport or music in detail lol.

- I'm not too sure about this one. It's one of those things that you yourself have to decide. I suggest you look at the course structure at Imperial for example, and look at what topics they teach and ask yourself if you really find chemistry fascinating enough to study it for 3/4 years in detail. Another thing you could do is buy or borrow one of the chemistry further reading books which universities recommend you do. For example the most common book is "Why chemical reactions happen" by Keeler and Wothers. I'm currently reading it and the first few chapters are okay but after it gets very interesting, so if you enjoy reading these chemistry books which are at first year degree level then you'll probably enjoy chemistry at uni. Another thing you could do is talk to your chemistry teacher and just see what it involves and ask for their opinion, but at the end of the day it is your decision.

I apologise for the length and extreme detail but I hope you find it helpful :smile:

Reply 47

Original post by Bookler_Natsu

Going to apply to chemistry in university. Just saw some people say further maths is more preferable for some universities such as Oxford. Would it make me more disadvantage because I haven't done FM? Or will the course content be harder because I haven't done FM?

Doing chemistry, physics and maths next year. Got 4 As for bio, chem, phy and maths for AS.

I have read that the top universities such as Oxford, Imperial, etc. do prefer if you did further maths, for example in the Oxford prospectus is said the required subjects are chemistry and maths, and further maths is recommended. But you should think about the number of people that do further maths. In my school there are only 7 of us...In the country as a whole not many people do further maths, it's not a popular subject, and the people that do it also want to study other things such as engineering, physics, etc. So there won't be many people applying for chemistry with further maths. So it won't put you at a huge disadvantage, I wouldn't worry about it.

Besides, the maths done in further maths will by no means advantage me, or other FM applicants in any way. It is just a bit harder, and a lot more maths. Maybe it's not the maths itself but just the logical thinking and problem solving skills that come with it. So if you study and practise lots of maths questions at home up until the interview then that would probably compensate as it will help you answer the mathsy questions at the interview. But either way I'm sure you'll be fine, it's not a big thing you should be worrying about :smile:

Reply 48

Solivagant

18

I'm applying for chemistry 2014, thinking of applying for Durham, Warwick, Bristol, and two others. I got AAAB at AS, B in Physics, As in Ma, FMa, and Chem. Do you think it would be a bit optimistic to be applying for somewhere like Oxford or Imperial?

Reply 49

lizz-ie

18

I'm applying for chemistry at five out of: Sheffield, Birmingham, Oxford, York, Leeds and Nottingham. Got As at AS and did Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths, and am carrying on Biology, Chemistry and Maths to A2. :smile:

Reply 50

Original post by CJG21

I'm applying for chemistry 2014, thinking of applying for Durham, Warwick, Bristol, and two others. I got AAAB at AS, B in Physics, As in Ma, FMa, and Chem. Do you think it would be a bit optimistic to be applying for somewhere like Oxford or Imperial?

If you got good As in your AS levels, then you could probably make a competitive application to one or both of them.

Reply 51

Original post by Bookler_Natsu

Going to apply to chemistry in university. Just saw some people say further maths is more preferable for some universities such as Oxford. Would it make me more disadvantage because I haven't done FM? Or will the course content be harder because I haven't done FM?

Original post by theCreator

Maybe it's not the maths itself but just the logical thinking and problem solving skills that come with it. So if you study and practise lots of maths questions at home up until the interview then that would probably compensate as it will help you answer the mathsy questions at the interview. But either way I'm sure you'll be fine, it's not a big thing you should be worrying about :smile:

The maths you do in FM will come up at university and so by doing it at school, you will have a head start over those who only did single maths. However, this won't make you a better mathematician per se, just a more experienced one. On our maths for chemists paper, plenty of people who hadn't done FM did just as well as those who had.

Reply 52

Original post by Beths_7

Thank you so much! I was not expecting such a detailed response, this has really helped me out :smile:

thanks again.

Glad you found it helpful :biggrin:

Original post by Beths_7

Oh and also my GCSE's are 7A*s 4As :smile:

Yeah with those results you should apply to oxford :smile:

Reply 53

knope

3

With the year in industry, is it the length of an academic year or a calendar year?

Reply 54

joe1545

14

Applying for Mchem at Bath, Bristol, York, Loughborough, Leeds however i havent looked around any unis yet, I might go for Edingburgh or possibly Durham not sure on that.

AS levels were Biology-A, Economics-A, Maths-B, Chemistry-B
should retake to get my Bs up to A's, dropping economics.

I have relevant work experience and outside reading.

Reply 55

anna48

1

Hi everyone,

I'm about to start uni in October to study Chemistry, so if anyone's got any questions about the application process/what to read/what grades or subjects you need/applying to Oxbridge then I've just been through it all so I might be able to answer your questions!

If it helps, I applied to Bath, Bristol, Nottingham, Durham and Oxford

Reply 56

jld310

1

I'm new to all this Student Room stuff!!

But I need serious help with choosing A2 level choices. I want to do biochemistry but I've heard the step up from AS chemistry to A2 is huge, and I received a B in AS but only just - I got a D in the January exam! :colondollar:

I don't want to make the mistake of choosing a ridiculously hard A level only to fail it and not get into uni at all! :frown:

Does anyone know what the A2 course is like? And is it a massive step up? :eek:

Reply 57

username853993

21

Original post by jld310

I'm new to all this Student Room stuff!!

But I need serious help with choosing A2 level choices. I want to do biochemistry but I've heard the step up from AS chemistry to A2 is huge, and I received a B in AS but only just - I got a D in the January exam! :colondollar:

I don't want to make the mistake of choosing a ridiculously hard A level only to fail it and not get into uni at all! :frown:

Does anyone know what the A2 course is like? And is it a massive step up? :eek:

I am also going into year 13 for A2 chemistry but our school has already taught us half of unit 5 for OCR

IMO the step up is minimal and i haven't found anything anymore more difficult than in my AS year. the step up in physics is a lot more.

Although I do work very hard so I guess that's why I find it ok

Good luck :smile:

EDIT: If you work hard in your A2 year you will be fine, you obviously must be good/worked hard at chemistry in AS to get a B. Chemistry is very important for biochemistry probably more so than biology so work hard and you can boast that B to an A (maybe an A* if you do really well)

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 58