2007 V100 Entry Requirements

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Lottie

Gah. I need to find a university in that range too though I'm applying for Modern History & Politics. I'm planning on applying to Durham, Manchester, Oxford & Warwick (AAA-AAB) and Swansea (BBB). If Birmingham required ABB, it would be the perfect contender for the sixth space but I suspect it's a little risky applying there when the others I'm applying to ask for such high grades. :frown:

I don't really like the others lower down the list though! I'd apply to LSE but it's just as competitive as the ones I'm aiming for at the moment so it defeats the purpose. Guh. I just want to apply somewhere I'm likely to be accepted! Which one are you considering?

Edit Salford doesn't seem to offer a single honours History degree.

Ah no it doesn't, my friend is doing contemporary or some variation on that

edit: no wait it offers Contemporary military and International history single hons or at least it used to.

also: obligatory have a look at Leicester plug, it is very underrated and has a great course (ABB). Might be a good contender for what your looking for : )

Reply 21

confuddled101

This is fantastically useful, thanks so much!

Reply 22

Lizj

Lottie

Can I just add the important info for you and all other history applicants, that Durham will not make you an offer without at least 6 A*s at GCSE. It is not published by them but it is non negotiable.

Reply 23

thefin

Also, everyone be very wary of the Edinburgh BBB.

Reply 24

NickiM

I am in the same situation Lottie, (looking at Durham, Cambridge, York, Sheffield) for History, and I need a ABB course. The only thing is Leicester looks a good one, just it's my nearest city, and I don't want to go there! (for the fact it is so close rather than the city itself).

Reply 25

KerriT

Southampton want ABB Nicki, and Sussex might be worth a try and although Royal Holloway is AAB they would probably accept you with ABB and there's also Glasgow and Queen Mary, London.

Reply 26

NickiM

Thanks Kerri! Although I am trying to avoid Scotland and London. Is Lancaster any good?

Reply 27

Lottie

Lancaster looks like it has some interesting courses: Part I and Part II. Eric Evans is a Professor Emeritus there, which I find sort of cool as I used one of his textbooks in class. :p:

Other sort of cool things? James May (from Top Gear) and two Coronation Street writers are amongst the alumni. Here's Lancaster Uni's Wikipedia entry.

Reply 28

KerriT

Lancaster is definitely good for History, what about the University of Exeter at Cornwall? Oxford Brookes is good too.

Reply 29

Tomber

Yeah Lancaster has a good looking course, It was my reserve choice in the end. At the time I was put off by all the building that was going on there but alot has been completed now, I went with my sister to an open day a week or so ago. The course is better at Leicester though imo and you can study archaeology as a minor which wasn't available at Lancs

Reply 30

Consie

Looking at my spoiler, my AS's have gone well (especially if my remark works out) and my GCSE's did in relation to the quality of school I went to (but not in relation to everyone else in the country). I've been looking at the top band universities; Oxford, Bristol, Warwick, LSE etc. I was going to do Durham, but after ringing them up about this 6* thing and complaining that getting such results from my school was impossible, and that the course would have a massive number of independently schooled kids, they simply admitted what I said was true and said tough. I therefore need a good insurance place. I would like insurance with a decent reputation and that would almost guarantee me an offer. Most decent establishments want AAB-ABB now, so does anyone have any recommendations? I was looking at places like Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester. Would these be low enough to be insurance or should I lower my sights a little? I don’t want to go to university in Scotland at all, so those places are out of the question.

I don’t want to come across as snobbish saying my GCSE’s were crap in relation to everyone else, I mean in relation to the applicants applying to the places I’m applying to.

Also, I was thinking about writing to my MP and Bill Bryson about this Durham selection policy and its discriminatory nature. I’m not some working class hero who wants to play the sympathy card about coming from ‘the ghetto’, but I do think Durham’s policy is a bit silly, especially since many people who get into Oxbrdige get the knock back from Durham. What do people think about me writing to these guys? Does my case have any foundation? Its not as if Durham is the same quality of Oxbridge overall, most other subjects want AAB, it just seems for History the place is even more elite than leading Law and Medicine faculties.

Reply 31

Ossie1701

Consie ... How many A*/A did you get? Were there mitigating circumstances? Because I managed to get 5A*/5A/2B from an extremely rough school (in Peckham, look it up) with not exactly the greatest amount of work in the world?!

Personally, I honestly don't think your case does have any foundation. What was the %pass of your school? If its under 20% then possibly, but if its something like 50% then I would most definately say you do not have a case.

I think it is quite sad that some very talented people do not get into Durham because of this A* thing - but, you said it yourself - some get into Oxbridge and not Durham (so why would they care?). But in all honesty I have seen people come from very rough schools and get many 7 or 8 A*s.

Also, I was thinking about writing to my MP and Bill Bryson about this Durham selection policy and its discriminatory nature.

You could give it a try but in all honesty - I really do doubt it will go anywhere. They have their selection policies as do Oxbridge, UCL, LSE, KCL and everywhere else in the UK. Sorry mate, but best of luck still. If you get into Cam/Ox I doubt you would give a damn about Durham.

Reply 32

thefin

Consie

Also, I was thinking about writing to my MP and Bill Bryson about this Durham selection policy and its discriminatory nature. I’m not some working class hero who wants to play the sympathy card about coming from ‘the ghetto’, but I do think Durham’s policy is a bit silly, especially since many people who get into Oxbrdige get the knock back from Durham. What do people think about me writing to these guys? Does my case have any foundation? Its not as if Durham is the same quality of Oxbridge overall, most other subjects want AAB, it just seems for History the place is even more elite than leading Law and Medicine faculties.

Just out of interest, why Bill Bryson? Is he something to do with the uni then?

Reply 33

KerriT

Just forget Durham really, and I don't see what logic they use because at A level York have the same entry score and don't have an A* policy. Anyway, we don't need to turn this thread into another Durham moaning thread.

Reply 34

Tomber

Bill Bryson I believe is the Chancellor of Durham

Reply 35

Consie

I'm not moaning about Durham, it's a top institution. I think on overall pass my school was 46%, and on A to C passes including English and Maths it was about 22%. Most of the scores came from vocational courses such as motor mechanics and GNVQ courses. As i said, I'm not trying to play the disadvantaged genious card, as the college is only really discriminating against those who have A*'s and those who havent. But if kicking up a fuss meant it gave me a chance of getting into the place, I'd do it :P. My only A* was in history, the first the school had ever had in the subject. The thing is, I come from a real old Labour strong hold (i think its one of the safest labour seats in the country), and my MP is notorious for casuing loads of hassile about any whif of discrimination, so if i wrote to him he would probably casue alot of hassile.

Yeah Bill Bryson is the chancellor, his books are so funny.

Reply 36

Lizj

I also went to a comp with 45% 5 A-C pass rate.
It is quite interesting that if you apply to Cambridge they use a formula that compensates for GCSE results gained at a "poor" school. When I applied (and was rejected!) my compensated GCSEs went up to 8A*s and 2As. This formula is available somewhere on the Cambridge web site.
It suggests that Cambridge think I could have achieved those results if I had gone to a better school, although I am not sure myself.
This system seems to me to be fair, what do you think?

Reply 37

belle_27

Originally posted by Consie
I would like insurance with a decent reputation and that would almost guarantee me an offer. Most decent establishments want AAB-ABB now, so does anyone have any recommendations? I was looking at places like Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester.

Those are all good unis although I've heard the 1st year at Newcastle isn't very good in terms of choices of modules but its meant to have a really good history department. Also Newcastle doesn't seem to be that popular (it was in UCAS Extra for quite a while) so it would be easier to get an offer although it did raise its entry requirements this year, it said its typical offer was ABB but the majority of its offers were for AAB. I've heard Nottingham is extremely competitive due to a very high number of applicants so getting an offer is quite hard.

As long as you've got a good personal statement you should be fine with getting into Sheffield and Newcastle. Not so sure about how competitive Manchester is like though.

Reply 38

Consie

You just can’t beat Cambridge mathematicians.

I never thought GCSE's were played much attention, and they weren’t until recently. I think if you get taught well and work hard, you can nail them, real intelligence isn’t necessary to do really well in them. The weight placed on them as an indicator of 'intellectual versatility' is disproportionate to the actual challenge they present. It’s partially the same for A levels, they're not genuinely intellectually challenging, it just requires getting taught well and working hard. I'd rather all universities had entrance tests. An entrance test is the ultimate leveller. Tests like the History Aptitude Test don’t test knowledge or training, just aspects of intelligence that are largely innate. This would mostly negate the unfavourable variables of school quality that are present when looking at levels as a measure of intelligence. They also separate the best from the rest better than the A grade does. But I’m going off topic, does anyone think the potential insurance universities I’ve chosen are low enough in their requirements to be insurance?

EDIT: ignore last question, it got awnsered by a post that was posted at exacly the same time as this one lol.

Reply 39

Lottie

Consie, Durham would never have worked as a good insurance place as it frequently demands AAA at A Level. From what you've said in your post, it doesn't sound like you would enjoy it there anyway.

Also, if it's not a hard and fast rule, you could always give it a shot. Get your teachers to mention your UMS marks in their references and write a brilliant Personal Statement. You might be the one that gets in.

While it's clear you've verified it with Admissions, I think sometimes these tales put people off applying, providing the tutors only with applicants with a clutch of A-stars at GCSE. The more this notion is mentioned, the more students with weaker GCSEs get put off applying and the higher the umber of A-stars become.

Personally, I wouldn't bother complaining since, by their very nature, selection policies discriminate against applicants on the basis of academic achievements. I don't really see the problem in Durham "unofficially" stipulating that applicants achieve six A-stars at GCSE; in my opinion, it's not any worse than any other university only considering prospective students who are predicted AAA. In each case, very bright, enthusiastic students who go on to perform superbly academically are going to slip through the net.

Tutors have to differentiate between students some way.

The entry requirements for the four universities you mentioned as insurance choices are as follows: Nottingham (AAB), Sheffield (AAB), Newcastle (AAB) and Manchester (AAA-AAB). I suppose they fit the bill but I'd also suggest that you applied to one asking for ABB or BBB.

On another note, it sounds like you had a hard time at GCSE and you've done really well to achieve the grades you got. Your recent AS Level results prove that you're talented academically. However, if you were capable of achieving As at GCSE, chances are that, with a bit of private study (whether it be reading textbooks or checking out the examiners' reports online) to supplement what you were doing in class, you could've achieved A-stars with relative ease. I'm sure you had to try really hard to get As if your school wasn't very supportive but there is always the argument there that you should've, or rather could've, tried that little bit harder to truly exceed all of your school's previous expectations.

I'm naively believe sometimes that if you're bright and determined, you're going to do well wherever you go to school. Obviously, if your school doesn't foster a sense of determination to succeed, it's very difficult but I just thought I'd mention that. I'm probably very wrong in believing this because Cambridge's Special Access Scheme is in existence.