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Bristol Applicants for 2015 Entry!

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I'm applying to do MEng Computer Science with a year abroad. Currently doing Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Spanish, taking all 4 to A2. Got AABB at AS, but was 3 marks off an A in Spanish. >.< Hoping to get A*, A/A*, A, B/A for A2.
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Original post by NinjaNicky
I'm applying for Philosophy, although Bristol are one of the few Universities I like that offer Philosophy with French, which is kinda tempting, but I think I'll stick with straight philosophy.

I love the city, been there loads for football and the Uni is awesome :smile:


Soon to be 2nd year Phil student here. Happy to answer stuff :smile:
Original post by tomfailinghelp
I think I'm putting Bristol as my second choice for Law :smile: Do you think it's worthwhile getting my UMS mentioned in my reference if it was very high?


In the reference by your teacher (or whoever), yes.
Original post by lou_100
In the reference by your teacher (or whoever), yes.


Thank-you :smile:
Original post by lou_100
Soon to be 2nd year Phil student here. Happy to answer stuff :smile:


That's awesome, thanks :smile: how did you find your first year?
Original post by NinjaNicky
That's awesome, thanks :smile: how did you find your first year?


I personally covered most of the stuff at A level that we did - so you do the Meditations, Hume on miracles, political philosophy and moral philosophy and ethics…which overlap…etc, introduction to general issues in metaphysics. So it was "easy" for me in that sense. I still learnt some new things and enjoyed myself a lot. And other people either hadn't studied phil at A level or had done different boards that covered completely unrelated topics to what we did, so they found it more mentally challenging and took them longer to wrap their head around new things - whereas it was a recap for a lot of people.

The lecturers are awesome - bar a couple who are mediocre but good enough and very nice helpful people.

The new thing for everyone was logic - which you're either going to click with and love, or absolutely hate. Most opt for the latter, but if you've ever enjoyed or been good at Maths you should enjoy logic. If not - ah well, it counts for 10 credits and you can drop it after 1st year.
So I went to the Bristol open day yesterday and just fell in love with the place!
I'm applying for Modern Languages (Spanish and German ab initio).
Currently doing Spanish, Geography and Biology A2, at AS I got AABU (the U was in Modern Hebrew which was impossible) and I'm awaiting my remark result for the B in Biology!

I'm slightly worried about applying with only 3 AS levels though because I'm not putting the U on my UCAS form, but my head of 6th form said that my GCSE grades will outweigh the U? (4A* 7A 3B)

Also, haven't been given my predictions yet but I have a feeling it'll be A*AA.
Neuroscience! I'm in love with their course.

Cool to see people doing languages at uni. I'm so jealous of people who can speak multiple languages.
Probably applying (post-A2) to Law with 3 As (missed my Cambridge offer for 2014 awks). Anyone else applying for Law?
I went to the open day yesterday and the maths talk, loved the city! Could definitely spend 3 years there.
Reply 50
Open day yesterday was amazing, looking to apply for English. Got an odd set of predicted grades but hopefully I'll be able to snag an early offer

Anybody else get really excited by the dance studios in the sports centre? xD
Let me know if anyone has questions about psychology at Bristol :smile: Also in first year I did philosophy as a joint honours so I can answer questions about that, and was at Goldney hall.

I'm going into my third year so hopefully I can give some tips being here for two years :biggrin:
Does anyone know what the average offers for maths are, without further maths?
Reply 53
I'm just curious whether 7A*s 1A and 2B's are good enough gcse's for computer science at Bristol ?

Posted from TSR Mobile
Hi! I'm applying for psychology. I'm on a gap year at the moment and I got A*AB for my A Levels so fingers crossed. Bristol's my first choice :3

Original post by punctuation
Let me know if anyone has questions about psychology at Bristol :smile:


I know it's quite a brief question but... what's psychology like as a degree? What kind of stuff do you do? Is it difficult? XD
Original post by RhymeAsylumForever
Does anyone know what the average offers for maths are, without further maths?


A*AA, with the A* in Maths and an A in at least one of Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Economics/Computer Science, assuming STEP is not being taken.
Original post by sammidrake
Hi! I'm applying for psychology. I'm on a gap year at the moment and I got A*AB for my A Levels so fingers crossed. Bristol's my first choice :3



I know it's quite a brief question but... what's psychology like as a degree? What kind of stuff do you do? Is it difficult? XD

Good first choice :biggrin: Errm, that's a difficult question! My interpretation is that psychology as a degree sort of intersects the science and arts in that you're learning about SCIENCE, things based on the scientific method. In particular, at bristol the focus is on experimental psychology (which is a good thing!), meaning that the psychology is driven by hypotheses and research questions, rather than more exploratory work sometimes found in qualitative work (although that can be hypothesis-driven too). And, unlike other science subjects, you do argumentative essay writing, so you hone your writing skills. Also, again unlike some other science subjects, you learn stats, which is really useful for a lot of jobs - in and out of research.

Specifically at bristol, in first year you do multiple choice exams, essays and lab reports. In second year you do essay exams, essays, lab reports, and group seminars. In third year you do essay exams, essays, individual seminars, and a dissertation based on a research project. :smile:

I wouldn't say it is that difficult... there are a couple others Bristol psych students on TSR who you might get a different opinion from :tongue: A lot of people hate stats but it's not that difficult, it's just more numbers-y than people might be used to from A-level psychology. They also start stats at a very basic level (i.e. they don't assume you know anything about it beforehand) and there are practical lab sessions where phd students and a lecturer help you with the lab reports and statistical analysis while you work on a computer.

Do you know what you want to do after your degree? It's okay if you don't, I just might be able to give you more specific details if so :tongue:
Original post by punctuation
Good first choice :biggrin: Errm, that's a difficult question! My interpretation is that psychology as a degree sort of intersects the science and arts in that you're learning about SCIENCE, things based on the scientific method. In particular, at bristol the focus is on experimental psychology (which is a good thing!), meaning that the psychology is driven by hypotheses and research questions, rather than more exploratory work sometimes found in qualitative work (although that can be hypothesis-driven too). And, unlike other science subjects, you do argumentative essay writing, so you hone your writing skills. Also, again unlike some other science subjects, you learn stats, which is really useful for a lot of jobs - in and out of research.

Specifically at bristol, in first year you do multiple choice exams, essays and lab reports. In second year you do essay exams, essays, lab reports, and group seminars. In third year you do essay exams, essays, individual seminars, and a dissertation based on a research project. :smile:

I wouldn't say it is that difficult... there are a couple others Bristol psych students on TSR who you might get a different opinion from :tongue: A lot of people hate stats but it's not that difficult, it's just more numbers-y than people might be used to from A-level psychology. They also start stats at a very basic level (i.e. they don't assume you know anything about it beforehand) and there are practical lab sessions where phd students and a lecturer help you with the lab reports and statistical analysis while you work on a computer.

Do you know what you want to do after your degree? It's okay if you don't, I just might be able to give you more specific details if so :tongue:


Awh cool! What about in terms of presentations? Because I'm not the most confident person and having to do presentations is gonna frighten me to death. Do you have to do many? XD

Might sound cliche but I'm interested in the whole clinical/counselling side of things. So I'm kind of looking at going into that kind of field - like working with people with mental health disorders.

Do you have any tips for writing the personal statement as well? Because Bristol's my favourite. I've done my A Levels now and I didn't get a straight AAA but I got A*AB, so I'm hoping that'll be okay. Because I looked at 2014 offers and a lot of people had an offer for like 'AAA/A*AB'. But obviously with how competitive it is the personal statement's pretty crucial :/
Original post by sammidrake
Awh cool! What about in terms of presentations? Because I'm not the most confident person and having to do presentations is gonna frighten me to death. Do you have to do many? XD

Might sound cliche but I'm interested in the whole clinical/counselling side of things. So I'm kind of looking at going into that kind of field - like working with people with mental health disorders.

Do you have any tips for writing the personal statement as well? Because Bristol's my favourite. I've done my A Levels now and I didn't get a straight AAA but I got A*AB, so I'm hoping that'll be okay. Because I looked at 2014 offers and a lot of people had an offer for like 'AAA/A*AB'. But obviously with how competitive it is the personal statement's pretty crucial :/

For second year - It's four in a year, in a group of 3-4, only for 20 minutes. So it's pretty chilled out, you only do it in front of 20 other students and a lecturer. It's not that nerve-wracking and you only have to do a fourth of it because you're in a group!

Ah I see, well there are a few lecturers working in that area so you can work with them for clinical/neuropsychology experience and/or do your third year project with them.

Sure, well as you might know, Bristol values its personal statement a bit more than other unis. In general, personal statement advice for psychology - don't start with things like 'since I was a young child' or say things like 'I have always been interested in psychology'. It's a bit cliché. As well, don't mention personal or familial mental health issues, while it may indeed motivate you to the field, it's not appropriate for an academic PS. Lastly, you can impress the admissions officers by saying what areas of psychology you're interested in, and showing them by talking about books you've read,talks you've listened to, magazines you've read, etc. about the subject. Oliver Sacks is an overdone choice so if that's on your list, you can talk about it but make sure to find some other books! Feel free to send me your draft statement and I can definitely look it over for you :smile: I can even tell you some names of lecturers you might want to work with and if you mention them in your PS I bet it will really impress the people reading it! :P
Original post by punctuation
For second year - It's four in a year, in a group of 3-4, only for 20 minutes. So it's pretty chilled out, you only do it in front of 20 other students and a lecturer. It's not that nerve-wracking and you only have to do a fourth of it because you're in a group!

Ah I see, well there are a few lecturers working in that area so you can work with them for clinical/neuropsychology experience and/or do your third year project with them.

Sure, well as you might know, Bristol values its personal statement a bit more than other unis. In general, personal statement advice for psychology - don't start with things like 'since I was a young child' or say things like 'I have always been interested in psychology'. It's a bit cliché. As well, don't mention personal or familial mental health issues, while it may indeed motivate you to the field, it's not appropriate for an academic PS. Lastly, you can impress the admissions officers by saying what areas of psychology you're interested in, and showing them by talking about books you've read,talks you've listened to, magazines you've read, etc. about the subject. Oliver Sacks is an overdone choice so if that's on your list, you can talk about it but make sure to find some other books! Feel free to send me your draft statement and I can definitely look it over for you :smile: I can even tell you some names of lecturers you might want to work with and if you mention them in your PS I bet it will really impress the people reading it! :P


Ah okay, that doesn't sound too bad then :smile:

Yeah, do have a book by Sacks but I've read on TSR about how overused he is. I've ordered The Private Life of the Brain by Susan Greenfield - sounds bad that I'm only reading it just before my application but I've had no time for reading during A Levels. Would that one be okay or is Greenfield another author who's used all the time? :/ I've also been going to the Bristol 'Psychology in the Pub' lectures for the past couple of years which'll hopefully look good and Prof. Jan Noyes from Bristol is doing the talk next week so I'm thinking that'll be a good opportunity to name drop XD

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