Official University of Reading 2023 Applicant Thread

thanks

Daughter is applying for next year.
What course are you applying for? Zoology
What subjects are you currently studying?: Psychology, Geography, Biology
Predicted A level grades:A*AB
GCSE grades:98887776
What other universities are you applying to?: Bangor, lancaster. Lincoln and Chester.
Why Reading?: She loves the campus and also the course.
What have you done strengthen your application (extracurriculars)?: MOOC in animal behaviour, summer residential at edge hill, leader of the envionmental group at school, Charity committee leader at school. EPQ on zoos and whether they are a good thing or a bad thing.

Hi Reading ambassadors I have a few questions about life in Reading.
Supermarkets. I went with my daughter on open day and for breakfast we had some pastries at Morrisons so I know theres one there, but on google maps is a bit of a bind to get to via any kind of bus route. So my question is, where do you go for your shop?. Cost of living going up my eldest who is at Lancaster uni uses various shops including too good to go app.

Second question was this one. Now its around the housing time for students, Ive been looking in general how much is the rent in that area, and noticed the a lot of the local letting agents put the total cost per house per month/week instead of how much it is per person. Does that total amount advertised mean that the student is responsible for each others rent if one of them does not pay? Or are they actually individual contracts and the student just is responsible for themselves? I was a bit confused on that one. example: https://www.westgatestudents.co.uk/properties.aspx?mode=1&menuID=2 or https://www.rightmove.co.uk/student-accommodation/Reading.html

Third one is nightlife Recommendations on bars/clubs? We did go to the riverside earlier this year and chilled outside with a drink from all bar one which was great, but if you have any recommendations that would be great. She like a mix of mainstream music and also music like Lovejoy, and indie bands

Hey @Ghostlady!

A few great questions here, so I'll do my best to answer them

Firstly, supermarkets! We have a dedicated 21/a bus route that goes straight through campus and takes students directly to town and the station in one direction and the local ASDA in the other, so that's a popular one. We've also got a Tesco superstore, two ALDIs and a LIDL, and some smaller local Coops and Tesco's around the main campus area. Most people tend to either go to ASDA or get a lift from a friend or local taxi company/Uber to a different one. Myself, I usually walk with my housemates to the local ALDI or Tesco which are 20 and 35 minutes away from my off-campus house, just to save money! It really depends on personal preference, but there's plenty of options.

As for second and third year housing, most students will split the monthly cost evenly between them. It seems very confusing on surface level but, for the majority of people, once they decide who they would like to live with they view houses with the right number of rooms and decide between them how to split the cost. For example, in my last year the two people with the bigger rooms and en-suites paid an extra £12 a month than those with a smaller room and shared bathroom, but this year we all split the cost evenly as we share bathrooms. It's totally up to the tenants how the cost is divided if they're renting a house or flat as a group, but if privately renting individually obviously it would be an individual cost. It seems for most students that they rent as a group, and in that situation it is often the case that each tenant is liable for their own rent or finding a replacement tenant if they aren't able to fulfil their contract and pay their rent. This situation is also why every student will need a guarantor to sign their contract, basically a parent or responsible adult/guardian assuring the landlord and letting agent that if the tenant cannot pay their rent, the guarantor will - precisely to avoid the responsibility going to other tenants.

One of our local places called Purple Turtle do Indie nights every so often, but most local clubs will do mainstream stuff combined with themed nights like 90s or ABBA which are a lot of fun. Bars and restaurants tend to have more relaxed indie-style music, but I think its a good part of her uni experience to try some different places until she finds one she likes! Our train links make it super easy to get to places like London, Bristol or Brighton if there are events there she wants to go to as well

I really hope this answered your questions! Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Kath
3rd Year History Undergraduate

Hi thanks Kath its really good to know that thank you. The eldest goes to Lancaster and I have a page set up on here with lots of useful handy information from bus routes to local cafe's and best accommodation areas to live. And, if all being well the youngest gets into Reading then hopefully try to do something similar We have been twice to Reading and we love the riverside area. She got an offer from Reading today. Reduced offer from BBB to BBD so shes very pleased with that

Hey @Mena1005 & @meg0902 !


Great to hear you've applied for Reading and both with such similar courses too!!


I actually have a lot of friends on both the Psychology and Clinical Psychology courses, in varying years, so do ask any questions you have about either one, or about Reading in general.


Good luck with the rest of your studies & application process!

Skye
3rd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student & Student Ambassador

Happy to say I got a contextual offer yesterday! (13/10/22)
What course are you applying for?: BSc Geography (Human)
What subjects are you currently studying?: Geography, Psychology and Sociology
Predicted A level grades: AAA
GCSE grades: 999877775
What other universities are you applying to?: Cambridge, Durham, UEA and York
Why Reading?: loved the campus and really enjoyed the open day - it’s isn’t too far from where I live either
What have you done strengthen your application (extracurriculars)?: Sutton Trust Summer school (lectures, workshops) , MOOC on sustainable development goals, workshop on energy resources, visiting Iceland in 2019.

Hello,

How flexible is reading with GCSE entry requirements . The course I’m applying to said it needs 6 in English Maths and Science. I have 7’s in all of them and English literature except that I have a 5 in English language.

Is this going to affect my application, or my admission to the interview stage.

Mena

hi everyone~
what course are you applying for?: english language and linguistics
what subjects are you currently studying?: english language , geography , it
predicted A level grades: AAA
GCSE grades: 9998887776
what other universities are you applying to?: warwick , KCL , southampton , bristol uwe


i got an offer!! within a few days of applying. the offer is for bcc, when their entry requirements are bbb. considering my predicted grades, this is really low! im not sure if its low course popularity or maybe they were impressed with my application but either way i am happy~

Hey @ali_1564!

Great to hear that you've applied to Reading and we're so glad you like the campus! That is one of my favourite things about studying here too if I'm honest - especially during the pandemic, it was such a blessing to have such open spaces and greenery to walk round!

If you have any questions about life in Reading or anything, please let us know!
Good luck with the rest of your studies / application process.

Skye
3rd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student & Student Ambassador

Hi Skye! I absolutely love the campus - especially the Harris Garden!

Just wanted to say I got my conditional offer from UoR and considering to firm it once all my other responses come through

Guys, if any of you have any questions about your course, just DM someone on Unibuddy about it! I DM’d someone who is study chemistry at UoR and she was super detailed with her response (which came in v. quick too)

Good afternoon am really concerned with my application I meet the Alevel predicted grade with abb for pharmacology with industry but GCSEs grades I need is a 6 and I got a 5 would I get automatically rejected

Sent off my UCAS application a while ago. I've chosen to study history and I have applied for Birmingham, Nottingham, Warwick, Reading and Liverpool. I've already received offers from Birmingham and Nottingham. Might sound like a silly question but does Reading do offer holder days for prospective undergraduate students?

I applied to reading as I had a look at the history modules and they seem interesting and my history teacher studied there as well.

Sent off my UCAS application a while ago. I've chosen to study history and I have applied for Birmingham, Nottingham, Warwick, Reading and Liverpool. I've already received offers from Birmingham and Nottingham. Might sound like a silly question but does Reading do offer holder days for prospective undergraduate students?

I applied to reading as I had a look at the history modules and they seem interesting and my history teacher studied there as well.

Hey @Anonymous

Congratulations on your offers so far, and it's so exciting that you've chosen Reading as one of your other options! We are wishing you the best of luck as you wait for the rest of your responses, including from UoR.

We do indeed hold what we call 'Visit Days' for prospective students, and those who receive an offer will then be invited to one of these days. So, if you do receive an offer from us, keep an eye on your inbox, as there should be an invite to an offer holder visit day to follow in the few weeks following. You can find out more here.

If you have any questions about Reading or anything at all, do ask us. Good luck for the rest of your application process!

Skye
3rd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student & Student Ambassador

Daughter said she was contacted for an offer holders day (zoology). Shes just firmed Reading today