Anyone applying to Earth Science/Geology?

Original post by Plagioclase

Have you visited them?

I've decided that I don't want to go to Durham. I have visited Imperial and I really liked the atmosphere there! All the staff was very nice, but the only problem is that their conditional offer states that I have to get very high grades. These grades are extraordinary in my school system and therefore I probably won't meet their entry requirements. We've had this problem before (that Imperial doesn't translates the grades correctly to my school system), but I don't know what to do about it. Sending an email doesn't feel right... Any adivce??

Reply 44

Plagioclase

21

Original post by maddy124875

I've decided that I don't want to go to Durham. I have visited Imperial and I really liked the atmosphere there! All the staff was very nice, but the only problem is that their conditional offer states that I have to get very high grades. These grades are extraordinary in my school system and therefore I probably won't meet their entry requirements. We've had this problem before (that Imperial doesn't translates the grades correctly to my school system), but I don't know what to do about it. Sending an email doesn't feel right... Any adivce??

I think sending an email is the only thing you can do, assuming you genuinely think the grade requirements are a mistake. It's unlikely that they will agree to change them (and if they were your predicted grades, there is no chance) but, if you have genuine evidence to suggest that the conditions they have given you are an error, I would send that evidence to Imperial and explain the situation.

Otherwise, it will depend on how much certainty you want. Remember that you have your firm and insurance options so, even if you think it's unlikely you will achieve your conditional offer from Imperial, it's relatively low risk to choose it as your firm as long as you are confident you will achieve your conditional offer from your insurance option. Of course, the disadvantage of doing this is that you may have to organise accommodation etc. last minute if you miss your conditional offer from Imperial, which could be stressful.

Reply 45

arialle

17

Original post by maddy124875

I've decided that I don't want to go to Durham. I have visited Imperial and I really liked the atmosphere there! All the staff was very nice, but the only problem is that their conditional offer states that I have to get very high grades. These grades are extraordinary in my school system and therefore I probably won't meet their entry requirements. We've had this problem before (that Imperial doesn't translates the grades correctly to my school system), but I don't know what to do about it. Sending an email doesn't feel right... Any adivce??

I'd definitely check if you think it is an error - there's no harm in that and you're right, the department there seem very friendly/accommodating. If it helps, I also got an offer and the requirement was AAA (which is average offer for geophysics anyway) was yours a lot higher than that?

Reply 46

VC6325029

OP

3

I received all my decisions! unfortunately I was rejected by Oxford but I've got the rest of them, so hopefully I can make the imperial grade requirements and go there 🥲🥲

Reply 47

Original post by VC6325029

I received all my decisions! unfortunately I was rejected by Oxford but I've got the rest of them, so hopefully I can make the imperial grade requirements and go there 🥲🥲

I’ve got the same! I’ll probably go to imperial, so hopefully see you next year!

Reply 48

Original post by VC6325029

I received all my decisions! unfortunately I was rejected by Oxford but I've got the rest of them, so hopefully I can make the imperial grade requirements and go there 🥲🥲

tbh I wouldn't feel that bad about not getting into Oxford. The Colleges are friendly and supportive but Oxford Earth Sciences is in a bit of a strange place. Good luck with getting your grades.

Reply 49

Original post by BetaVersion2.9

tbh I wouldn't feel that bad about not getting into Oxford. The Colleges are friendly and supportive but Oxford Earth Sciences is in a bit of a strange place. Good luck with getting your grades.

What makes you say that about Oxford Earth Sciences?

Reply 50

Original post by maddy124875

What makes you say that about Oxford Earth Sciences?

Well oxford earth sciences didn't do so well in the recent research excellence framework assessment, dropping from first to sixth place. This is the regular review of research quality at universities. Senior management are worried as this impacts the level of research funding the department receives. Consequently they've decided to focus on improving the quality of research but some people are worried this will lead to lower standards of teaching, and Oxford Earth Sciences already has one of the lowest proportion of firsts of any subject taught at Oxford.

Reply 51

I need some advice. I can't choose between studying Earth Sciences at Imperial College or at TU Delft in the Netherlands. I've been admitted to both universities, but I just can't choose. Any advice?

Reply 52

dew.dew

1

Ahhh I'm currently trying to choose what A levels I want to do this year for earth science/geology and you're all getting me so excited. BEST OF LUCK!!!

Reply 53

geologynerdUS

Student from the U.S. here. Planning to study Geology/earth sciences. Anyone have opinions about good geology programs? I've been looking at Cambridge and UCL so far, but not sure about other schools.

Reply 54

Original post by geologynerdUS

Student from the U.S. here. Planning to study Geology/earth sciences. Anyone have opinions about good geology programs? I've been looking at Cambridge and UCL so far, but not sure about other schools.

Cambridge Earth sciences is part of their natural sciences course. You get to study multiple science subjects in first and second years, including Earth sciences and can then opt to study Earth Sciences in the third year. It's advantage is that it gives a broad background in science and is flexible allowing you to switch subjects to 'major' in.
Imperial College is another course with a good reputation. Camborne School of Mines (part of Exeter University) is good if you're considering going into the mining industry as a career. UCL, Leicester, Durham and Bristol are also good.
Oxford University Earth Sciences is in a bit of a pickle at present and probably one to avoid.

Reply 55

dew.dew

1

Original post by BetaVersion2.9

Cambridge Earth sciences is part of their natural sciences course. You get to study multiple science subjects in first and second years, including Earth sciences and can then opt to study Earth Sciences in the third year. It's advantage is that it gives a broad background in science and is flexible allowing you to switch subjects to 'major' in.
Imperial College is another course with a good reputation. Camborne School of Mines (part of Exeter University) is good if you're considering going into the mining industry as a career. UCL, Leicester, Durham and Bristol are also good.
Oxford University Earth Sciences is in a bit of a pickle at present and probably one to avoid.

Oh my god, could you tell me why it is in a bit of a pickle? It is quite honestly the course I was tailoring my A-levels towards.

Reply 56

arialle

17

Original post by maddy124875

I need some advice. I can't choose between studying Earth Sciences at Imperial College or at TU Delft in the Netherlands. I've been admitted to both universities, but I just can't choose. Any advice?

Try to list out all the factors important to you (course difficulty, location, reputation etc) and mark which university is better for each, then see which university ticks the most boxes. Hopefully one will conclusively win. I've got the same issue though, can't choose between Imperial Geophysics and UCL Natural Sciences - though results may end up choosing for me!

Reply 57

Original post by dew.dew

Oh my god, could you tell me why it is in a bit of a pickle? It is quite honestly the course I was tailoring my A-levels towards.

What follows only applies to Oxford Earth Sciences, the rest of the university is fine and all the Colleges are friendly and supportive.
The department is saddled with a large debt burden and this is driving most of the problems atm. The head of department has told staff to prioritize research over teaching following the disastrous Research Excellence Framework (REF) report where Oxford dropped from 1st to 6th place. Many staff are openly saying that undergraduate teaching will suffer as a consequence. Further problems have arisen from recent hires. As our website says "The staff profile is young" https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/teaching/undergraduates/course-information/ but that also means the staff profile is inexperienced. When the new "petrology" lecturer was offered a retiring professors teaching collection of rocks and thin sections his reply was "what am I supposed to do with this". Many of the new staff either can't or won't teach the course they were hired to teach. A few years ago one geophysicist spent 30 minutes shouting at the course administrator when they were asked to give three lectures. There are a few good lecturers who are genuinely interested in student education, and they do most of the teaching, but most of the research fellows and lecturers view undergrads as a necessary inconvenience.
One manager described the atmosphere in the dept as toxic, and staff are voting with their feet. The technician looking after the scanning electron microscope stormed out last December when the instrument maintenance budget was cut and hasn't been replaced. The SEM remains broken and researchers/4th year student have to use the SEM in the Materials Science dept but obv are at the back of the queue.
The course is very broad and you can learn a little about a wide range of subjects and if you're interested in maths and physics then this could be the course for you. With the Oxford brand name on your CV you'll be able to get a job as an investment banker or management consultant, but if you're serious about a career in geosciences you may want to look elsewhere. Oh and if you have an interest in geochemistry defo go elsewhere, they're downsizing and closing chemistry labs, selling off instruments and not replacing support staff.

Reply 58

geologynerdUS

This is a strange question, but what do you usually call earth science? I've been writing my personal statement (I'm from the U.S.), and I realized I don't know whether to call Earth Science "Earth Science", "Geology" or "Geoscience."

Also, I'm more interested in entering academia and completing a Ph.D. than an industry job, so I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions regarding universities best suited for that.

Reply 59