How to choose a Psychology degree?

I am trying to help my daughter to narrow down her choices for Psychology BSc, but there are just too many! She is currently predicted 2A and 2A*, including English lit and Biology and has only 2 8s for GCSEs, all the others are 9. She wants to be a Clinical Psychologist later on and preferably not to be in London for her undergraduate degree, but this just leaves too many options. She would like a friendly university with a good social life, since she is very hard working and focused, but also very sociable. Currently thinking Cambridge Bath Bristol Edinburgh Leeds Durham Nottingham Southampton Loughborough (lots with open days on the same day, or too close such as Edinburgh one day before Bath/Bristol!). Any suggestions very appreciated.

I'd note that most if not all unis see 8 and 9 grades as equivalent to the old A* and don't differentiate between them. So the GCSEs are no barrier since he has effectively maximum marks there, and her A-level grades should give her whatever options. The probable limiting factor will be whether she is doing psychology or a second science/maths subject alongside biology (as some psychology courses want to have two from psychology/biology/maths/physics/chemistry; sometimes geography and further maths are included too).

I'd note if her main interest is in clinical psychology, the outlook is probably a little different knowing that from the get-go. For example, Cambridge (and Oxford, incidentally) heavily emphasise experimental psychology as a research subject, and have very little clinical aspects to the course and in general. Great if you wanted to become a researcher in psychology, perhaps less well suited to someone who wanted to become a clinical (non-research) psychologist). (several of the London unis are similar incidentally, although in her case that's a non-factor if she isn't looking in London)

I'm not too familiar with which unis have a lot of clinical aspects integrated or available as options at undergrad level but it's worth looking into that specifically if that is the main interest! Of course provided the course is BPS accredited then that ticks the main box, but having earlier exposure to clinical things, any clinical placements, and/or the more work experience options in clinical settings would likely be very helpful longer term in securing a position on a DClinPsych course or as an assistant psychologist prior to this, I would expect?

Hi @Toomanychoices

It's great to hear your daughter is considering studying at Loughborough! I'm currently in my first year here so I thought I might be able to offer some advice.

I think a great place to start would be for your daughter to try and narrow down her choices a bit to begin with. I would consider things like does she want a city or campus uni? the location of the uni and how easy is it get to from home? the modules on the courses and what interests her the most? Does she want the option of doing a placement year or study abroad?

After narrowing down some of the options I think the next best thing to do would be to take a look at the content of the courses. I've linked the course page for our Psychology course. If your daughter scrolls down to the 'what you'll study section' she will be able to see the modules she would be studying and see if any modules interest her in particular. It is also worth noting that our course offers the option of a placement year or a study abroad year that would take place before her final year which might be something of interest to her (more info can be found on the course page).

I think it's great that you're looking at going to visit the unis your daughter is interested in going to. Something that really helped me when choosing which uni I wanted to go to was going to visit and getting a feel for the place I would be living in for the next 3+ years. It's really what made me choose to come to Loughborough as I got to experience the campus and get a feel for student life and could envisage myself living here. It is also a great opportunity to meet and speak to academic staff and also current students that are studying the course that your daughter would be applying for. I've linked how to visit Loughborough here.

Finally it's worth taking a look at the accommodation options available at the unis. I would also take a look at the extracurricular activities on offer as their might be a particular sport or hobby your daughter wants to continue or pick up at uni. I've linked the sports and societies on offer here at Loughborough.

I hope this was helpful and if you or your daughter have any more questions just let us know

Jess

I am trying to help my daughter to narrow down her choices for Psychology BSc, but there are just too many! She is currently predicted 2A and 2A*, including English lit and Biology and has only 2 8s for GCSEs, all the others are 9. She wants to be a Clinical Psychologist later on and preferably not to be in London for her undergraduate degree, but this just leaves too many options. She would like a friendly university with a good social life, since she is very hard working and focused, but also very sociable. Currently thinking Cambridge Bath Bristol Edinburgh Leeds Durham Nottingham Southampton Loughborough (lots with open days on the same day, or too close such as Edinburgh one day before Bath/Bristol!). Any suggestions very appreciated.