Psychology -- UCL, York or Warwick? + Job prospects for this course

Hey! I'm a prospective psychology undergraduate and I applied to and got conditional offers from UCL, Warwick and York..

UCL -- AAA
York -- ABB
Warwick -- BBBC

I should be choosing UCL as my firm choice.. But I have no idea which to choose for my insurance! And to top it all off.. I really have no idea what to expect for my A level grades ><

And does anyone know what psych is like at these 3 universities? Esp regarding their quality of of teaching (I heard that UCL teachers dont seem to teach very well *eep*), general learning environment, reputation, job prospects.. etc. Oh and I am an overseas student (from Singapore) so does anyone know which university is less daunting for foreign students?

Also! The job prospects for psychology (expressed in terms of percentage) as reflected in the Guradian UK university guide dont seem to exceed 70%! And so I'm kind of worried ><

Any help will be greatly appreciated! :smile:

So thanks in advance!

Reply 1

slevien1

UCL is definitely the most prestigious out of the three, but according to league tables, York is the best for psychology- closely followed by UCL. http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php?subject=PSYCHOLOY

You also need to be realistic- are you able to get AAA for your A levels? Both York and Warwick are well respected universities- but because you said you don't know what you're going to get for your A levels, it might be better if you chose Warwick as your insurance- due to its lower grades, it's something for you to think about.

Before making any decisions, if it is possible- go and visit the universities-- more importantly the psychology department!

Reply 2

aurelyne

slevien1

Hey thank you so much for your help! :smile:

Unfortunately.. I won't be able to visit the actual universities :frown:

About the league tables.. They have different criteria right? I actually chose my options based on the one by Guardian and it differs quite a bit from the one by times. ><
Yep if all goes well I should be able to get 3 As? I'm keeping my fingers crossed and am praying hard.. Cuz there's always a chance that I'd screw up irrevocably.. But even then I really pray that I won't get below ABB!

Reply 3

Interrobang

York is very good for psychology. Part of the reason the job prospects may seem low in general is cos lots of people go into further study/low paid jobs to get experience for courses such as clinical psych.

Altho Warwick is a very well respected uni, it's not as good for psychology. Both Warwick and York are campus universities, but Warwick is further away from the town centre than York. The teaching at York is very good :smile:

Reply 4

getupkid

xKTx

I agree with this! I graduated from York's Psychology department in 2006 and I think having a degree from there has helped me immensely with the postgraduate study I've undertaken since then. Anyone involved in academic psychology knows that York is an outstanding department, so if you are thinking of a career in Psychology it's a great place to go. It has had top marks in the latest RAE (5*A) and a maximum score on the TQA (24) - amongst other things, you should pay attention to these crucial figures about research and teaching quality when selecting a department.

I'm British, so haven't experienced life as an international student at York, but I knew plenty of international students. I shared a flat in my first year with a girl from Cyprus. She seemed to have an excellent time and didn't seem overwhelmed or uncomfortable at all, even though she had not lived in the UK before. I think the fact that York is a campus university (that you live on in the first year) makes all students feel really safe and secure. There's always someone to go to if you have any problems or questions and I would imagine this would be a really reassuring, safe environment for an international student. They were also really supportive as a university when it came to the transition to moving into private rented accommodation off-campus in the second and third year - they had a service whereby every student could go and get the tenancy agreement from their landlords checked by an accommodation officer in order to check the contracts were legitimate and safe. It really was a very supportive environment with plenty of help and support if you needed it.

As for job prospects, again, I am echoing the comments above - because an undergraduate Psychology degree isn't a vocational degree, many students who want to take it further often do average/lower paid jobs immediately after graduating in order to gain experience prior to postgraduate study. I worked for 2 years after my degree in low(ish) paid jobs in order to get some good work experience, and then I went back to uni (I'm currently doing a Masters, and in October I'll be starting Psychology PhD). Many people do a similar sort of thing and this is why job prospects may not look so flashy. Out of my year at York, I don't know anyone who's had trouble getting work and I know a good deal of people that are doing incredibly impressive things (academically and professionally) since graduating.

I was just wondering, what makes you want to choose UCL for your first choice?

Reply 5

aurelyne

Hey! York sounds amazing!

Mmm actually.. I wanted to choose UCL as my first choice because I heard the programme is good and the programme was ranked second in the UK in the list done by Guardian.. But I realised that there are seriously a gabillion lists available and they all rank universities differently. So I am quite confused!
I'm fine with both urban and less urban cities.. So that's not something I'm taking into consideration.

Hmm are there any UCL psych graduates/students who can spare a bit of time to share their schooling experience too!

Reply 6

getupkid

I would be wary to make a decision based on a single league table. League tables can be a very useful resource, but they need to be used with care. It's important to see what factors are being taken into account when the rankings are being compiled.

I personally prefer the Times "Good University Guide" league tables to the Guardian's tables. They seem to focus on more nationally recognised reliable factors like RAE, whereas the Guardian uses (in my opinion) more wishy-washy measures that they have made up, like "value added score".

In the Times league table for Psychology, for at least the last eight years or so, York has come higher than UCL (I started looking in around 2001, and attended 2003-2006). I don't think this is the only thing you should look at, but I'm just pointing out that some league tables rank UCL below York.

I'll stop praising York now! But, if you can't visit the universities, as well as looking at league tables, I would investigate (through departmental websites and e-mailing departments if you can't find the answers you want):

- TQA (teaching quality assessment) score
- RAE (research assessment exercise) score
- Optional modules (you may find one department has more optional modules more relevant to your interests)
- Methods of assessment (exams or coursework or both? How frequently are you assessed, do you have your exams in one block at the end of the year, or do you have assessments at the end of each term after the module finishes?)
- Research interests of staff (not as important for undergraduate as postgraduate, but if you have a project you'd like to undertake in your final year, are there staff with relevant interests that can supervise you?)
- Postgraduate courses offered (ties in with the point above, seeing what Masters courses the department offers may help highlight the interests of academic staff)

These are just a few ideas for things to look at, but I hope they help!