Subject combinations for uni

Thanks for replying . I'll call them up tomorrow and find out. So do you think if I took a gap year and took an extra a-level such as physics or another traditional one or even try and do one this year although this may be impossible, I would stand a better chance? or do they not like this, gap year I mean?

Hey guys,

I need to decide on my 4th and 5th uni. I want to apply to either Durham or Nottingham for 4th and either York or Birmingham for 5th. Could anyone tell me which ones have the better job prospects in IB and which ones I can get into easier. I need urgent help as I need to send my UCAS form off on monday.

Yeah I did, I think I'll choose York for my 5th. But which out of Nottingham and Durham and maybe even Bath and Bristol do you think I have the best chance with?

I think you should look at which of the unis like best rather than which is easiest to get into.
e.g. which did you like best when you visited?

Well, I liked Nottingham, it's close to home but I don't know if my subjects would hinder me a lot and I only have 6a* for gcse where they want 7 or 8. Durham would be quite far so that would be last out of them. Out of Bath and Bristol, I'm not sure. I know Bristol is a bigger city but both seem really hard to get into.

Do you think I would stand a chance with Nottingham or may be better off applying to Bath or Bristol?

Well, I liked Nottingham, it's close to home but I don't know if my subjects would hinder me a lot and I only have 6a* for gcse where they want 7 or 8. Durham would be quite far so that would be last out of them. Out of Bath and Bristol, I'm not sure. I know Bristol is a bigger city but both seem really hard to get into.

Do you think I would stand a chance with Nottingham or may be better off applying to Bath or Bristol?

Well Durham last year had a 5A* policy,

but that doesnt mean you will get an offer, nottingham said that they had a 7a* policy but i know three people who got in for economics last year with 4a*, 5a* and 6a* respectively. I think the reason they say they were looking for 7a* may be due to the time of the applications. Last year the admission woman said to me that the longer you leave your application the more difficult it is because they give a lot of offers quite early and run out about end of November/early december time. Therefore the later your application the less chance and hence the greater grade requirements.

Out of bath and bristol i would bath as bristol rejected a lot of people who got offers from LSE and UCL. Also i think you have a very good chance at bath if they overlook the "soft" a-level of drama. Out of those four universities you mentioned even though nottingham and durham are meant to be better than bristol and bath for economics i doubt going to any of these unis will affect you graduate prospects greatly, for example bristol and bath actually had higher starting graduate salaries on average than durham and nottingham.

have you got a reference for that?

All chance for 09/10: Notts consider ALL econ applications together after January closing. Hence application date irrelevant.

I didnt know this, so apologies for my irrelevant rant.

Well i didn't apply to durham but a friend who got rejected with 4a* emailed them and said that they didn't accept anyone with fewer than 5a*. However that being said i did see the email. Take from that what you will but i'm pretty sure others must of got a similar reason from durham, but i am aware this is just hearsay

Not true to say that Notts necessarily want 7 or 8 A*s: that was last year and they are reviewing what they are doing for 09/10. So I would say that you had a good chance for Notts, so apply there if you want to.

Out of bath and bristol i would bath as bristol rejected a lot of people who got offers from LSE and UCL. Also i think you have a very good chance at bath if they overlook the "soft" a-level of drama. Out of those four universities you mentioned even though nottingham and durham are meant to be better than bristol and bath for economics i doubt going to any of these unis will affect you graduate prospects greatly, for example bristol and bath actually had higher starting graduate salaries on average than durham and nottingham.

I was leaning towards Nott, Durham, Bath as Bristol doesn't accept further maths as a separate a-level so I would be at a big disadvantage. I'm just worried that the other three even though they accept f.maths, they might still put me at a disadvantage to someone who has better subjects which is true. Also, I heard that if you apply before the oxbridge deadline, durham is more likely to reject as you are applying to oxbridge, is this true?

Out of the three, which do I have the best chance at?

Thanks Paul and goian for replying, its really helping me make decisions



So you do you think they might lower the A* requirement to maybe 4 or 5? If so would I have a good chance with my subjects?



I was leaning towards Nott, Durham, Bath as Bristol doesn't accept further maths as a separate a-level so I would be at a big disadvantage. I'm just worried that the other three even though they accept f.maths, they might still put me at a disadvantage to someone who has better subjects which is true. Also, I heard that if you apply before the oxbridge deadline, durham is more likely to reject as you are applying to oxbridge, is this true?

Out of the three, which do I have the best chance at?

Firstly Durham will know that you have applied to oxbridge due to the date of your application but i doubt they will really care as there are many more important factors. Out of those three unis I believe you can get into all three but your best chance is bath as it is not as competitive as nottingham and durham (i.e most people i know who had a 3A prediction and GCSE's of mainly A/A* got in). But even though durham and nottingham are slightly more competitive I really doubt that an economics degree from bath is worth less to employers as it is a very reputable university and one or two places in an economics league table doesn't mean much. Therefore I would look at each uni and see which course you like best. It also depends on whether you want to take a placement year, i know both durham and bath both do these but i think bath's one is much more established and has quite a few links to companies as most people at bath take a placement year whereas i don't think its as common in durham (I may be wrong though). But as a final word get into contact with all your unis about whether drama a-level will affect your chances

You need to ask them how they feel about your particular situation (esp. Drama). How they respond to that is significant for your chances.

and I am not sure what you mean about bristol and FM. They will accept FM as 4th A-level. So do you mean that they have told you that they don't like Drama as a 3rd?

Yeah will have to do on monday just before I send it off. I talked to Bath and they said they would accept Maths, F.maths and Economics as 3 a-levels but they don't like Drama so this might disadvantage me. I still don't know about Nottingham or Durham.

Also, do you think it's worth getting my teacher to mention my UMS marks in the reference. I got in AS maths: 93, 98, 96 and A2: 98, 85, 89 and in AS Economics: 92, 96. Would this help at all or might it hinder me as my C4 85 and M1 89 are below 90?

Also, guys, I have to decide soon now so in your opinion if Nottingham said that they accept Maths, FM, Econ as 3 A-levels and drama as a 4th, would I have a better chance applying to Nott or Bath??

I suggest you leave a gap in your list of unis: you can add options uptil 15th january. and wait until Notts and Durham get back to you..