The Student Room Group
Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
Visit website

Scroll to see replies

Original post by impster
Offer from University College for Law AAA :smile:
Anyone else going to the University open days on 21st/22nd march?


Oh nice! Congrats. I got university college for law as well. Will you be firming it?

I would go to the open day, but I'd be coming from the US--and can't justify the cost in a plane ticket to go for just a few days.
Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
Visit website
Original post by Cravez
anybody heard from biomed?
my AES status has been "decison not yet made" for 2 months now :frown:



Any non medics get offers for biomed from Durham? How many others out there also waiting? Mine went off 2nd week of Dec and it went to the department just before the Christmas holidays so I'm not expecting a response that quickly anyway but would be good to know status generally.
Reply 2442
Original post by webber8345
omg cool! I lived in Colombo for 3 years :smile:


haha.. cool!!
What school did u go to?
Reply 2443
Original post by mlsdbk
Thanks! Hopefully :smile:


btw.. just asking what subjects u doing??
Reply 2444
Original post by Ahmed.23
btw.. just asking what subjects u doing??


I'm doing the IB.. so its 6 subjects.. english history economics french biology maths :smile:
Original post by GMDS
I was rejected on Dec 6th for English ( St. Cuthberts) having attained 4 A*s at A-level...and was sent a blanket email explaining how the academic competition was extremely tough this year etc.. Loool


You can demonstrate academic potential in ways other than exam results, as Durham clearly feel. Don't be foolish enough to believe that getting 4A*s makes you academically superior to all of the other applicants!

If stories like this show anything, it's simply that many departments within Durham don't simply choose the applicants with the best A level or GCSE results, I'm sure that these are used to distinguish borderline candidates, but as they quite openly reiterate, the Personal Statement is incredibly important.
Reply 2446
I got a conditional offer in early December for Natural Sciences as an International Student (which I was stoked about) however I still haven't heard anything from a College. Should I do something? I applied to Collingwood.

Good luck to you all awaiting offers!!:smile:
Original post by NotManyExperts

Original post by NotManyExperts
You can demonstrate academic potential in ways other than exam results, as Durham clearly feel. Don't be foolish enough to believe that getting 4A*s makes you academically superior to all of the other applicants!

If stories like this show anything, it's simply that many departments within Durham don't simply choose the applicants with the best A level or GCSE results, I'm sure that these are used to distinguish borderline candidates, but as they quite openly reiterate, the Personal Statement is incredibly important.


I so agree with this comment. Whilst the majority of posters here are genuinely worried/stressed/thrilled about their applications/offers, there seem to be a minority who think the top universities owe them a place. If your school or college led you to believe that all you had to do was get good grades, then they seriously let you down.

Of course they want good grades, but so many people have good grades and they are looking for something more. They want those attributes you cannot examine for.

They also know that judging on exam results is not an exact science. Some schools won't predict A*s, some don't declare AS results, so predictions are harded to assess. If you attend a school where everyone gets A's and A*'s, it's harder to judge the talent of someone with these grades than if you were in a school where these grades are the exception. It's also harder in a high achieving school to come up with a unique and exceptional reference for a student.

The sad thing is that so many of the best universities are hideously over-subscribed this year. One tutor at Bristol told a group not to be too upset if they didn't get in "It's probably nothing you did. We just get too many applicants." Many courses routinely get over 1000 applicants. Imagine how long that takes. They often run applications through programs that automatically pick out those that include key attributes. At best, some tutors are skimming applications.

It does seem wrong when we put so much effort into our applications, but on the bright side, just think how special you are if you get an offer!
Reply 2448
Original post by KayteeKaytee
I so agree with this comment. Whilst the majority of posters here are genuinely worried/stressed/thrilled about their applications/offers, there seem to be a minority who think the top universities owe them a place.


I agree with what you've said, but I am not sure that the poster had sentiments other than what you or I would have had if we had achieved 4A*s at A levels (not predicted grades; not AS grades) and been rejected because we were not academically sound, or similar.

I don't know what the subjects were, but if I had 4A*s at A levels, irrespective of the truth in the importance of a good PS etc., I think I'd be gutted if I got rejected, and I think it was just the surprise/shock of the decision that was being expressed. If 4A*s now count for little in terms of showing academic prowess, frankly, I don't think anything will. I wonder actually if there was an error made there because although unis have to place some store on the PS, if they place too much on it, they will only be fuelling an already existing industry where people pay to have a great PS written for them. Personally, assuming that the subjects in which these 4A*s were achieved were 'good' subjects, this rejection worries me...
Reply 2449
Is anyone else going to the St John's open day in March overnight? :smile:
Reply 2450
Original post by kninja
I agree with what you've said, but I am not sure that the poster had sentiments other than what you or I would have had if we had achieved 4A*s at A levels (not predicted grades; not AS grades) and been rejected because we were not academically sound, or similar.

I don't know what the subjects were, but if I had 4A*s at A levels, irrespective of the truth in the importance of a good PS etc., I think I'd be gutted if I got rejected, and I think it was just the surprise/shock of the decision that was being expressed. If 4A*s now count for little in terms of showing academic prowess, frankly, I don't think anything will. I wonder actually if there was an error made there because although unis have to place some store on the PS, if they place too much on it, they will only be fuelling an already existing industry where people pay to have a great PS written for them. Personally, assuming that the subjects in which these 4A*s were achieved were 'good' subjects, this rejection worries me...


I am a US applicant and results like this begin to sound more and more like the very foggy, subjective 'holistic' approach the top unis take over here . . . this turns into a crap shoot where the most important factor becomes whether or not 'applicant' fits into this year's social engineering profile. Yikes! The beauty of the UK system has been that it is exactly not that--academic results were/are rewarded . . . and money was largely not an issue as the government both subsidized and fronted the bill. Things appear to be falling apart!
Reply 2451
Original post by skypig97
I am a US applicant and results like this begin to sound more and more like the very foggy, subjective 'holistic' approach the top unis take over here . . . this turns into a crap shoot where the most important factor becomes whether or not 'applicant' fits into this year's social engineering profile. Yikes! The beauty of the UK system has been that it is exactly not that--academic results were/are rewarded . . . and money was largely not an issue as the government both subsidized and fronted the bill. Things appear to be falling apart!


Very very sadly, I could not agree more.
Original post by skypig97
I am a US applicant and results like this begin to sound more and more like the very foggy, subjective 'holistic' approach the top unis take over here . . . this turns into a crap shoot where the most important factor becomes whether or not 'applicant' fits into this year's social engineering profile. Yikes! The beauty of the UK system has been that it is exactly not that--academic results were/are rewarded . . . and money was largely not an issue as the government both subsidized and fronted the bill. Things appear to be falling apart!


There's no social engineering going on, they just want to see from your PS what you're interested in (as in genres, etc.), if you've actually done any reading outside your a-level course and if you're interested in the themes that their course covers.

Also the government is still lending all students the money to pay up front, so nobody can't afford to pay...so money is still not an issue.
Original post by skypig97

Original post by skypig97
I am a US applicant and results like this begin to sound more and more like the very foggy, subjective 'holistic' approach the top unis take over here . . . this turns into a crap shoot where the most important factor becomes whether or not 'applicant' fits into this year's social engineering profile. Yikes! The beauty of the UK system has been that it is exactly not that--academic results were/are rewarded . . . and money was largely not an issue as the government both subsidized and fronted the bill. Things appear to be falling apart!


I'm not convinced the UK system was ever that way. The A* was introduced only a couple of years ago to help out the unis who were struggling to differentiate between the vast number of students who were getting A's. Admissions Tutors are used to looking at the whole application, not just the grades.

From hearing about the applications/offers of friends, the unis are still asking for and getting students with very high grades. Its not that they're dropping their standards for the sake of some ideal profile, they are just looking for something to supplement the academic achievement.
Reply 2454
Original post by skypig97
The beauty of the UK system has been that it is exactly not that--academic results were/are rewarded . . . and money was largely not an issue


BTW, congrats on your offers - well done!! I hope you enjoy your studies in the UK.

Regarding the money issue, I think that some unis are now so desperate for money from International students, that they are lowering their standards. A top 5 law uni that (from all available evidence to me) has never before accepted a law undergraduate (Home or International) with less than 6A*s at GCSE recently made my friend (an International applicant - although is studying in the UK) who had 1A*, 4As and 3Bs, an offer. LNAT could have been perfect, but I doubt it. I am happy for my friend, but it made me lower my estimation of that particular uni. My friend has all her offers now - conditional IB 36-39. 3 of those unis are TOUGH to get into, and all 5 are all in the Top 10 for law.

I can understand International students getting their decisions promptly. That is only fair as it will give them more time to make the necessary preparations to semi-emigrate. I can also understand a uni preferring an International student who has the same or very nearly the same academic attributes as a Home student - because their perhaps different perspective, experience and culture might add more to the richness of the University in general, and not to forget, they will pay more. What I cannot seem to understand though, is a uni that makes an offer to an International student when a Home student at least 2 times more academically qualified (if not even 3x, 4x etc.) would have definitely been rejected if there were no special circumstances involved.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 2455
Original post by angelmxxx
There's no social engineering going on, they just want to see from your PS what you're interested in (as in genres, etc.), if you've actually done any reading outside your a-level course and if you're interested in the themes that their course covers.

Also the government is still lending all students the money to pay up front, so nobody can't afford to pay...so money is still not an issue.


Re the PS, personally, I think it is not such a good thing to base too much on it (and I think that mine was fab; although a tutor might think differently, but I hope not :colondollar:). If you go through the Oxbridge interview threads, you might be amazed at the no of ppl saying 'now I need to go and read the books that I said I read', 'I wish I had not said I'd read 6 books - I shall never be able to read them all before my interview' etc. etc. A PS can be bought, and it can be faked. IMHO, for unis to place too much on them, is not wise. Grades on the other hand are 100% authentic. Usually, the person they are ascribed to is the person who took the exam to which they relate (ignoring coursework of course).

Re the affordability of the course, surely, only time can tell. Being able to pay for the course (loans etc.), doesn't necessarily translate into the student being able to afford it :confused:
Original post by kninja
Re the PS, personally, I think it is not such a good thing to base too much on it (and I think that mine was fab; although a tutor might think differently, but I hope not :colondollar:). If you go through the Oxbridge interview threads, you might be amazed at the no of ppl saying 'now I need to go and read the books that I said I read', 'I wish I had not said I'd read 6 books - I shall never be able to read them all before my interview' etc. etc. A PS can be bought, and it can be faked. IMHO, for unis to place too much on them, is not wise. Grades on the other hand are 100% authentic. Usually, the person they are ascribed to is the person who took the exam to which they relate (ignoring coursework of course).

Re the affordability of the course, surely, only time can tell. Being able to pay for the course (loans etc.), doesn't necessarily translate into the student being able to afford it :confused:


But if everyone has AAA+, then how are unis meant to differentiate?

Also, how can people not afford it?

Every UK student can get a loan for the full amount of fees...so how can they not afford it? :s-smilie:
Reply 2457
Original post by angelmxxx
But if everyone has AAA+, then how are unis meant to differentiate?

Also, how can people not afford it?

Every UK student can get a loan for the full amount of fees...so how can they not afford it? :s-smilie:


affordability might not be the concern here--yes with government loans, anyone should be able to go--but the burden of repaying close to 3x the legacy tuition should cause one to look very carefully at the potential earnings over the life of the degree (holder's life)--this may make many degree courses less attractive as it becomes clear that the 'degree value' is simply not worth the tremendous upfront costs.

The US housing crash of the last few years is a nice example of many people being able to afford very expensive homes because lending was available to just about anyone and everyone--later, when the underlying value of the asset dropped and dropped and dropped, people with limited earning capacity were the ones who fell first--because they could no longer rely on the appreciation of the asset to supply them with cash.
Original post by skypig97
affordability might not be the concern here--yes with government loans, anyone should be able to go--but the burden of repaying close to 3x the legacy tuition should cause one to look very carefully at the potential earnings over the life of the degree (holder's life)--this may make many degree courses less attractive as it becomes clear that the 'degree value' is simply not worth the tremendous upfront costs.

The US housing crash of the last few years is a nice example of many people being able to afford very expensive homes because lending was available to just about anyone and everyone--later, when the underlying value of the asset dropped and dropped and dropped, people with limited earning capacity were the ones who fell first--because they could no longer rely on the appreciation of the asset to supply them with cash.


I totally agree that people will have to work out if a degree will be worth it...but completely disagree with your analogy, sorry!

The way UK fee loans are done is that repayments are made in the form of a graduate tax...9% of your income over £21k (for students starting in 2012).

So if you graduate and become unemployed/earn under £21k for any period, you stop paying off your loan.

If you haven't paid it off after 30 years, it's written off.

So there isn't a risk element in you not being able to pay it back and the bailiffs coming round to take your TV...just the opportunity cost risk of your degree not giving you an advantage compared to you starting work at 18.
Original post by Ahmed.23
haha.. cool!!
What school did u go to?


Overseas, I was only there for a few years in Primary School though. 1998-2001.
Do you live there? Which school?