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Best universities to study for history? 2010

predicted AS/A2 grades: AAA - AAB

GCSE
German A*
Geography A*
Maths (iGCSE) A*
History A (but i still want to study it!)
Science (iGCSE) AA
English Lang B
English Lit. C (bad exam!)
Art B


I know my history grade at GCSE could be better :frown: i was really interested in Durham until i found out you definitely need an A* at GCSE, I was so annoyed! So I was just wondering if anyone had any information and advice about their universities, I've been thinking about Warwick, Exeter and Edinburgh, but any advice or suggestions are welcomed! Just anything that would help me choose (course, accommodation, night-life etc:smile: Also, do you think my GCSE grades will bring me down at all?

Thanks!
Your Bs and Cs in English may bring you down slightly by the likes of picky Durham and Oxbridge. I think Warwick might be like that too .. (but don't quote me tho). Often a B or C in Eng language and maths is all they will recquire. Your AS results are more important which seem very good.

Have you thought of york? I have a friend who is doing politics and history there and loves it. Very respectable department.
Reply 2
Don't worry about your gcses too much, I got pretty mediocre results (no A*'s, 5 A's and a few B's and C's) but I did very well in my first year at college and had good predicted results (pretty much the same as yours) and managed to get into 4 top, Russell group universities to study English lit, a very competitive subject.
Your gcse results aren't THAT important.
There are lots of great places to study History so choose somewhere you like/ think you will settle into well and good luck :smile:
Reply 4
Please ignore all league tables for History as it's such a personal subject to study. OP - the first thing you need to think about is what period(s) of History you're interested in studying as that way suggestions can be made that have specialties in your preferred subjects :smile:
Reply 5
Those are all good universities but essentially its about what you'd like to study and the type of university environment you want. Think about where you want to be in the UK and look up the history courses offered by universities around there. We can all tell you of good universities (usually the ones we're at) but thats of no use to you when you might want totally different things to what we wanted. As for your GCSEs they're still very good results and if you're really worried about them, then call up the admissions tutors (either before A Level results come out or long after, like 2 weeks) to get some advice from the people who'll know best.
Reply 6
Lse?
Reply 7
You don't need to stress too much about GCSEs - Durham probably places more emphasis on them than any of the other top universities. If you're confident in getting AAA at A level (what are you studying?) and can write a good PS then you should feel able to apply wherever you want to go. I know that Oxford is far more concerned about your current potential than your GCSE scores - the fact that you sit an aptitude test, submit recent written work and then get interviewed all allows them to make a judgment based on your likelihood to do well as a history student at degree level, not GCSE.
Reply 8
Josiee
I know my history grade at GCSE could be better :frown: i was really interested in Durham until i found out you definitely need an A* at GCSE, I was so annoyed!



I'm going to Durham in October to study History. (Unconditional offer as I took a gap year.) I got an A in History at GCSE. :yy:
Mook
You don't need to stress too much about GCSEs - Durham probably places more emphasis on them than any of the other top universities. If you're confident in getting AAA at A level (what are you studying?) and can write a good PS then you should feel able to apply wherever you want to go. I know that Oxford is far more concerned about your current potential than your GCSE scores - the fact that you sit an aptitude test, submit recent written work and then get interviewed all allows them to make a judgment based on your likelihood to do well as a history student at degree level, not GCSE.



yeah this was really stuck in my head recently,

in all honesty my gcses are poor,i did them 4 years ago (ive just finished first year AS in a local college) did no revision managed to get 2 c's in english lit&lang, and 2 C's in science double award and a b in history,plus a few c's in other subjects.

with that an E in maths,and a D in resistant materials.

i had always been told i was amongst the top in my year, due to a cocktail of events at home, wanting to be more like people i knew (manual work) and i suppose my own shortsightedness in relation to the real world and the importance of qualifications i massively underachieved in relation to my potential and i suppose looking at the complete lack of revision, my ability at the time.

ive gone back 2 education after working for 3ish years, just recently got my final AS results with, first units: History: A Politics: A Sociology:A, and the 2nd units the same apart from a B in Politics which i may resit as im only 6 marks off an A overall.

more a novel than a post,but anyway

do u think it would be beneficial to outline what i feel is a more unusual case than other applicants, obviously i dont feel i should be held in higher consideration than any1 else,due to social +economic background, and personal occurances, but that my poor gcses are not reflective of my actual ability.

or is it just people on these forums citing their gcses in desperation to assert their own intellectual credibility, and that universities arnet as concerned as some ppl make out.

please give me a straight answer (any1) as im going 2 be needing to start writing my PS soon.
Reply 10
jataylorlfc

do u think it would be beneficial to outline what i feel is a more unusual case than other applicants, obviously i dont feel i should be held in higher consideration than any1 else,due to social +economic background, and personal occurances, but that my poor gcses are not reflective of my actual ability.


You shouldn't necessarily be held in higher consideration than other people, but universities should take your background into account when trying to assess your achievements and put them into perspective. The best place to outline your circumstances is probably in your academic reference; get someone who knows you to briefly discuss your history and how this relates to your previous underachievement, and then they can emphasise your present commitment to, and aptitude for, higher education. Save your personal statement for putting forward your case about you as a candidate now, rather than past performance.
Reply 12
Amongst British academics who specialise in contemporary British social history, the Universities of Liverpool and Warwick are both often cited, as is Cambridge. LSE is the place for modern economic history and UCL for modern cultural history, and Leeds for modern political history.
Reply 13
Original post by Timon
Amongst British academics who specialise in contemporary British social history, the Universities of Liverpool and Warwick are both often cited, as is Cambridge. LSE is the place for modern economic history and UCL for modern cultural history, and Leeds for modern political history.


Dude this is from two years ago, that ship has sailed.

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