Chemistry Applicants 2015

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Good luck to all prospective chemists this year. I graduated from the St Andrews MChem this summer and have stayed on for a PhD up there so any questions about that course then just fire them my way :smile:

Reply 121

username1184337

Original post by Midlander

Reply 122

Midlander

Original post by andyt8765

Hi! I'm definitely considering going into a research oriented career, but I've heard that a PhD is basically a requirement for this.

I know a little bit about PhDs, but not much. If you wouldn't mind answering a few questions that'd be great:

How are they funded, and how much do they cost?

Most chemistry PhDs are funded through one of the UK research councils (for example mine is by BBSRC, the biological one), and generally come with tuition fees paid for in addition to the stipend so your only costs should be your living costs. It's also normal for industrial sponsors to contribute extra to the stipend in order to get in on the intellectual property and draw you in as a researcher for them (SASOL are doing this with me and putting an extra £2.5k a year on the stipend).

Your stipend is tax free and this year is just under £14k.

How long do they take?

Including thesis writing and submission, 3-4 years.

Do you have complete choice in your area of study?

By the time you come to apply you'll be pretty certain on what areas you're most keen on and are strongest at. Getting onto a PhD course generally requires you to convince the academic that you have both for the project in question.

Are there entry requirements?

If you're doing an integrated MChem, then a 2.1 will be enough for most universities. Having a first will open up more doors (I just got offered mine out of the blue) however it's also just as possible to get in with a 2.2. It's just as much about your enthusiasm as it is your ability. Not sure how it applies to those doing separate Masters degrees however I'd expect the requirements to be similar (merit or distinction at Masters).

Is it easier to continue for a PhD at the uni you did your MChem at or is it just as easy to do your PhD at another uni?

Generally speaking it's easier to get one at your original university as you'll have had more direct contact with the academics and they will know more about you and your abilities. However, doing the PhD elsewhere gives you exposure to different ways of working and different approaches to the subject which is equally valuable.

Thanks! :biggrin:

Answers in bold :smile:

Reply 123

knope

There are definitely some common themes in all of the chemistry open days I've been to, in hindsight. A brief playbook:

-Affectionately refer to GSK as 'Glaxo' when namedropping it - apparently every UK chem dept is like ~this with them
-Ooh, pretty colours! Who cares that it's food colouring in water?
-Tour the shiny research labs
-State the cost of each and every bit of serious kit - bonus points for each additional letter you can find to its acronym
-Include faux-element-symbols to make up a word somewhere on your propaganda material
-Free stuff from the RSC when you can't be bothered to provide your own free stuff
-Free periodic tables which will only be useful at the university providing it because everywhere has it with slightly different figures/to different dp (sneaky)
-If all else fails - explosions

What else?

Reply 124

BJack

Original post by knope

-Free periodic tables which will only be useful at the university providing it because everywhere has it with slightly different figures/to different dp (sneaky)

I have cherished my University of Warwick laminated periodic table throughout my degree at a different university!

Reply 125

knope

Original post by BJack

I have cherished my University of Warwick laminated periodic table throughout my degree at a different university!

Haha fair enough, they're still giving those out by the way. Maybe I'm just bitter that I can't use it because it doesn't match my exam board's data sheet. :P

Reply 126

username1184337

Original post by Midlander

Answers in bold :smile:

Thank you! This is really helpful :biggrin:

Reply 127

caz_za

Original post by ethery

Ooh, what's your other choice?

Bath was nice, but it's probably my least favourite out of the five. I love the city and the course, but there were a couple of things that I didn't love so much. But I know I'd still be happy there if that's where I ended up. :smile:

what was bath actually like? positives/negatives~ honest opinions please! I want to apply to bath, but I've never visited it before...

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Reply 128

johncallahan95

Hi everyone I'm applying to Chemistry at Cambridge( through natural sciences), Imperial, Durham, and Warwick, but am unsure on whether to put UCL or Bristol as my 5th, does anyone know if one is better than the other in terms of the course as entry requirements are similar but different league tables rank them differently for chem( the times ranked ucl somewhere around 34 whereas the guardian and complete university guide put it around 15 and 13 respectively.

I'm basically( hopefully) guranteed an A*AA in A2 but most likely be predicted 3A* if I work hard (and do well in those frustrating ISAs :angry:

) so would like to go to top unis if that helps

Any help is appreciated

Reply 129

username1224408

Original post by johncallahan95

) so would like to go to top unis if that helps

Any help is appreciated

I have been to bristol,nottingham, durham so far. I have to say bristol had the best facilities, their labs are nice and shiny. They have a very big department from what i can tell and the city itself seems like a good place.

I dont know a whole lot about ucl so i cant tell you about that, but bristol looks very good for chemistry in my opinion (which again isnt so valid as a prospective applicant XD)

Reply 130

Gotzz

Original post by BJack

I have cherished my University of Warwick laminated periodic table throughout my degree at a different university!

May I ask where, besides Oxford, you applied to?

Reply 131

BJack

Original post by Gotzz

May I ask where, besides Oxford, you applied to?

Warwick and Bristol. I was going to add another couple if I didn't get in to Oxford. They were two universities that I'd liked when I applied for maths.

Reply 132

username1107833

Original post by BJack

Warwick and Bristol. I was going to add another couple if I didn't get in to Oxford. They were two universities that I'd liked when I applied for maths.

Did you get an offer from Bristol? I've heard that they really dislike Oxbridge applicants since they they're being put as second place, so they wait to see if you get an offer from Oxbridge and if not then they give you an offer.

Reply 133

BJack

Original post by theCreator

Yes I did, and so did lots of people I know at Oxford. That's a nonsense rumour.

Reply 134

Gotzz

Original post by BJack

Warwick and Bristol. I was going to add another couple if I didn't get in to Oxford. They were two universities that I'd liked when I applied for maths.

Oh wow, only 3 choices. I only have 3 that I'm certain about at the moment.

Reply 135

Rhiannan94

I'm on a gap year and actually applied last year for chem so I already have my place. I applied to Oxford, York, Warwick, Bath and Southampton, and have a place at York.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Reply 136

username1224408

Original post by Rhiannan94

would you be able to tell me what you thought of york , southhampton and bath, they are like the 3 i wanted to see but havent managed to yet XD. Any opinions/useful info would be cool. thanks

Reply 137

fish_

Hello!
I am applying for Chem 2014 at Durham, York, Southampton, Warwick and I think Birmingham :smile:

Pretty scared I'm going to be out of my depth though when/if I get there- is it really difficult to get a 2:1/first and NOT be a genius?
I got 4 As at AS (Eng, Maths, Chem and Phys) but had to work my butt off for them and they weren't all really strong As :/
Any reassurance/advice would be really appreciated!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 138

freshypot♥

Original post by Rhiannan94

Hi, I just sent off my UCAS form, and scarily, I have just applied to all of those universities!

I only applied for Chem at York, Southampton and Warwick though.

May I ask what offers you got, and when you heard back from all of them.

Thanks :smile:

Reply 139

Rhiannan94

Original post by NishalC

would you be able to tell me what you thought of york , southhampton and bath, they are like the 3 i wanted to see but havent managed to yet XD. Any opinions/useful info would be cool. thanks

I didn't get to see Southampton, it was a bit of a wild card because I applied for Chemistry with Maths there and only really put it down so that I had a 5th choice, so sorry I can't help you out there!

i'm obviously biased toward York but I preferred the campus there to Bath. York is set on two campuses which are only a 15 min walk/3 min bus ride apart. Everything is pretty central throughout the whole campus, Hes West is the main one with most of the departments/library/older accommodation etc with Hes East having two of the new colleges and the brand new sports centre. The chem department is so friendly at York and they are finishing off the new developments soon so we'll be the first freshers to use it next year!

I didn't like Bath so much and I'm still not sure if it is because it was raining when I went on the open day/interview. I don't know if it is just me but I found it very difficult to find my way around the Bath campus and had to ask a lot of people how to get to the Chemistry department which didn't bode well for the rest of my visit. It is also much further away from the main city centre than York, which you can actually walk to from the campus, but again I am completely biased towards York so don't just go off my recommendations!

Original post by freshypot♥

York I heard back from within a week but I had already had my interview at an open day in the summer so I knew I had my offer already. They asked for AAA. Southampton and Warwick were about the same time, 3-4 weeks after I'd sent off my application. Southampton asked for an interview day but I said I couldn't go and they gave me an offer anyway, both asked for AAB.