Geology & Earth Sciences 2015

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Original post by Flame of the west

Alright, been meaning to get round to this for a while now lol

Im applying for Earth Sciences at Durham, Edinburgh, Imperial, Oxford, and St Andrews.

Grades:

A* - Further-maths (just how my school do it, the A2 before the AS Fmaths)
A* - Physics (taken a year early idk why)
A - Chemistry
A - Geography

About average UMS 93.5%ish.... (haha and then there’s just Chloro sitting atop a mountain of UMS) :wink:

10A*’s 1A at GCSE

Predicted grades:

A* - FMaths
A* - Chemistry
A* - Geography
A - Biology(AS) [I ran out of subjects and was worried I might get bored to do so took up AS Bio, school refused to let me do the A2 in a year]

I submitted on the 10th of october and haven’t heard a peep out of any of them.... Oh and I haven’t applied to Durham yet, getting round to that... something about an additional personal statement or something.

Wait so you're going to have five A2s and an AS? Wuuut....

Reply 81

Jords13

those applying to Imperial did you receive an email from the Earth science and Engineering department today

Reply 82

Chlorophile

Original post by Jords13

those applying to Imperial did you receive an email from the Earth science and Engineering department today

Yep! I really get the impression that they're very friendly there, it's quite sweet that they're sending all of us applicants a little newsletter!

Reply 83

Jords13

Original post by Chlorophile

Yep! I really get the impression that they're very friendly there, it's quite sweet that they're sending all of us applicants a little newsletter!

thats what im thinking too! Its made me really happy. Were you at the Earth Science and Engineering departmental open day then? They really care about all their students/applicants but i am worried about how many people are applying! Unis are also letting more people in this next year though. not sure if this is the case for this department though

Reply 84

Chlorophile

Original post by Jords13

The ESE open day in June? Yep, I was the antisocial one staring at rocks in the corner whilst everyone else was chatting over lunch! The department looks amazing and all of the staff were ridiculously friendly, one of the admissions tutors came over to me and we had a very friendly conversation. So I absolutely love the look of Imperial but I'm massively put off by the accommodation and cost of living... I don't imagine Imperial et al are going to increase their student quotas.

Reply 85

Jords13

Original post by Chlorophile

No i mean the one just gone in September. yeah i am in love with the department and lecturers but the course isn't the most appealing to me. even though it would be an amazing degree. Yeah didnt think so, its nicer to keep it small though

Reply 86

Chlorophile

Original post by Jords13

Oh, I didn't realise they had two departmental open days.

Reply 87

Citipati

Geeh, everyone here has a top notch grades! While I scramble with AABC for an AS and have similary predicted.
I have applied for UCL, Manchester, Royal Holloway, Leiester and in case Edge Hill, for either Geograhy/Geology, Paleobiology or Earth Sciences. I aim to go into paleontology as a topic in future.
Do I have a fair chance of getting into them? And which one is the best choice?

Reply 88

VentLife

Original post by Citipati

Hey, don't be disheartened because I didn't get "to notch grades". In fact, even though I got As in all my modules except three I came out with AACD... My predicteds are A*A*A at the moment, but I'm aiming for A*A*A*A as I'm doing all my AS levels to A2. You never know with UCL, so its worth sending an application in :smile:

best of luck

Reply 89

Citipati

My school isn't very keen on giving out A* (even when I am currently working on such level), and wasn't very eager to allow me to study 4 levels at A2. I cannot blame them.

By far Earth Sciences deparment in Manchester did look good. They have contacts with Stamford Univeristy and are second to best in paleontology. Leeds was not bad either, I did like the lesson on the Permian extinction.

Does any of you already have a specific career on mind?
I want to be involved in research close to fields of Evolution and Taxonomy. Hopefully be in touch with the Royal Society.

Reply 90

lukemags

Original post by Citipati

I know exactly how your feeling about your school. I averaged 96% UMS in geography, 93% in physics and 95% in maths, and i got A predictions for all those subjects.

Reply 91

Chlorophile

Original post by Citipati

UCL gives out AAB offers and I'm assuming the rest are the same or lower (possibly with the exception of Geography since it's more competitive), so I think you do stand a decent chance. For which one's the best, it really depends on which you think is the most interesting. First and foremost, Geography is a social science not a physical science so Geography is probably the most 'different' out of those options. Even physical Geography is all about the human interaction with the environment so you need to decide whether you want to look at things from an anthropocentric point of view, or a scientific point of view. If you want to go into palaeontology, I'd advise against Geography.

Out of Geology, Paleobiology and Earth Sciences, it again really does depend on which you find the most interesting. Earth Sciences is broader than Geology which is in turn broader than Paleobiology. All of them would allow you to go into Palaeontology but I'd personally suggest doing either Geology or Earth Sciences since they're broader - many people go into Earth Sciences interested in Palaeontology and leave with a very different passion. Look at the individual course syllabi and base your decision off that :smile:

Original post by lukemags

I know exactly how your feeling about your school. I averaged 96% UMS in geography, 93% in physics and 95% in maths, and i got A predictions for all those subjects.

That doesn't sound very fair!

Reply 92

Citipati

I know what you are getting at with the Geography, I have no strong interest in it. But to study any palaeontology subject I am required to take Geology and Physical Geography. This is the case for my in-case Edge Hill and Royal Holloway. Otherwise I apply for MA Earth Sciences (in both UCL, and Man), and for Geology and Paleobiology in Leicester.

My highest hopes are for UCL, just because I love London so much. Not to mention the wonderful Natural History Museum with one full corridor filled with various specimens of Ichtiosaurus.

Reply 93

Chlorophile

Original post by Citipati

It would be an MSci, not an MA. But yes, UCL looks very good! Good luck with that, do keep us posted. When do you think you'll submit your application?

Reply 94

Citipati

Oh sorry. I've already send mine, the school is a bit sluggish, they still have to write down the reference.

Reply 95

Chlorophile

Original post by Citipati

Oh sorry. I've already send mine, the school is a bit sluggish, they still have to write down the reference.

I'm an idiot, didn't read your posts properly. Sorry!

Reply 96

Citipati

Eh, no harm done. Now I am sitting and bitting my nails, then probably turn into high-functioning depression when not getting an offer to my best bets. But that's the way I am.
Luckily, the Earth Sciences, in any shape and form, aren't that popular. We are the lucky bunch with hopefully small lecture rooms and high staff ratio.
Did you do any volunteering/job placement related to Geology/Geography/Geophysics beforehand?
I did Wildlife Trust and would apply for Museum and Library over the Christmas Break.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 97

Chlorophile

Original post by Citipati

Eh, no harm done. Now I am sitting and bitting my nails, then probably turn into high-functioning depression when not getting an offer to my best bets. But that's the way I am.
Luckily, the Earth Sciences, in any shape and form, aren't that popular. We are the lucky bunch with hopefully small lecture rooms and high student to staff ratio.
Did you do any volunteering/job placement related to Geology/Geography/Geophysics beforehand?
I did Wildlife Trust and would apply for Museum and Library over the Christmas Break.

Definitely true with the whole small class size thing, that's one of the things that piqued my interest in the first place (apart from the subject itself obviously)! I've not done anything strictly related to Geoscience yet. I did some work experience at the Natural History Museum over the summer but that had nothing to do with geology (and it was a bit disappointing). Next week though, I'm doing a week of work experience at UCL's Earth Sciences department which I'm very excited about, even though I don't really know what I'm doing! Applying for work experience is probably a good idea but I don't think most people do it.

Reply 98

Citipati

It is a rarity to find something related to this eccentric field. I attended Dorset Fossil Walks and Additional Zoology classes.
You're so lucky living in London, arguably the epicentre of modern expansion.
I have at hand Manchester. Not much going on there- we had a TEDTalks conference- which is a thing.

Do you think Universities would consider background into application, quite wobbly GCSE's might be due to my lack of English Language. (I started from scratch in Year 7).

Reply 99

Chlorophile

Original post by Citipati

I've got literally zero practical geology experience so you're already in a much better position than me! You're right that I'm very lucky living in London, lots of lectures here. We also had a big TEDx event here last year which was very interesting although totally unrelated to Geology.

What do you mean by "background"? They'll probably take your school's context into account, i.e. they'll look at your grades in comparison to the average of your school.