2015 Physics Applicants

Yeah it must have been you then. We are haha. Either that or the others just haven't found the groups because I'm pretty sure its a popular course!

Yeah it's got a pretty big intake, but I've barely seen anyone who has firmed nottingham for physics anywhere, FB and here

Maybe a lot of people just haven't decided yet

2016 applicant here (in yr 12)

Is it worth going on a guided tour of CERN, would I have much to say about it/would they care ?

Personal statements don't really matter all that much if you've got the grades etc. (unless you're applying to Oxbridge etc.)

I didn't have much on mine, and Durham gave me an offer no questions asked.

Interested in imperial,ucl,manchester,warwick and these all are very competitive - UCL admissions tutor said "only the very best applicants are offered places" so I am quite worried!

Interested in imperial,ucl,manchester,warwick and these all are very competitive - UCL admissions tutor said "only the very best applicants are offered places" so I am quite worried!

I applied for Imperial, UCL, and Manchester.
I feel that grades will guarantee you a place at any of them if you get say 3/4 A grades+ (You might need high UMS to help with Imperial). But showing an interest in the subject might give you an advantage over other applicants, say participating in summer schools/work experience or even a trip to a CERN (As long as you learn something!).

Hi guys - first year physics at UCL right here.

Any questions, just let me know

I just firmed UCL for physics! I'd love it if you could tell me a bit about it, not just the course but the general university as well.

What are the lecturers like, and how is the workload/difficultly? What's the access to help like?

And about the university - which halls are you in and how do you find them? Do you get involved in any other none-physics type clubs etc?

Also, I've taken a gap year and the feeling I got from open days is that seems to be quite uncommon amongst physics applicants - do you know many people on the course that have taken some time out after A Levels?

Thank you!!

The university is fantastic - there's a strong work hard, play hard atmosphere and you'll definitely find some like minded people. Politically it's pretty much the leftest place on the planet and there's a big feminist movement. There are countless societies (they're all on the website) and if there isn't something there which you're interested in (highly unlikely) then you can set something up pretty easily from what I gather. It's incredibly multicultural - there are a lot of international students, and I love leaving my Friday afternoon labs to be greeted by the bhangra society rehearsing in the North cloisters, it's surreal. Being in London is amazing, there's so much to do - you may find that you go out to get some milk and bread at 11AM, and then return several hours later having had a lovely day in Kew gardens or something like that. It's incredible to have central London quite literally on your doorstep.

Pretty much every lecturer this year has been great - they are clearly passionate about what they do, and they're always willing to help you provided that you've done something (i.e. turning up having at least attempted the problem as opposed to turning up saying "I don't get 'x'", but you'll get that everywhere). Some are, of course, less good than others, but the vast majority are fantastic. There are so many opportunities to give anonymous feedback so if you feel that something is going wrong then you can contact Stan. The workload for first year is fine - I've managed to do reasonably well (so far, although I have exams next week so we'll see ) whilst singing in several choirs and the annual student opera, as well as doing a lot of maths in my spare time (#nerdlife) and looking into other areas of physics which interest me. From what I hear things get harder in your second year, but it's certainly manageable with good time management. The bottom line is that your first year is worth 7% overall - try and do as well as you can, but go out there and do stuff while you have the chance. If you're going to make mistakes (you will, you just don't realise it yet), make sure it's in your first year when it's not going to have such an impact.

In terms of the gap year thing, don't worry about it - there's a massive range of backgrounds and it's not as big an issue as you think.

Let me know if you need anything else, but other than that see you in September! :P

Wow, thank you for the great response! Particularly relevant with the election looming - I've been getting much more interested in politics recently and definitely want to pursue my interest a bit futher at university. I think UCL is definitely a good envirnoment for this, as well as encouraging everyone to have a very broad range of interests which is partly why it appeals so much! I absolutely love London as well - I always say it almost feels like lots of little cities with different atmospheres and cultures all in one. So I'm glad you feel similarly and also actually have the time to explore!
Good to know as well - one of my friends is elsewhere doing physics and he says he doesn't feel comfortable enough with his tutors etc to go and ask for help. Sounds like that may be his own fault slightly though...
Well anyway, thank you for the long answer. I'm really looking forward to starting now!

Absolutely no worries - I'm always happy to help.

It's pretty hard not to acquire some kind of political beliefs whilst you're here - London being London you see a lot of these issues first hand. It's a great place - I'm so happy here :P

Do you know any students who weren’t originally in UCL, like foundation year students or people from other university of london universities doing their 4th year there?

I don't really know any 4th year students, but I know the university of London runs an intercollegiate MSci course which you'll do in your 4th year if you stay that long - you'll take courses from different colleges around London (e.g. General relativity is taught at Kings, theoretical particle physics at Queen Mary etc.) all of which come together to form your degree, so your home college doesn't really matter that much. Note that Imperial isn't technically part of the UoL, so you can't take courses there as part of the MSci.

There are a few foundation year students there who did their foundation year elsewhere - in fact I met someone in your cohort who is currently doing a foundation year and is hopefully starting in September.

The university is fantastic - there's a strong work hard, play hard atmosphere and you'll definitely find some like minded people. Politically it's pretty much the leftest place on the planet and there's a big feminist movement. There are countless societies (they're all on the website) and if there isn't something there which you're interested in (highly unlikely) then you can set something up pretty easily from what I gather. It's incredibly multicultural - there are a lot of international students, and I love leaving my Friday afternoon labs to be greeted by the bhangra society rehearsing in the North cloisters, it's surreal. Being in London is amazing, there's so much to do - you may find that you go out to get some milk and bread at 11AM, and then return several hours later having had a lovely day in Kew gardens or something like that. It's incredible to have central London quite literally on your doorstep.

Pretty much every lecturer this year has been great - they are clearly passionate about what they do, and they're always willing to help you provided that you've done something (i.e. turning up having at least attempted the problem as opposed to turning up saying "I don't get 'x'", but you'll get that everywhere). Some are, of course, less good than others, but the vast majority are fantastic. There are so many opportunities to give anonymous feedback so if you feel that something is going wrong then you can contact Stan. The workload for first year is fine - I've managed to do reasonably well (so far, although I have exams next week so we'll see ) whilst singing in several choirs and the annual student opera, as well as doing a lot of maths in my spare time (#nerdlife) and looking into other areas of physics which interest me. From what I hear things get harder in your second year, but it's certainly manageable with good time management. The bottom line is that your first year is worth 7% overall - try and do as well as you can, but go out there and do stuff while you have the chance. If you're going to make mistakes (you will, you just don't realise it yet), make sure it's in your first year when it's not going to have such an impact.

In terms of the gap year thing, don't worry about it - there's a massive range of backgrounds and it's not as big an issue as you think.

Let me know if you need anything else, but other than that see you in September! :P

2016 applicant here (in yr 12)

Is it worth going on a guided tour of CERN, would I have much to say about it/would they care ?