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Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
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Difficulty to get into psychology/history

Hi

I'm stuck between doing a Psychology or a History degree at Durham

Id like more information on how strict & rigid they are on their entry requirements.

Website states A*/A/A history and A/A/A psychology

I am taking Hist Bio and Psych at A2 and reckon I'll get C/D for AS chem if lucky but I think I'll be getting around A/A/A and hopefully one A* (psych or maybe even history) but my predicted A2 are B all round (also take gen studies just so I can say I have extra workload etc but meaningless other than that)

Does the uni know if teachers bump my predictions from B to A and also have people been predicted A* if they get 80-90% in their AS grades? Do you need an A* prediction for an offer at Durham

Also what other factors help in securing a place at Durham?

I'm head boy / part of six form council / managed a company ( young enterprise ) and have a job on top of that (waiter)

Also would going to gym actually count? I mean it's pretty hard for me to go 4x a week, physically exhausted and maintain my workload but I don't think university admissions will ever care or understand - opinions?

I'm always looking for more things I can do to help make me stand out so what else could I do to seem like a stronger candidate? I hear Durham's really difficult to get into but being able to put Durham on my cv would be pretty frraking cool

Would getting work placement in council be a good thing (computer related - big fan of building PCs) or perhaps even in a local law firm; don't really know what is course related but just want to add more things to my statement - showing I am able to manage workload and be apart of team etc


(Don't care if people say Durham has negative social life etc don't drink anyway lmao)

Anyways hopefully you guys on TSR can help me know exactly how hard it is to go Durham and what I can do to help my chances


Posted from TSR Mobile
They don't usually budge on entry requirements. Surely your teachers couldn't have decided on your predictions when you haven't even got your results back? In AS I was predicted BBB/BBC but got bumped up to AAB due to my AS results. I still got an offer from Durham, but realistically I declined it as I knew I couldn't get the grades. I think Durham is notorious for being quite bad on A2 results days, making people who didn't get the grades wait a few days to find out.. History will almost never be in clearing at Durham tbh.

One thing you have to keep in mind is Durham is very competitive for History. Someone from my school got a prediction of AAA and didn't get an offer. I have done the exact same A Levels as you and went on to do History at Newcastle. I hated it and I am now starting Psychology come September. History is a BIG jump from A2, bare that in mind (kind of a given though lol.)

GCSEs are important to Durham, especially for History. For predictions it depends on the school and department. I know someone who got predicted an A* in sociology by getting 85%, but 2 people who got 90% in Law and 92% in Philosophy & Ethics only got predicted an A. Your teachers won't just bump up the grades, they need to keep up the school/college/sixth form reputation. Admissions wouldn't really care about the gym. Maybe if you were applying to a sport science course but not History or Psychology. You could just mention exercise briefly. Work experience could help, as long as you can link it to the course. For example for my psychology PS I did work experience at a primary school. I linked this back to conditioning and childhood development. From there I also linked in how it developed certain skills. Any experience would be an advantage.
Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
Durham
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Avatar for TrojanH
TrojanH
OP
21
Original post by PsychologyNerdy
They don't usually budge on entry requirements. Surely your teachers couldn't have decided on your predictions when you haven't even got your results back? In AS I was predicted BBB/BBC but got bumped up to AAB due to my AS results. I still got an offer from Durham, but realistically I declined it as I knew I couldn't get the grades. I think Durham is notorious for being quite bad on A2 results days, making people who didn't get the grades wait a few days to find out.. History will almost never be in clearing at Durham tbh.

One thing you have to keep in mind is Durham is very competitive for History. Someone from my school got a prediction of AAA and didn't get an offer. I have done the exact same A Levels as you and went on to do History at Newcastle. I hated it and I am now starting Psychology come September. History is a BIG jump from A2, bare that in mind (kind of a given though lol.)

GCSEs are important to Durham, especially for History. For predictions it depends on the school and department. I know someone who got predicted an A* in sociology by getting 85%, but 2 people who got 90% in Law and 92% in Philosophy & Ethics only got predicted an A. Your teachers won't just bump up the grades, they need to keep up the school/college/sixth form reputation. Admissions wouldn't really care about the gym. Maybe if you were applying to a sport science course but not History or Psychology. You could just mention exercise briefly. Work experience could help, as long as you can link it to the course. For example for my psychology PS I did work experience at a primary school. I linked this back to conditioning and childhood development. From there I also linked in how it developed certain skills. Any experience would be an advantage.


Hi

Thanks for your response. Does your 4th AS matter to Durham and how much do GCSEs matter for Psychology?

I don't have great gcse results, only 2a*,2a,c,c rest Bs so not fantastic but I thought that most UNIs would prioritise A Levels over anything else? How did you do?

What did you get your B in?

It's pretty disappointing to hear that as seems like Durham might be too hard to get in.

Also how is psych going for you? Is it enjoyable to study and how hard is it?

I am considering Durham, Edinburgh (Bsc not 4 year Msc), Newcastle, Manchester for either psych or history

So only way to get into psych at Durham would be to get AAA at A2. Looks pretty tough! Shame extra curriculum things won't help mask a B lol




Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by TrojanH
Hi

Thanks for your response. Does your 4th AS matter to Durham and how much do GCSEs matter for Psychology?

I don't have great gcse results, only 2a*,2a,c,c rest Bs so not fantastic but I thought that most UNIs would prioritise A Levels over anything else? How did you do?

What did you get your B in?

It's pretty disappointing to hear that as seems like Durham might be too hard to get in.

Also how is psych going for you? Is it enjoyable to study and how hard is it?

I am considering Durham, Edinburgh (Bsc not 4 year Msc), Newcastle, Manchester for either psych or history

So only way to get into psych at Durham would be to get AAA at A2. Looks pretty tough! Shame extra curriculum things won't help mask a B lol




Posted from TSR Mobile


My B was in Biology. Overall I ended up with AAC (with the C being in biology.)

Couldn't say about the important of GCSEs for Durham and Psychology. I got 2 A*, A and the rest B's and got an offer for applied psychology as I was advised not to go for straight Psychology as there was no way I would get an A in Biology. If you think you can get an A in all subjects i'd say you would get an offer. Even with a B I still think you will get an offer. Whether you would get a place on results day is hard to say though, depends on how many people got in and clearance offers.

I personally ended up at Newcastle doing History. I'm not going to lie to you I hated it! Nothing like I thought it was going to be. I have now changed to Psychology but at a different university as Newcastle wouldn't let me change with AAC as my grades. Newcastle are very biology based in their psychology course so prefer people who have A-Levels like maths and chemistry (got told by the person who deals with psychology admissions.) So if you need to know anything about history at Newcastle ask away!

I am looking forward to starting Psychology in September and think it is waaaaaay better suited for me! :smile:

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