Hi! I am in Year 13, studying Biology, Maths and English Literature, and soon will be applying to universities. I want to apply for Psychology, and am currently predicted AAA in my subjects. The universities I am looking into: UCL, King's, Nottingham, Southampton, Warwick, Bristol, QMUL and UEA.
My first choice is UCL, however I have a dilemma. UCL's entry requirement for pure Psychology BSc is A*AA. Because I don't have those predicted grades, I emailed the admissions office asking if they consider applicants with three As, and I got a response from the guy saying this:
'We do definitely consider students who are predicted AAA at A Level for BSc Psychology, they would just have a less competitive application than someone with higher predicted grades. In order to be considered, you should also need at least one, preferably two subjects from Psychology, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. If you have two of these subjects, you application would be more competitive than someone with the same predicted grades but only had one subject.'
So my query is this, do I take a risk and apply to UCL with AAA predictions, with a very strong (I can only hope) personal statement that is tailored closely to what UCL look for in a successful Psychology graduate, with two of their recommended subjects and hope for the best? Or do I beg for an A* prediction in one of my subjects, even though I know actually attaining that A* in the final exams will be fairly unlikely (and so I would miss the offer even if I got it in the first place)? I am confused because on one hand I feel like I should focus on getting an offer in the first place and then work to meet the offer (so I should beg for an A* prediction), but at the same time getting an A* at A Level is extremely difficult.
Does anyone have any experience with this and could give me some advice? Of course I have yet to talk to my teachers about this too, to see what they say, but I wanted to ask here as well. Does anyone have an offer or know of anyone who applied to UCL with three As and were accepted? Is there also a chance to apply with A*AA predictions but get a conditional for lower grades from UCL?
Thank you!