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Physics, Natural Sciences, or both?

Hi, I'm looking for advice on which subjects to apply for.

Physics:
Pro - I could apply to 4 physics courses and still apply for Cambridge Natural Sciences (which I'm likely to) without affecting my application, and seeing as I probably won't actually get in, I don't mind too much doing a physics course as opposed to a natural sciences one - I'd still enjoy it.
Con - Even if I pick modules to specialise in an area with biology, I know that there won't be much biology at all (which I'm quite interested in).

Natural Sciences:
Pro - I could do biology alongside physics.
Con - There's only 3 or 4 courses that I like the look of and two of them (Cambridge and Durham) are going to be difficult to get into, which means I can only be confident in getting into 1 or 2 of the courses.

Both:
Pro - That'd be my ideal combination of courses.
Con - If I choose to apply to both types of courses I'd really like to apply to Cambridge and Durham for natural sciences and St Andrews for physics, along with two other courses I'm confident in getting an offer from. However, this way I'll have to make my personal statement fit with both courses - although it might not seem too different (just adding a bit of biology to what would be mostly about physics) but I understand that St Andrews is highly competitive and I'm worried that if they see my personal statement they'll reject me for being not 'committed' to physics.

I'm in Year 12 and got 9s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and got 8s in further maths and computer science GCSEs.
I'm taking maths, further maths, physics and biology A Levels and am unlikely to drop any of these.
I don't have any predicted grades but I'm aiming for A*A*AA - A*A*A*A.

Could you please give advice?
Thanks

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How to Avoid 5 Rejections : https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/apply/how-to-avoid-getting-five-university-rejections

You have until OCTOBER to decide this. Time to stop over-thinking it all and get on with some A level work.
Reply 2
Thanks for the link, but I'm sure I'd get at least one offer (and hopefully two others as well).

I do have until October, yes, but I'd like to have a good plan now so I can prepare - I've already started late.

I admit I am overthinking a bit but I've given up on stopping that by now - impossible for me. And please don't remind me of all the work I'm being set :frown: I could barely find time to relax and write this this weekend.
Reply 3
Original post by aaron2578
Hi, I'm looking for advice on which subjects to apply for.

Physics:
Pro - I could apply to 4 physics courses and still apply for Cambridge Natural Sciences (which I'm likely to) without affecting my application, and seeing as I probably won't actually get in, I don't mind too much doing a physics course as opposed to a natural sciences one - I'd still enjoy it.
Con - Even if I pick modules to specialise in an area with biology, I know that there won't be much biology at all (which I'm quite interested in).

Natural Sciences:
Pro - I could do biology alongside physics.
Con - There's only 3 or 4 courses that I like the look of and two of them (Cambridge and Durham) are going to be difficult to get into, which means I can only be confident in getting into 1 or 2 of the courses.

Both:
Pro - That'd be my ideal combination of courses.
Con - If I choose to apply to both types of courses I'd really like to apply to Cambridge and Durham for natural sciences and St Andrews for physics, along with two other courses I'm confident in getting an offer from. However, this way I'll have to make my personal statement fit with both courses - although it might not seem too different (just adding a bit of biology to what would be mostly about physics) but I understand that St Andrews is highly competitive and I'm worried that if they see my personal statement they'll reject me for being not 'committed' to physics.

I'm in Year 12 and got 9s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and got 8s in further maths and computer science GCSEs.
I'm taking maths, further maths, physics and biology A Levels and am unlikely to drop any of these.
I don't have any predicted grades but I'm aiming for A*A*AA - A*A*A*A.

Could you please give advice?
Thanks


Unis with Natural sciences courses will be used to people applying to single sciences elsewhere, as they know that not everywhere offers natural sciences. So it's fine to apply to both and write about physics in your PS. Cambridge has an SAQ (supplementary application form) where you can write extra course specific info i.e. specific to the Cam natural sciences course, so you can write about biology there.
Reply 4
Original post by Claree
Unis with Natural sciences courses will be used to people applying to single sciences elsewhere, as they know that not everywhere offers natural sciences. So it's fine to apply to both and write about physics in your PS. Cambridge has an SAQ (supplementary application form) where you can write extra course specific info i.e. specific to the Cam natural sciences course, so you can write about biology there.

Thanks, that's good to know.
I'm more worried of the opposite - universities with straight physics courses rejecting me because my personal statement isn't fully physics - especially I'm afraid that competitive universities like St Andrews and Durham will do that.
The SAQ is good to know about though - do you know if there's a similar thing at other universities such as Durham?
Original post by aaron2578
Thanks, that's good to know.
I'm more worried of the opposite - universities with straight physics courses rejecting me because my personal statement isn't fully physics - especially I'm afraid that competitive universities like St Andrews and Durham will do that.
The SAQ is good to know about though - do you know if there's a similar thing at other universities such as Durham?


You can "finesse" it a little and focus your personal statement on a particular area of physics rather than writing generally, which is fine for physics single honours courses - and if you chose to write on say, biophysics, that would probably be a compelling statement for natural sciences courses and indicate your interests in biological aspects of physics.

If you're actually specifically interested in biophysics itself (rather than just biology and physics as two separate things), you may want to consider Exeter physics as they have a fair range of options in that area and it's one of their major areas of research (or was, at least, when I was there). I'm not normally one to suggest Exeter as well, so I definitely do think it is specifically notable in that respect and worth considering as such :tongue:
Reply 6
Original post by artful_lounger
You can "finesse" it a little and focus your personal statement on a particular area of physics rather than writing generally, which is fine for physics single honours courses - and if you chose to write on say, biophysics, that would probably be a compelling statement for natural sciences courses and indicate your interests in biological aspects of physics.

If you're actually specifically interested in biophysics itself (rather than just biology and physics as two separate things), you may want to consider Exeter physics as they have a fair range of options in that area and it's one of their major areas of research (or was, at least, when I was there). I'm not normally one to suggest Exeter as well, so I definitely do think it is specifically notable in that respect and worth considering as such :tongue:


Thanks, that's something I'd thought of but not it much detail.

The thing is, the idea of incorporating physics into biology sounds very interesting to me, but I haven't seen much of it that I can investigate.

I'll have a look at Exeter, thanks! :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by aaron2578
Thanks, that's good to know.
I'm more worried of the opposite - universities with straight physics courses rejecting me because my personal statement isn't fully physics - especially I'm afraid that competitive universities like St Andrews and Durham will do that.
The SAQ is good to know about though - do you know if there's a similar thing at other universities such as Durham?


I meant that unis with natural sciences courses will not be surprised to see personal statements written about single sciences - as they know that people will be applying elsewhere as well. hence you can write your personal statement e.g. just about physics to satisfy the single physics uni courses that you apply to.

but unis will also know that the divisions of scientific disciplines are not clear cut and interesting science happens at their intersections, and people who like physics may well e.g like chemistry and maths too. so it's fine (for a single physics course) to write about parts of those too, particularly parts of other sciences that relate to physics, as above posters have mentioned.
Original post by aaron2578
Hi, I'm looking for advice on which subjects to apply for.

Physics:
Pro - I could apply to 4 physics courses and still apply for Cambridge Natural Sciences (which I'm likely to) without affecting my application, and seeing as I probably won't actually get in, I don't mind too much doing a physics course as opposed to a natural sciences one - I'd still enjoy it.
Con - Even if I pick modules to specialise in an area with biology, I know that there won't be much biology at all (which I'm quite interested in).

Natural Sciences:
Pro - I could do biology alongside physics.
Con - There's only 3 or 4 courses that I like the look of and two of them (Cambridge and Durham) are going to be difficult to get into, which means I can only be confident in getting into 1 or 2 of the courses.

Both:
Pro - That'd be my ideal combination of courses.
Con - If I choose to apply to both types of courses I'd really like to apply to Cambridge and Durham for natural sciences and St Andrews for physics, along with two other courses I'm confident in getting an offer from. However, this way I'll have to make my personal statement fit with both courses - although it might not seem too different (just adding a bit of biology to what would be mostly about physics) but I understand that St Andrews is highly competitive and I'm worried that if they see my personal statement they'll reject me for being not 'committed' to physics.

I'm in Year 12 and got 9s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and got 8s in further maths and computer science GCSEs.
I'm taking maths, further maths, physics and biology A Levels and am unlikely to drop any of these.
I don't have any predicted grades but I'm aiming for A*A*AA - A*A*A*A.

Could you please give advice?
Thanks


Hi there,

By the sounds of what you've said, it sounds like you really like physics but would rather do a degree that has a fair amount of biology in. By extension, it seems like you wouldn't be 100% happy if you were only doing physics units.

Physics would be a better degree if you are 100% set on physics and like every single bit of it, as you'll be doing almost every aspect of it (at least in first year).

Natural sciences is better if you don't like all bits of physics and also want to do some more biology. By doing NatSci, you only choose the bits that you like from each of these subjects and largely avoid the bits you don't like. NatSci courses are generally a lot more flexible and allow you to personalise your modules to your goals and interests. At Bath, our NatSci course is very similar to Durham's in that you choose a major and a minor subject, so it's like a joint honours. For example, at Bath you could major in physics, minor in biology and then have an extra maths unit (at Bath, you usually get an optional/auxiliary unit from another science, or education, psychology or management. However, if you do physics then there is a compulsory maths unit instead). From what you've said, it sounds like NatSci may be a bitter course for you. If you want to know more about Bath's course, this thread I started may be helpful :smile:

In terms of universities for NatSci, the best ones are Cambridge, Durham, Bath and UCL. Exeter and Nottingham also offer NatSci. Bath and Durham's courses are very similar so if you like Durham's course, you'll probably also like Bath's. From what I recall when applying, Cambridge and UCL are a bit more restrictive and I think you have to specialise a bit more. For example, at Bath and Durham you study your 2 sciences for the entirety of the degree, whereas other unis have you start with 2-3 sciences, but you narrow it down to only 1 science through the degree. This may have changed since I applied, but it's definitely worth looking at how the course is structured over the entire 3-4 years of the degree. Bath's typical grade requirements for NatSci are A*AA - I got offers from both Durham and Bath when I applied, so they are pretty similar in their requirements.

For personal statements, I can't give a huge amount of advice! I applied for biology courses and NatSci, so I just wrote my personal statement based on science in general and what areas I was interested in. In my case, this worked to my advantage as I was applying for biology and NatSci (biology and chemistry/pharmacology), but that won't be the case for everyone. You basically have to find a line between making it broad enough to cover all your scientific interests, but not so broad that it just looks generic. Your teachers/tutors at school would be the best people to help you with this!

I hope this has helped, and please let me know if you have any more questions :smile:
Jessica, a final year NatSci student
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by University of Bath
Hi there,

By the sounds of what you've said, it sounds like you really like physics but would rather do a degree that has a fair amount of biology in. By extension, it seems like you wouldn't be 100% happy if you were only doing physics units.

Physics would be a better degree if you are 100% set on physics and like every single bit of it, as you'll be doing almost every aspect of it (at least in first year).

Natural sciences is better if you don't like all bits of physics and also want to do some more biology. By doing NatSci, you only choose the bits that you like from each of these subjects and largely avoid the bits you don't like. NatSci courses are generally a lot more flexible and allow you to personalise your modules to your goals and interests. At Bath, our NatSci course is very similar to Durham's in that you choose a major and a minor subject, so it's like a joint honours. For example, at Bath you could major in physics, minor in biology and then have an extra maths unit (at Bath, you usually get an optional/auxiliary unit from another science, or education, psychology or management. However, if you do physics then there is a compulsory maths unit instead). From what you've said, it sounds like NatSci may be a bitter course for you. If you want to know more about Bath's course, this thread I started may be helpful :smile:

In terms of universities for NatSci, the best ones are Cambridge, Durham, Bath and UCL. Exeter and Nottingham also offer NatSci. Bath and Durham's courses are very similar so if you like Durham's course, you'll probably also like Bath's. From what I recall when applying, Cambridge and UCL are a bit more restrictive and I think you have to specialise a bit more. For example, at Bath and Durham you study your 2 sciences for the entirety of the degree, whereas other unis have you start with 2-3 sciences, but you narrow it down to only 1 science through the degree. This may have changed since I applied, but it's definitely worth looking at how the course is structured over the entire 3-4 years of the degree. Bath's typical grade requirements for NatSci are A*AA - I got offers from both Durham and Bath when I applied, so they are pretty similar in their requirements.

For personal statements, I can't give a huge amount of advice! I applied for biology courses and NatSci, so I just wrote my personal statement based on science in general and what areas I was interested in. In my case, this worked to my advantage as I was applying for biology and NatSci (biology and chemistry/pharmacology), but that won't be the case for everyone. You basically have to find a line between making it broad enough to cover all your scientific interests, but not so broad that it just looks generic. Your teachers/tutors at school would be the best people to help you with this!

I hope this has helped, and please let me know if you have any more questions :smile:
Jessica, a final year NatSci student

Thanks! I have actually looked at the natural sciences course at Bath, but I used the course builder tool on the website and it didn't let me have my own choice of the physics modules, only the biology ones?

Also, was there a reason you didn't mention the natural sciences course at Lancaster?
Durham allows you to submit a substitute personal statement (see https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/ucas/personalstatement/substitute/). Maybe that will work for you. In that case I suppose you can write a physics personal statement, submit a NatSci one to Durham, and do the additional personal statement in Cambridge's SAQ.
Reply 11
Original post by qntmfldgnt
Durham allows you to submit a substitute personal statement (see https://www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/apply/ucas/personalstatement/substitute/). Maybe that will work for you. In that case I suppose you can write a physics personal statement, submit a NatSci one to Durham, and do the additional personal statement in Cambridge's SAQ.

Thanks, that would be a good idea!
Original post by aaron2578
Thanks for the link, but I'm sure I'd get at least one offer (and hopefully two others as well).

I do have until October, yes, but I'd like to have a good plan now so I can prepare - I've already started late.

I admit I am overthinking a bit but I've given up on stopping that by now - impossible for me. And please don't remind me of all the work I'm being set :frown: I could barely find time to relax and write this this weekend.

My daughter studies physics, particle physics and cosmology at Lancaster. A flatmate of hers studies natural sciences. Both are really good. Physics is amazing at Lancaster. The staff there are superb and their approach to on line learning this year because of covid has been brilliant. Should you choose physics https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/documents/physics/info/hand1920-UG.pdf this link is a breakdown of the modules. Every one who does physics, theoretical, phys and astro, phys and particle, they all do physics in first year. Theres about 200 that does the core first year then smaller groups in subsequent years when they go into their specialized field (and some stay with main physics).
Her flatmate studies Natural sciences, and they both do physics in first year, but natural scicenes not as many physics modules as hers, since they are learning other things.
Both natural sciences and espcially physics are highly rated at lancaster. Physics does have a lot of internships there and shes applying for some, even though shes first year :smile:

*daughter did Maths FM Chemistry and Physics Alevel.
Reply 13
Original post by 𝓖𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝓪𝓭𝔂
My daughter studies physics, particle physics and cosmology at Lancaster. A flatmate of hers studies natural sciences. Both are really good. Physics is amazing at Lancaster. The staff there are superb and their approach to on line learning this year because of covid has been brilliant. Should you choose physics https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/media/lancaster-university/content-assets/documents/physics/info/hand1920-UG.pdf this link is a breakdown of the modules. Every one who does physics, theoretical, phys and astro, phys and particle, they all do physics in first year. Theres about 200 that does the core first year then smaller groups in subsequent years when they go into their specialized field (and some stay with main physics).
Her flatmate studies Natural sciences, and they both do physics in first year, but natural scicenes not as many physics modules as hers, since they are learning other things.
Both natural sciences and espcially physics are highly rated at lancaster. Physics does have a lot of internships there and shes applying for some, even though shes first year :smile:

*daughter did Maths FM Chemistry and Physics Alevel.

Thanks!
What predicted grades did your daughter and her flatmate have when applying?
Original post by aaron2578
Thanks!
What predicted grades did your daughter and her flatmate have when applying?

Not sure about her flatmate, but daughter was predicted A*A*A*A and got CAG grades of A*A*AA. for physics its AAA to get in for a 4 years Masters.
Reply 15
Original post by 𝓖𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝓪𝓭𝔂
Not sure about her flatmate, but daughter was predicted A*A*A*A and got CAG grades of A*A*AA. for physics its AAA to get in for a 4 years Masters.

Thanks!
Original post by aaron2578
Hi, I'm looking for advice on which subjects to apply for.

Physics:
Pro - I could apply to 4 physics courses and still apply for Cambridge Natural Sciences (which I'm likely to) without affecting my application, and seeing as I probably won't actually get in, I don't mind too much doing a physics course as opposed to a natural sciences one - I'd still enjoy it.
Con - Even if I pick modules to specialise in an area with biology, I know that there won't be much biology at all (which I'm quite interested in).

Natural Sciences:
Pro - I could do biology alongside physics.
Con - There's only 3 or 4 courses that I like the look of and two of them (Cambridge and Durham) are going to be difficult to get into, which means I can only be confident in getting into 1 or 2 of the courses.

Both:
Pro - That'd be my ideal combination of courses.
Con - If I choose to apply to both types of courses I'd really like to apply to Cambridge and Durham for natural sciences and St Andrews for physics, along with two other courses I'm confident in getting an offer from. However, this way I'll have to make my personal statement fit with both courses - although it might not seem too different (just adding a bit of biology to what would be mostly about physics) but I understand that St Andrews is highly competitive and I'm worried that if they see my personal statement they'll reject me for being not 'committed' to physics.

I'm in Year 12 and got 9s in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and got 8s in further maths and computer science GCSEs.
I'm taking maths, further maths, physics and biology A Levels and am unlikely to drop any of these.
I don't have any predicted grades but I'm aiming for A*A*AA - A*A*A*A.

Could you please give advice?
Thanks

Hello @aaron2578! :smile:

From the sounds of it, you seem most excited about the prospect of doing both. It's for this reason that I advise you go for this option, or at least tailor a personal statement that - like you said - encompasses both! This personal statement could definitely be used as a physics personal statement by itself (so you could do the first option as well!) as plenty of physicists go into biophysics after/during their degree. You shouldn't be regarded as any less interested in Physics just because you've got interests beyond it, if anything it should make your application more interesting!

It may be worth looking into biophysics specifically to see whether it includes the areas of biology you're interested in; for example, there's plenty of studies into bacteria motility and the statistics of mass cell movement. Princeton did a Summer school over zoom which is available to watch on youtube if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcnlf7iLBn4PVOSEVvMgPHWLjaWNX20a6. If anything captures your eye, you could talk about these topics in your personal statement... You've got plenty of time to apply, so you could even do a mini research project if you wanted to! If you have the opportunity to talk about it in an interview it'd look impressive but, more importantly, it might help you realise whether biophysics is for you :biggrin:

Best of luck with your application and feel free to message!
-Faye, 2nd Year Theoretical Physics
Reply 17
Original post by UoB - Engineering and Physical Sciences
Hello @aaron2578! :smile:

From the sounds of it, you seem most excited about the prospect of doing both. It's for this reason that I advise you go for this option, or at least tailor a personal statement that - like you said - encompasses both! This personal statement could definitely be used as a physics personal statement by itself (so you could do the first option as well!) as plenty of physicists go into biophysics after/during their degree. You shouldn't be regarded as any less interested in Physics just because you've got interests beyond it, if anything it should make your application more interesting!

It may be worth looking into biophysics specifically to see whether it includes the areas of biology you're interested in; for example, there's plenty of studies into bacteria motility and the statistics of mass cell movement. Princeton did a Summer school over zoom which is available to watch on youtube if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcnlf7iLBn4PVOSEVvMgPHWLjaWNX20a6. If anything captures your eye, you could talk about these topics in your personal statement... You've got plenty of time to apply, so you could even do a mini research project if you wanted to! If you have the opportunity to talk about it in an interview it'd look impressive but, more importantly, it might help you realise whether biophysics is for you :biggrin:

Best of luck with your application and feel free to message!
-Faye, 2nd Year Theoretical Physics

Thanks!
Original post by aaron2578
Thanks! I have actually looked at the natural sciences course at Bath, but I used the course builder tool on the website and it didn't let me have my own choice of the physics modules, only the biology ones?

Also, was there a reason you didn't mention the natural sciences course at Lancaster?

Hi again,

No problem! I personally would suggest looking at this course flowchart instead. It's basically the holy grail document as you can see what units you can choose each year and it's a very straightforward diagram. The course builder tool isn't the most helpful, so definitely look at that flowchart or the detailed unit catalogue. Both of those documents show you the unit choices available, and the contents of the units.

In terms of Uni of Lancaster, I simply didn't apply there. A lot of unis that offer NatSci, such as Nottingham, Exeter and Lancaster, just didn't appeal to me as I didn't like the universities or their courses. This is obviously personal preference - they didn't suit me, but they'll suit a lot of other people. I only applied to Bath, Durham and Cambridge for NatSci (and obviously chose Bath), but applied to Edinburgh and Imperial for biology as back-ups.

I hope this has helped,
Jessica, a final year NatSci student
Reply 19
Original post by University of Bath
Hi again,

No problem! I personally would suggest looking at this course flowchart instead. It's basically the holy grail document as you can see what units you can choose each year and it's a very straightforward diagram. The course builder tool isn't the most helpful, so definitely look at that flowchart or the detailed unit catalogue. Both of those documents show you the unit choices available, and the contents of the units.

In terms of Uni of Lancaster, I simply didn't apply there. A lot of unis that offer NatSci, such as Nottingham, Exeter and Lancaster, just didn't appeal to me as I didn't like the universities or their courses. This is obviously personal preference - they didn't suit me, but they'll suit a lot of other people. I only applied to Bath, Durham and Cambridge for NatSci (and obviously chose Bath), but applied to Edinburgh and Imperial for biology as back-ups.

I hope this has helped,
Jessica, a final year NatSci student

Thanks, I'll definitely take a look at the flowchart!

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