'best' psych uni

Hi, I'm new, and was just wondering which uni's are 'best' for psychology? This could be in terms of the highest grades needed, the highest employment rates, which specialise in psychology, etc. Any input given would be great, and if anyone knows of somewhere in the north of England that comes well reccomended, that would be great too. I'm predicted ABC in English Language, Psychology and Art respectively. I'm also taking General Studies (by force) but I doubt that my G.S grade would be taken into account. I'm in lower sixth at the moment, and would like to become a psychologist.
Thanks in advance for any responses (please respond!!!)
:toung: Amy

Reply 1

PsychNick

8

Hey heres a list of the 'best' psychology courses, according to The Times:

http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/gooduniversityguide2005/20psychology.pdf

Hope that helps

Reply 2

lucilleball89

OP

Ooh thanks that's great, though I would welcome some personal opinions too! You're a star :smile:

Reply 3

mipmapped

13

Psychology and Cognitive Science at Sussex.

Good course, teaching variable, generally good.

Recommended.

Reply 4

fairygirl21

2

I would try and aim for ABB, as most decent Universities for Psychology offer ABB/AAB/AAA :smile:

Reply 5

mipmapped

13

UCL offered me AAAAb when I applied.

Any other 2005 UCL applicants with a similar experience?

Reply 6

lucilleball89

OP

fairygirl21

I would try and aim for ABB, as most decent Universities for Psychology offer ABB/AAB/AAA :smile:

I could probably get an A in psych if I worked like really hard lol, but I doubt I'll get a B in Art, you think AAC could be a possibility?

Reply 7

xavier2k3

1

-amykins-

I could probably get an A in psych if I worked like really hard lol, but I doubt I'll get a B in Art, you think AAC could be a possibility?

i've wondered the same thing myself but have now motivated myself to getting that B in english..(realising that im only 5 UMS off a B for AS!) My advice to you would be just try and work to the best of your abilities to ensure that you don't have to worry about getting a lower grade.

If it does come down to it then it would depend on the university. The lowest offer i've had for psychology is BBC and that's at Goldsmiths UoL. Hope this helps!

regards
--marty

Reply 8

Interrobang

20

Bangor is good for Psychology and i got a 260 UCAS pts offer from there

Reply 9

flora

7

To be brutally honest, most top unis have a minimum offer of at least ABB- but this doesn't actually mean that if you have those grades or equivalent you are likely to get an offer- psychology is so competitive that many applicants predicted AAA get turned down from top places like nottingham, york and bristol every year. I'm not saying don't give it a shot, but would consider unis with slightly lower offers that you are confident of getting as a back up.

In the north i would say the top places are nottingham, york and st andrews. Other unis that are really good in general are manchester, edinburgh, durham...as they're not quite as highly rated for psych, the courses might be less competitive, but are really well respected unis, good employability etc. Others that spring to mind as good for psych are leeds and sheffield...though judging by nick123's offers, they demand pretty high grades as well :redface:

Reply 10

Melana

14

Yooooooooooork! It gets 24/24 for teaching, the top mark for research (so it gets lots of money) and is consistently in the top 3 of leaderboards.

Royal Holloway seem to be giving everyone ABB offers this year, so you might stand a good chance there!

But on top of grades, go out and do lots of work experience, that's what will swing it for you. Sure you need the grades, but like flora said, so many people get rejected with straight As. Make yourself stand out!

Reply 11

lucilleball89

OP

Wow, lots of advice! I can work my ass off I guess if I really do want to get into one of the top 20 unis, I already have a lot of work experience, but to be honest I don't want to put too much pressure on myself... I'd like to go somewhere that has a good psychology dept. tho, not just generally good overall. Hmm... well thanks to everyone anyway! Lots to consider, eh? :smile:

Reply 12

Interrobang

20

i thought i would be biased saying York, but it is a really good department :biggrin:

We have some really good psychologists here, doing research and lecturing you, so you get up-to-date studies to use

Reply 13

Melana

14

What work experience have you done amykins? Treat the leaderboards with caution, but if you are actually looking for the ones that are technically best, they will help you...

Times for Psychology: ---- Guardian for Psychology

1 Cambridge --- Oxford
2 Oxford --- UCL
3 York --- York
4 St Andrews --- St Andrews
5 Nottingham --- Napier
6 Bath --- Surrey
7 Cardiff --- Bristol
8 Bristol --- Royal Holloway
9 Royal Holloway --- Bath
10 Newcastle --- Sheffield
11 Reading --- Exeter
12 Loughborough --- Edinburgh
13 Lancaster --- Nottingham
14 Queens, Belfast --- Loughborough
15 Leicester --- Glasgow
16 UCL --- Lancaster
17 LSE --- Birmingham
18 Swansea --- Queen's, Belfast
19 Durham --- Cardiff
20 Glasgow --- Kent

Reply 14

lucilleball89

OP

Melana

What work experience have you done amykins? Treat the leaderboards with caution, but if you are actually looking for the ones that are technically best, they will help you...

I've spent a couple of weeks in a primary school, working with the chidren with learning difficulties, a couple of weeks at a special needs school, I used to babysit a boy with schizophrenia, I helped to care for my grandad who also has schizophrenia, and I spent a few weeks in Durham uni Queen's campus, just generally finding out about the different ways to progress to a career in psychology, though at the time it was psychiatry I was looking at as part of the medical dept. Do you think all of this is relevant?

Reply 15

lucilleball89

OP

Oh and my mam had depression and I was her main carer.

Reply 16

flora

7

Definitley all relevant! That amount of experience will certainly strengthen your application- shows you really have a personal understanding and interest in the subject, so they should consider your application seriously even if your grades aren't the best.

If you can up your predicted grades to AAC/ABB then it would be a big help...the risk with your current grades is that some unis might just have a blanket rule of not considering applicants with less than the minimum grades (usually at least ABB for top depts), as they just have so many. So even though your experience means they should consider you, they might not even look. If you meet the minimum grades they're much more likely to look thoroughly at your application, then see all your experience and enthusiasm and maybe give you an offer.

Reply 17

PsychGrad

Make sure it is BPS approved and look at the content of the course because they can vary greatly.

Reply 18

lucilleball89

OP

flora

Definitley all relevant! That amount of experience will certainly strengthen your application- shows you really have a personal understanding and interest in the subject, so they should consider your application seriously even if your grades aren't the best.

Good-good. Well it should be interesting this tim next year when I'm posting where I've been accepted/denied, and how my hopes have altered since now!

Reply 19

Splenda620

7

I got some nice psych offers and I have to pick an insurance (Oxford will be my firm, with a tough offer). I'm having a tough time deciding between UCL, St. Andrews or Bristol (if I get an offer there). Any suggestions? Where do they have the best lecturers/most individual attention?

'best' psych uni

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