Geography applicants for 2013 entry

OP

Original post by student1234567891

Haha well you and your friend have good taste!

Well the thing about Durham is that they want passion, and not just grades. When i got my AS results i had one absolute stinker and that was in History, an exam i had been predicted an A in. Instead i got a C in History and then AAAA in Geography, English Lit, Politics and General Studies. So i did have good results but i thought the C would be the end of my life haha! So anyway, i applied despite this, and received an offer very early by Durham's standards! Plus i had applied for BSc, so i thought oh my god they're gonna reject me! I remember quite distinctly on the open day that the Geography department in particular was looking for applicants who could develop their own 'personal' geography, which i thought was really cool! And to top it off, Durham's geography department is the most research intensive in the UK, meaning its lectures are fresh off the studies conducted by their lecturers :smile:

Glad to hear :wink:

Yeah, I've loved geography-like topics since I was a kid, the only problem with being passionate is getting it across in your PS!
Oh wow, so no sciency-based subjects but got an offer for the Bsc that easily anyway. I didn't know they accepted general studies! I'm probably going to get AAAC in Geography, History, Maths and physics respectively, but for the BA degree. So similar to you I guess, though you have more. So that's given me some hope :tongue:

The significance of the 4th AS seems to be undermined all the time, which is promising :smile:

Well done on your offers, and thanks for the info.

Btw, did you anticipate that C for history, knowing you'd made mistakes? Or was it a total surprise? Reason why I ask is that I got As in my mocks but I guess having such subjective mark schemes, you can never be sure!

Original post by St. Brynjar

That's great info thanks, I doubt I'll get that A*AA prediction but it's worth giving it a try.

I've heard great things about the city of Bristol and I'm going to the September so I'll remember to keep the accomodation in mind. I'm sure it can't be worse than High Holborn for LSE!

Out of interest what do you think your 5 will be? At the moment I'm thinking:
Manchester
Cambridge (I prefer Oxford as a city and the course, but I live about half an hour away and I want the full 'discovering a new place independently' experience)
Nottingham
LSE
Which ever other uni out of UEA, Bristol, Sheffield and Birmingham I like the most.

Any other unis that I should consider?

Well if you do, Durham is definitely one to consider!

I think my five will be, as long as I get 3 As this year (in order of preference):
1) Cambridge
2) Durham
3) Bristol
4) Nottingham
5) Exeter

I love them all, I've seen all but Durham but from what I have seen and heard, it's amazing. Exeter was very nice but I put it last because it's graduate prospects really aren't that great in comparison to the others (I do want a job out of it, at the end of the day :tongue:

) and the course maybe wasn't as good as the others. It's also the 2nd furthest away from me, the furthest being Durham, but that's not significant for Durham because it's Durham xD Plus it's got a direct train link from here (london) anyway.
These do strike me as probably aiming as high as I could be, but obviously there's no point applying to a place I won't want to go to, so I'd rather have 2/3 offers from these 5 than 5 offers from a group of unis where I really only want to go to 1. But thankfully geography isn't overly competitive, the other day at Bristol they told me last they gave offers to 800 out of 1200 applicants and most who didn't get an offer were predicted less than AAA anyway. And this sort of proportion of applications to offers (not places) is typical of most Russel Group unis for geography, the admissions tutor said. And this year Bristol are increasing their places anyway. Obviously this is all good news.

Those are all fantastic institutions. Bear in mind Manchester is the biggest uni in the country I think, that could either be a plus or minus. One thing I'd mention about LSE is that a ridiculous proprtion of students are foreign. This girl talks about her experience of LSE geography, and this isn't the only source I've heard it from. Whatever you do, don't live in High Holborn :tongue:

I've heard tons of bad things about it. If you do go to LSE, stay in one of the inter-collegiate colleges because they're apparently more social. Not saying nobody has a life at LSE... but it's probably far more like that than at other universities. Either way, since I live in London myself and wouldn't want to live at home, there's no point me applying. The spectacular graduate prospects might be less about the course, and more to do with (i) Where it is (ii) The type of people who go there (iii) The tiny number of students who actually graduate from there every year (I think 23 or so, rather than the 120 or so average for most geography departments), giving it a less reliable sample. Employment prospects was the only reason why I was drawn to LSE in the first place. This has probably put you off entirely (sorry about that xD), but I was considering it for a while and came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it, personally. If this hasn't changed put you off or made you at all weary of applying, then you'll be fine.

I think Durham and Exeter are the others that you could consider. Maybe others as well, but ultimately you're only applying to 5 so don't worry about that too much.

Sorry for how long this is :tongue:

Reply 43

OP

Original post by student1234567891

Haha well you and your friend have good taste!

Well the thing about Durham is that they want passion, and not just grades. When i got my AS results i had one absolute stinker and that was in History, an exam i had been predicted an A in. Instead i got a C in History and then AAAA in Geography, English Lit, Politics and General Studies. So i did have good results but i thought the C would be the end of my life haha! So anyway, i applied despite this, and received an offer very early by Durham's standards! Plus i had applied for BSc, so i thought oh my god they're gonna reject me! I remember quite distinctly on the open day that the Geography department in particular was looking for applicants who could develop their own 'personal' geography, which i thought was really cool! And to top it off, Durham's geography department is the most research intensive in the UK, meaning its lectures are fresh off the studies conducted by their lecturers :smile:

Glad to hear :wink:

Yeah, I've loved geography-like topics since I was a kid, the only problem with being passionate is getting it across in your PS!
Oh wow, so no sciency-based subjects but got an offer for the Bsc that easily anyway. I didn't know they accepted general studies! I'm probably going to get AAAC in Geography, History, Maths and physics respectively, but for the BA degree. So similar to you I guess, though you have more. So that's given me some hope :tongue:

The significance of the 4th AS seems to be undermined all the time, which is promising :smile:

Well done on your offers, and thanks for the info.

Btw, did you anticipate that C for history, knowing you'd made mistakes? Or was it a total surprise? Reason why I ask is that I got As in my mocks but I guess having such subjective mark schemes, you can never be sure!

Original post by St. Brynjar

That's great info thanks, I doubt I'll get that A*AA prediction but it's worth giving it a try.

I've heard great things about the city of Bristol and I'm going to the September so I'll remember to keep the accomodation in mind. I'm sure it can't be worse than High Holborn for LSE!

Out of interest what do you think your 5 will be? At the moment I'm thinking:
Manchester
Cambridge (I prefer Oxford as a city and the course, but I live about half an hour away and I want the full 'discovering a new place independently' experience)
Nottingham
LSE
Which ever other uni out of UEA, Bristol, Sheffield and Birmingham I like the most.

Any other unis that I should consider?

Well if you do, Durham is definitely one to consider!

I think my five will be, as long as I get 3 As this year (in order of preference):
1) Cambridge
2) Durham
3) Bristol
4) Nottingham
5) Exeter

I love them all, I've seen all but Durham but from what I have seen and heard, it's amazing. Exeter was very nice but I put it last because it's graduate prospects really aren't that great in comparison to the others (I do want a job out of it, at the end of the day :tongue:

) and the course maybe wasn't as good as the others. It's also the 2nd furthest away from me, the furthest being Durham, but that's not significant for Durham because it's Durham xD Plus it's got a direct train link from here (london) anyway.
These do strike me as probably aiming as high as I could be, but obviously there's no point applying to a place I won't want to go to, so I'd rather have 2/3 offers from these 5 than 5 offers from a group of unis where I really only want to go to 1. But thankfully geography isn't overly competitive, the other day at Bristol they told me last they gave offers to 800 out of 1200 applicants and most who didn't get an offer were predicted less than AAA anyway. And this sort of proportion of applications to offers (not places) is typical of most Russel Group unis for geography, the admissions tutor said. And this year Bristol are increasing their places anyway. Obviously this is all good news.

Those are all fantastic institutions. Bear in mind Manchester is the biggest uni in the country I think, that could either be a plus or minus. One thing I'd mention about LSE is that a ridiculous proprtion of students are foreign. This girl talks about her experience of LSE geography, and this isn't the only source I've heard it from. (On this thread: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1963488 ) Whatever you do, don't live in High Holborn :tongue:

I've heard tons of bad things about it. If you do go to LSE, stay in one of the inter-collegiate colleges because they're apparently more social. Not saying nobody has a life at LSE... but it's probably far more like that than at other universities. Either way, since I live in London myself and wouldn't want to live at home, there's no point me applying. The spectacular graduate prospects might be less about the course, and more to do with (i) Where it is (ii) The type of people who go there (iii) The tiny number of students who actually graduate from there every year (I think 23 or so, rather than the 120 or so average for most geography departments), giving it a less reliable sample. Employment prospects was the only reason why I was drawn to LSE in the first place. This has probably put you off entirely (sorry about that xD), but I was considering it for a while and came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth it, personally. If this hasn't changed put you off or made you at all weary of applying, then you'll be fine.

I think Durham and Exeter are the others that you could consider. Maybe others as well, but ultimately you're only applying to 5 so don't worry about that too much.

Sorry for how long this is :tongue:

Reply 44

St. Brynjar

18

I personally loved the LSE open day, I loved the diversity of people there - I went alone and met people from Hong Kong, Bahrain and Ecuador. The facilities and location really appealed to me too. The halls were really, really bad and I was encouraged to apply for inter-collegiate, as you suggested. I'm not so big on the course - I love physical geography which isn't even slightly part of the LSE course - so it might not be for me but it's a while away until I apply and the graduate prospects seemed so good.

I preferred Nottingham though, so ideally I'll get an offer from there and this won't be an issue :P

I was supposed to go to the Durham open day but it was so far from home (Reading) and I had important Maths coursework to do so I opted out and I'll have a look in September. Thanks for all the Bristol information too, that's really helpful. I've decided I really want a university in or near a big city with a thriving nightlife scene and excellent facilities, hence Manchester's inclusion - I wasn't particularly wowed by the accomodation or atmosphere, although the course and study abroad opportunities were level or above what Nottingham offer.

Essentially, as long as there's a good football team (Uh-oh Oxbridge :P ) and a reasonable music venue nearby I'll be delighted to go anywhere.

Reply 45

student1234567891

1

Original post by Bulbasaur

Glad to hear :wink:

Yeah, I've loved geography-like topics since I was a kid, the only problem with being passionate is getting it across in your PS!
Oh wow, so no sciency-based subjects but got an offer for the Bsc that easily anyway. I didn't know they accepted general studies! I'm probably going to get AAAC in Geography, History, Maths and physics respectively, but for the BA degree. So similar to you I guess, though you have more. So that's given me some hope :tongue:

The significance of the 4th AS seems to be undermined all the time, which is promising :smile:

Well done on your offers, and thanks for the info.

Btw, did you anticipate that C for history, knowing you'd made mistakes? Or was it a total surprise? Reason why I ask is that I got As in my mocks but I guess having such subjective mark schemes, you can never be sure!

i could lend you mine, but if you copy any of it, you're screwed over by UCAS :smile:

ahh they dont accept gen studies! its compulsory at my school though! :mad:

i honestly thought i smashed the history exam and failed all the others haha i was so upset with the history grade that i gave up on it all together, i don't even want to know why it was so bad :tongue:

Reply 46

OP

Original post by student1234567891

i could lend you mine, but if you copy any of it, you're screwed over by UCAS :smile:

ahh they dont accept gen studies! its compulsory at my school though! :mad:

i honestly thought i smashed the history exam and failed all the others haha i was so upset with the history grade that i gave up on it all together, i don't even want to know why it was so bad :tongue:

I'm about halfway through writing it, and yeah I wouldn't copy it XD

Yeah they make us do AS citizenship, but over two years. Nobody seems to care about it though. Messed up a 15 marker entirely so probably got a C in that also, as if it matters.

Ah yeah I know some people who have had that too. When you write a lot you feel like you've smashed it, but often is it the case with history that you know so much that you become descriptive rather than analytical, which if done throughout will cap your grade to a C, as they mark in 'levels'. So people who know the same amount of stuff can get vastly different grades.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 47

OP

Original post by St. Brynjar

I personally loved the LSE open day, I loved the diversity of people there - I went alone and met people from Hong Kong, Bahrain and Ecuador. The facilities and location really appealed to me too. The halls were really, really bad and I was encouraged to apply for inter-collegiate, as you suggested. I'm not so big on the course - I love physical geography which isn't even slightly part of the LSE course - so it might not be for me but it's a while away until I apply and the graduate prospects seemed so good.

I preferred Nottingham though, so ideally I'll get an offer from there and this won't be an issue :P

I was supposed to go to the Durham open day but it was so far from home (Reading) and I had important Maths coursework to do so I opted out and I'll have a look in September. Thanks for all the Bristol information too, that's really helpful. I've decided I really want a university in or near a big city with a thriving nightlife scene and excellent facilities, hence Manchester's inclusion - I wasn't particularly wowed by the accomodation or atmosphere, although the course and study abroad opportunities were level or above what Nottingham offer.

Essentially, as long as there's a good football team (Uh-oh Oxbridge :P ) and a reasonable music venue nearby I'll be delighted to go anywhere.

Well if you liked it then go for it :smile:

just bear in mind what I've said- might be dramatic but don't expect it to be the typical student experience.

Notts is a brilliant uni, though you'll probably get an AAA offer from them rather than LSE's AAB. So that works I guess, as a firm/insurance.

Yeah I'm seeing it in September too. Only problem being the high offer. Then again, its only beaten by Oxbridge, and even then I've heard people say its geography department is as good as Oxford's so it's definitely worth it.

Big cities- Bristol is quite big compared to most uk cities, Cambridge isnt particularly large, and Durham is a small town though. Notts is about the same as Bristol, if not slightly smaller. So take that into consideration I guess.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 48

Name: Ellie
BA or BSc: BSc (focusses more on the physical geog side. Human side i find boring!)
Currently taking: Geography, Environmental Studies, English Lit and Fine Art (will drop art in yr 13)
Uni's i have thought about applying to: York University (they have an environmental geography degree, however they are 4 hours away from where i live now!)
Also Exeter uni, but ive been looking at the cornwall campus as it seems more environmentally orientated.
Possibly Coventry as it focusses on natural hazards which im interested in too.
Also Bath Spa as its closer to home and in a lovely location.

So yeah im thinking about 4 different uni's with different courses. Either BSc geography or environmental science degrees are what im looking for. :smile:

Reply 49

Btw, im going to York University for an open day tomorrow, so will try and let u guys know what its like after.

I've been to Reading on a school trip, but i didnt like the feel of the place. Buildings were very dull looking, but they did have good facilities there.

Reply 50

OP

Original post by Ellie_May :)

Btw, im going to York University for an open day tomorrow, so will try and let u guys know what its like after.

I've been to Reading on a school trip, but i didnt like the feel of the place. Buildings were very dull looking, but they did have good facilities there.

Awesome! That's exactly what this kind of thread is for! I've always thought York was a nice uni but I wasn't sure about environmental science.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 51

student1234567891

1

Original post by Bulbasaur

I'm about halfway through writing it, and yeah I wouldn't copy it XD

Yeah they make us do AS citizenship, but over two years. Nobody seems to care about it though. Messed up a 15 marker entirely so probably got a C in that also, as if it matters.

Ah yeah I know some people who have had that too. When you write a lot you feel like you've smashed it, but often is it the case with history that you know so much that you become descriptive rather than analytical, which if done throughout will cap your grade to a C, as they mark in 'levels'. So people who know the same amount of stuff can get vastly different grades.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Well if you would like a copy then let me know :smile:

Ahh citizenship doesn't matter haha!

History was a right bitch, didn't drop below an A all year then boom, hello C!

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 52

OP

Original post by student1234567891

Well if you would like a copy then let me know :smile:

Ahh citizenship doesn't matter haha!

History was a right bitch, didn't drop below an A all year then boom, hello C!

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Ahh awesome, I don't need it right now but I'll PM you if I do :smile:

Thanks

That's really strange. Do you think your teacher was too lenient with marking, or was the examiner was too harsh?

Reply 53

student1234567891

1

Original post by Bulbasaur

Ahh awesome, I don't need it right now but I'll PM you if I do :smile:

Thanks

That's really strange. Do you think your teacher was too lenient with marking, or was the examiner was too harsh?

ok sure thing :smile:

Durham really loves to see personal experience you've had in the subject link into the first few paragraphs , so, for example, i wrote about my duke of edinburgh expedition in the lake district and how this was a turning point in my life (sounds cheesy but so true :colondollar:

)

i'm not sure, my teacher was retiring that summer, but she was awesome and quite harsh on purpose... so i don't even want to know what it was, it was probably me :P

Reply 54

OP

Original post by student1234567891

ok sure thing :smile:

Durham really loves to see personal experience you've had in the subject link into the first few paragraphs , so, for example, i wrote about my duke of edinburgh expedition in the lake district and how this was a turning point in my life (sounds cheesy but so true :colondollar:

)

i'm not sure, my teacher was retiring that summer, but she was awesome and quite harsh on purpose... so i don't even want to know what it was, it was probably me :P

Oh that's different. In that case, I guess I could do with seeing it XD Hmm, unfortuntely I'm not sure if I actually have any particular experiences I can talk about, though I am doing an EPQ if that counts for anything.

Reply 55

bownessie

19

Original post by tooty_fruit

Are you guys planning on reading geography related books to talk about in your personal statement? I think its a bit of a given but most of them seem to be like 400/500 pages long so I'm not sure whether to read all of it or just certain parts which interest me.

Opinions?

Find books that interest you and read it (preferably a few). Don't sit down and read academic papers or text books of you aren't interested. Instead find books that you can easially understand and could talk about happily in an interview. Also don't rule out popular science books and other such books. Geography is a VERY broad subject and most reading you do could apply to geography. It is about being able to inderstand your reading and being able to think about it and think laterally about it.
I am a geographer and am currently reading Ross kemp on gangs. It isn't a geography book per se but there are lots of things from the book that I can discuss in terms of human geography.
Seriously just find books that relate to the subject and some lateral thinking displayed in a ps/interview can get you a long way. You will also get a better impression if it is the subject for you

Reply 56

bownessie

19

A GENERAL NOTE FOR EVERYONE: a lot of people on this forum seem to be veering towards the physical side or saying they want to avoid human because they find it boring at a level. A LOT of my friends (in fact all but me) said they preferred physical geography to human when they got to uni. After the first year a good number of them preferred human and almost everyone I know enjoyed it. So I just suggest to everyone that it is definitely worth keeping your options open first year with your specialisation because you might surprise yourself with what you enjoy at uni (which is very different from school). The amount of crossover there is between a lot of physical and human modules that in most cases you won't be able to appreciate one without the other.

Just my 2 cents guys :smile:

not dissing physical because I really love physical (even though I am a human geographer) but just trying to pass on what my first year has taught me because it wasn't why I expected when I arrived :smile:

good luck applying!

Reply 57

Original post by Bulbasaur

Awesome! That's exactly what this kind of thread is for! I've always thought York was a nice uni but I wasn't sure about environmental science.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Hey guys

Just got back from york. 4 hour drive back to where i live, took 7 hours to get there though because of traffic on the m5!!

Anyway, it was worth it. I'm not sure if i can see myself there yet, but i wouldnt mind if i ended up there.

For me the course was perfect. Lecturers were approachable, open to any questions, and enthusiastic :smile:

A wide range of interests between them. It is a research led uni so you help the staff with their research as part of your studies. Also there are good fieldtrips!

The campus itself is split into heslington west (main) and east. But both are within walking distance (20 mins) and there is a free uni bus to go between them anyway. Campus is lovely. Based around a large lake, with a few fountains, and best of all - the ducks!! There is also a large quiet space with green area which looks beautiful :smile:

As for the city, its an extremely historical place. Has the shambles which inspired diagon alley from harry potter films, lots of shops and restaurants, event areas and pubs (little did i know that michael mcintrye was performing the night i was in the city!) Lots of ghost tours are on every night so its quite funny to see people dressed up acting all spooky! City is close to campus, again you can catch a bus there from campus which i think costs £1.

The only confusing thing is the accomodation. So much choice as it is a collegiate uni. 7 colleges to chose from!

Facilities are great. Good library, lots of cafe's, costcutters supermarkets etc. All layed out well.

So yeah its quite nice. But dont you all go applying to it otherwise i wont get a place if i decide to go there!!!

Reply 58

OP

Original post by Ellie_May :)

Hey guys

Just got back from york. 4 hour drive back to where i live, took 7 hours to get there though because of traffic on the m5!!

Anyway, it was worth it. I'm not sure if i can see myself there yet, but i wouldnt mind if i ended up there.

For me the course was perfect. Lecturers were approachable, open to any questions, and enthusiastic :smile:

A wide range of interests between them. It is a research led uni so you help the staff with their research as part of your studies. Also there are good fieldtrips!

The campus itself is split into heslington west (main) and east. But both are within walking distance (20 mins) and there is a free uni bus to go between them anyway. Campus is lovely. Based around a large lake, with a few fountains, and best of all - the ducks!! There is also a large quiet space with green area which looks beautiful :smile:

As for the city, its an extremely historical place. Has the shambles which inspired diagon alley from harry potter films, lots of shops and restaurants, event areas and pubs (little did i know that michael mcintrye was performing the night i was in the city!) Lots of ghost tours are on every night so its quite funny to see people dressed up acting all spooky! City is close to campus, again you can catch a bus there from campus which i think costs £1.

The only confusing thing is the accomodation. So much choice as it is a collegiate uni. 7 colleges to chose from!

Facilities are great. Good library, lots of cafe's, costcutters supermarkets etc. All layed out well.

So yeah its quite nice. But dont you all go applying to it otherwise i wont get a place if i decide to go there!!!

Ducks, yay XD

Thanks for posting this- it will be useful for other people considering York. But don't worry about everyone else applying, I doubt that will be the case, I don't think I will purely because applying to Env. Science with a 100% geography personal statement is something that I don't really want to do.

Nonetheless, sounds like a great uni, shame about the course not actually being Geography though.

Reply 59