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All I can say is, I did bronze D of E for the sole purpose of putting it on my uni. application, and I don't think I even put it on my ucas form in the end. It's not a bad thing to do just for fun or 'personal development', and I suppose it can't be a bad thing to have on your ucas form (especially if you do silver or gold)...but I imagine most unis place far more weight on extra-curricular stuff that's actually related to your course.
Reply 2
Berto90
just wondering...


nah, they dont give a s**t about it. That's the simple answer.
Reply 3
Niccolo
nah, they dont give a s**t about it. That's the simple answer.

I wouldn't go to the extent of saying that actually. There are far more important things like relevant work experience, but it can and does look pretty darn good on the application, if phrased in an appropriate manner that connects it to the course you're applying for.

It may not be the most helpful of things, but it surely cannot hurt.
I did Bronze and Silver...doubt it helped to be honest. I didn't do it for my university application though, I did it because it looked fun and rewarding. Lots of people do the same kind of extracurriculars required for the reward without receiving the award (a sport, a skill and some voluntary work) so I guess the award is just an acknowledgement that somebody has done all of that and taken part in an expedition. It's a respected award though, and I found it really rewarding and enjoyable, so I'd recommend it.
There are far too many people doing it (and especially too many doing it with the sole purpose of putting it on their UCAS form) for them to consider it that big a deal.
Reply 6
i think if you manage the gold it is helpful.
Reply 7
again it doesn't harm your application but for oxbridge i don't think it has any impact really (apart from showing you do other things apart from work). a st annes admission tutor told me "we don't care how many Dof E awards you've got".
Reply 8
well i did silver and it was put in my PS, reference and school leavers statement... multiple uses and a medal!
Reply 9
I once had a conversation with a [slightly drunken] tutor about this and he basically said that they (at least at Magdalen, Oxford... wasn't sure whether it was a general uni thing) are actually not legally allowed to take in any non-academic factors into consideration. All they must judge you on is your academic ability and suitability for the particular course. Taking your D of E into account would be like taking your skin colour into account, he said.

I think he possibly was slightly exaggerating, but the key lesson is that it's the academic activites / interest / ability that counts.
Do things like that because you enjoy them, not because they help you get into university. None of the extracurricular activities on my personal statement were done for my uni application, they were done because I enjoyed them.
Reply 11
Yttrium
I once had a conversation with a [slightly drunken] tutor about this and he basically said that they (at least at Magdalen, Oxford... wasn't sure whether it was a general uni thing) are actually not legally allowed to take in any non-academic factors into consideration. All they must judge you on is your academic ability and suitability for the particular course. Taking your D of E into account would be like taking your skin colour into account, he said.

I think he possibly was slightly exaggerating, but the key lesson is that it's the academic activites / interest / ability that counts.

Yes, that's the stand everyone here has employed. Nothing has changed.

You would concede though that admissions tutors, being human beings, may occasionally take other factors (perhaps even the appearance of an individual) into account, and one of these factors would be the extent of involvement in co-curricular activities including the DoE. Basically, if you're doing this just for the sake of university admission, then don't bother, but if you've already attained the award, I don't see why you shouldn't list it down for the record.
From the various ppl Ive spoken to (admissions tutors/friends of parents) employers are more likely to take Gold doe into account than top uni admissions.
Hey you should definitely do D of E. I'm 16 and have only got my expedition presentation left and then my brone is completed. Shall be starting silver soon.
I've had so much fun doing D of E. The expedition was ace and i've made so many new friends.
With regards to university, i'm not so sure. A gold should count for something but it would probably just enhance your CV. But still you should go ahead and so it just 4 the fun
Reply 14
the gold part of the award is fun :p:
At the time it seems like a golden thing to put in your application, but in the end you'll just end up tying it in vaguely with an aspect of your subject (I applied for Geography, so this was quite doable for me, "the great outdoors" and all). I really don't think they care about it at all, but if it matters to you, I did the Silver award, and I got into Cambridge. *shrug*
Reply 16
im 17 and iv done bronze, silver and just completed gold in the peak district. at first, yes i was only doing it to put it on my ucas form, but now i dnt rele care about that - i feel like iv rele achieved something (terrential rain, stormy, foggy etc) now it feels like it was more for personal achievement.

im applying for medicine at oxford this yr, and yes i did write about it in my ps, but only because iv learnt soooooo much about self-reliance and organisational skills etc.

it feels so good to have done it after gold, and believe me - its worth it - whether ur gna put it on ur form or not ------> go for it!!
Reply 17
I was told by an open day tutor that they absolutely do not care at all; simply because you can do gold DofE and still be quite stupid. Which seems fair enough.
Reply 18
I had done Bronze, Silver and Gold by the time I was 16, when UCAS forms were strange and alien to me. However, I was specifically asked about why I did D of E in my Cambridge interview. My interviewer seemed quite interested in my answer so I don't think she dismissed it as soon as she saw it on my form. I was applying for English which isn't exactly going to benefit from my "team skills" so I explained the other skills you gain from trekking around the place, freezing your kneecaps off over a trangia. And anyway, I think you have to have something about you to finish gold - to get your act together and get the residential finished and all the other stuff; it's not always about brainpower. It was about as relevant as saying I played an instrument/went to orchestras/led student groups/worked in a french library etc. etc.

On the other hand...don't just do it to put it on your UCAS form! It's much too much fun for that.
Reply 19
well just survived my gold expedition, really bad last day had to do foul weather route, but fun all the same. in the end does it matter whether they take it into account or not? i think it does help you develop as a person and that will help uni/job applications even if the fact you have d of e doesn't.