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Do you know if I can apply to Cambridge Psychology WITHOUT biology?
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They say it's highly desirable/recommended for students who apply psychology to do HL biology/math/chemistry in IB. however I don't take any of those. On the other hand I take psychology HL at level 7 but they say it's not necessary to have any prior knowledge of psychology. This is kinda frustrating because I intended to do psych in cambridge for a while now but I just recently found out this. An alternative is to apply for human, social and political science instead but I'm not sure. Social science is interesting but I'm not really into politics.
Anyhow my predicted grades are
Psychology HL 7
Film HL 6/7
Chinese B HL 7
ESS SL 7
English Lang n Lit SL 6
Math SL SL 6
dun think ill get 3 in tok though so I'm looking at a 40-42/45 score here
my other options of unis are...
UCL Psychology
Durham Combined honors in arts
Bath BSc(Hons) Social Sciences with Year long work placement
University of Exeter Flexible combined honors-psychology, philosophy and film studies with a year of studying abroad
do you think it's gonna work with a personal statement kinda focusing on psychology? Honstly I'm more excited about the combined honours courses because i like to study in a bigger breath instead of depth of subjects but cambridge and ucl will guarantee me with a brighter future...so I'm not sure..please help me
Anyhow my predicted grades are
Psychology HL 7
Film HL 6/7
Chinese B HL 7
ESS SL 7
English Lang n Lit SL 6
Math SL SL 6
dun think ill get 3 in tok though so I'm looking at a 40-42/45 score here
my other options of unis are...
UCL Psychology
Durham Combined honors in arts
Bath BSc(Hons) Social Sciences with Year long work placement
University of Exeter Flexible combined honors-psychology, philosophy and film studies with a year of studying abroad
do you think it's gonna work with a personal statement kinda focusing on psychology? Honstly I'm more excited about the combined honours courses because i like to study in a bigger breath instead of depth of subjects but cambridge and ucl will guarantee me with a brighter future...so I'm not sure..please help me
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#2
Not a chance. You are taking film, basically the softest IB subject, at HL. You are taking ESS at SL, which is also considered a soft subject. Psychology at Cambridge is very scientific and you simply don't have the scientific basis to build upon.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
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(Original post by Pectorac)
Not a chance. You are taking film, basically the softest IB subject, at HL. You are taking ESS at SL, which is also considered a soft subject. Psychology at Cambridge is very scientific and you simply don't have the scientific basis to build upon.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
Not a chance. You are taking film, basically the softest IB subject, at HL. You are taking ESS at SL, which is also considered a soft subject. Psychology at Cambridge is very scientific and you simply don't have the scientific basis to build upon.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
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#4
(Original post by melomelohohoho)
well I got A* in both biology and chemistry in IGCSE if they need some scientific basis. I sent my results to the admission officer n he said my grades r competitive so idk...well anyhow do u think I shd try out for human, social n political science in cambridge then?
well I got A* in both biology and chemistry in IGCSE if they need some scientific basis. I sent my results to the admission officer n he said my grades r competitive so idk...well anyhow do u think I shd try out for human, social n political science in cambridge then?
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#5
(Original post by melomelohohoho)
well I got A* in both biology and chemistry in IGCSE if they need some scientific basis. I sent my results to the admission officer n he said my grades r competitive so idk...well anyhow do u think I shd try out for human, social n political science in cambridge then?
well I got A* in both biology and chemistry in IGCSE if they need some scientific basis. I sent my results to the admission officer n he said my grades r competitive so idk...well anyhow do u think I shd try out for human, social n political science in cambridge then?
Equally if you want to take Biology based modules, eg the Experimental route in y2 and then Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience or Experimental Psych in y3 then you can, and you are NOT limited by your previous module choices, although undertaking beh and cog neuroscience for example, without having done exp psych in y2 would be a bit foolish.
That said it is more than possible to do well on the course, as its so flexible so create a route through that suits you and it does give the opportunity for people without hard science backgrounds to learn and catch up and then do well in the science side of the course.
You would also be fine applying for HSPS, probably a little more likely of getting in for HSPS, it is also VERY easy to switch from HSPS to PBS after y1. Plenty of people are doing HSPS without having done 'relevant' A levels, you need NO background in any of the subjects on offer in HSPS, aside from an interest in them
Best of Luck!
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(Original post by Bounce!)
Just a quick message to say you can certainly get in without Biology HL. It may be a little harder but its certainly been done before in both admission rounds! Just show why you like psychology. Also the previous poster has been mentioning psychology at cambridge is exceptionally scientific. This completely depends on what papers you take. In y1 you have to take a paper on stats, research methods and bio which is not in difficulty any harder than A level, the bio maybe a little but its all taught from complete scratch!! In y2 you can take the less scientific route (e.g by not taking Experimental Psychology) and taking 1 out of 4 modules in Bio and Cog psych which the exam is based on 3 essays you do in 3 hours. In y3 you could get away with doing almost 0 biology by taking papers in social psych, philosophy and History of Science, Sociology, Social Anthropology etc. You could technically drop all maths/stats after y1 if you decided to do a qualitative project in y3.
Equally if you want to take Biology based modules, eg the Experimental route in y2 and then Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience or Experimental Psych in y3 then you can, and you are NOT limited by your previous module choices, although undertaking beh and cog neuroscience for example, without having done exp psych in y2 would be a bit foolish.
That said it is more than possible to do well on the course, as its so flexible so create a route through that suits you and it does give the opportunity for people without hard science backgrounds to learn and catch up and then do well in the science side of the course.
You would also be fine applying for HSPS, probably a little more likely of getting in for HSPS, it is also VERY easy to switch from HSPS to PBS after y1. Plenty of people are doing HSPS without having done 'relevant' A levels, you need NO background in any of the subjects on offer in HSPS, aside from an interest in them
Best of Luck!
Just a quick message to say you can certainly get in without Biology HL. It may be a little harder but its certainly been done before in both admission rounds! Just show why you like psychology. Also the previous poster has been mentioning psychology at cambridge is exceptionally scientific. This completely depends on what papers you take. In y1 you have to take a paper on stats, research methods and bio which is not in difficulty any harder than A level, the bio maybe a little but its all taught from complete scratch!! In y2 you can take the less scientific route (e.g by not taking Experimental Psychology) and taking 1 out of 4 modules in Bio and Cog psych which the exam is based on 3 essays you do in 3 hours. In y3 you could get away with doing almost 0 biology by taking papers in social psych, philosophy and History of Science, Sociology, Social Anthropology etc. You could technically drop all maths/stats after y1 if you decided to do a qualitative project in y3.
Equally if you want to take Biology based modules, eg the Experimental route in y2 and then Behavioural and Cognitive Neuroscience or Experimental Psych in y3 then you can, and you are NOT limited by your previous module choices, although undertaking beh and cog neuroscience for example, without having done exp psych in y2 would be a bit foolish.
That said it is more than possible to do well on the course, as its so flexible so create a route through that suits you and it does give the opportunity for people without hard science backgrounds to learn and catch up and then do well in the science side of the course.
You would also be fine applying for HSPS, probably a little more likely of getting in for HSPS, it is also VERY easy to switch from HSPS to PBS after y1. Plenty of people are doing HSPS without having done 'relevant' A levels, you need NO background in any of the subjects on offer in HSPS, aside from an interest in them
Best of Luck!
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#7
(Original post by melomelohohoho)
omg thank you so much you're officially now favourite person in the world rn hahah you don't know how much this news mean to me omg just one question-im kinda worried about my subjects cuz I do film and chinese which are 'soft' HLs and kinda irrelevant to psych and unfortunately I don't really have a CV of doing anything major with psych before-but I'm v passionate about filmmaking and writer, should I bring it up in my CV? Like saying how I think psych will help me to become a better storyteller in general? Or do you think conservative colleges won't accept it? I'm planning to apply for churn hill cuz they're known as a less traditional college and I hope they'll like my ideals tell me what you think!
omg thank you so much you're officially now favourite person in the world rn hahah you don't know how much this news mean to me omg just one question-im kinda worried about my subjects cuz I do film and chinese which are 'soft' HLs and kinda irrelevant to psych and unfortunately I don't really have a CV of doing anything major with psych before-but I'm v passionate about filmmaking and writer, should I bring it up in my CV? Like saying how I think psych will help me to become a better storyteller in general? Or do you think conservative colleges won't accept it? I'm planning to apply for churn hill cuz they're known as a less traditional college and I hope they'll like my ideals tell me what you think!
The academics looking at your application are not more or less traditional dependent on college, they are all academics and researchers, the only difference being the architecture of the colleges. If you like churchill apply there, but don't apply because you think the interviewers will have a different mindset to the others, as they won't!
Chinese doesn't sound soft, unless you are a native Chinese speaker? then you might have a problem. I would fill your personal statement with psychology and no other subject, but you can do this through film if you so wish - although I think it will be hard to do so. You don't need to have done anything particular to do with psych, but I would expect you tp have read exceptionally widely and have a VERY solid grasp of psychological concepts and a real love of it! If you like film more then you should maybe consider doing that?
If not though, really good luck!
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#8
(Original post by Pectorac)
Not a chance. You are taking film, basically the softest IB subject, at HL. You are taking ESS at SL, which is also considered a soft subject. Psychology at Cambridge is very scientific and you simply don't have the scientific basis to build upon.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
Not a chance. You are taking film, basically the softest IB subject, at HL. You are taking ESS at SL, which is also considered a soft subject. Psychology at Cambridge is very scientific and you simply don't have the scientific basis to build upon.
Your personal statement needs to be focused on one subject choice for it to look serious; universities want people who are dedicated to that one subject, rather than someone who might like psychology but might want to do combined honours in arts who at the same time might want to study social sciences or film.
(Original post by melomelohohoho)
omg thank you so much you're officially now favourite person in the world rn hahah you don't know how much this news mean to me omg just one question-im kinda worried about my subjects cuz I do film and chinese which are 'soft' HLs and kinda irrelevant to psych and unfortunately I don't really have a CV of doing anything major with psych before-but I'm v passionate about filmmaking and writer, should I bring it up in my CV? Like saying how I think psych will help me to become a better storyteller in general? Or do you think conservative colleges won't accept it? I'm planning to apply for churn hill cuz they're known as a less traditional college and I hope they'll like my ideals tell me what you think!
omg thank you so much you're officially now favourite person in the world rn hahah you don't know how much this news mean to me omg just one question-im kinda worried about my subjects cuz I do film and chinese which are 'soft' HLs and kinda irrelevant to psych and unfortunately I don't really have a CV of doing anything major with psych before-but I'm v passionate about filmmaking and writer, should I bring it up in my CV? Like saying how I think psych will help me to become a better storyteller in general? Or do you think conservative colleges won't accept it? I'm planning to apply for churn hill cuz they're known as a less traditional college and I hope they'll like my ideals tell me what you think!
If you say that psychology will help you be a better film maker, explain how. I can't think of how psychology will be remotely helpful for a film-maker, and it kind of suggests that you don't know what psychology is if you say it (unless you've got some specific ideas that i can't think of- which could be likely :P )
*this isn't a joke, I actually knew a french exchange girl who did french a level--
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