is it hard to get into manchester uni?

hey guys so i am hoping to do english literature at manchester uni in a few years, i remember looking a few months ago on man uni website and it said to do english literature you needed a C or above in a foreign language at gcse and then AAA-AAB a levels...however i looked again today and now it says you need an A in english literature or language at gcse but no mention of the foreign language. and then the a level grades are still the same.
however i have a B in english at gcse, not an A. (kinda mucked up some coursework :s-smilie:

)i do have a C or above in a foreign language though (french). does anyone think this would affect my chances of getting in much??
if it helps im doing english lit and lang, photography, french and media studies a levels
thanks for any help! :smile:

Reply 1

Kater Murr

20

If you can get AAA - AAB, you still have a chance, but English is a competitive subject. And Photography and Media aren't the greatest A-levels to have, either. Sure, go for it, but nothing's guaranteed.

Reply 2

-G-a-v-

16

Wait and see what your AS grades are like first. If they're particularly good then it might make up for not having the right GCSE grades. Until then, try not to worry about it.

Reply 3

Purple

18

Your A levels will also cause a problem, for some courses Manchester dont accept Photography.

Reply 4

lewey

I got a B in GCSE english (and failed my foreign language) and got ABBC in my As-levels, my subjects were a bit more mainstream though, English, Maths, History and Drama, but they just gave me an AAB offer for english. Took them ages though so be prepared for a good sweat.

Reply 5

Crystaltears

12

They are quite snobby when it comes to making offers, but as long as you apply to places you know you will get accepted to, you might aswell apply.
I got an offer, but some of my friends who got better grades than me didn't. Just make sure you have a really good personal statement and reference :smile:

Reply 6

Blackwater

If you can get an A (or even a B) in English AS-level then surely your GCSE grade becomes irrelevent?

Reply 7

laura2403

i applied in two seperate years to do english literature at manchester (this year n last) and was rejected both times (i got A*s in english at GCSE, B in a foreign language and A in english lit at A level) so basically its quite hard to get in on that course mainly because its so competitive. Although on the other hand my personal statement was probably terrible.

I would say just for this course anyway everyone is gonna have the grades because its so oversubscribed so you should think about other ways to set yourself apart from the crowd (impressive personal statement, work experience etc.) I'm not sure how much those things really help because as someone else already said I think to some extent the course is in such high demand that they can afford to be pretty snobby about it. If you really want to go to Manchester particularly look into other courses because grade requirements vary quite a bit and its much less difficult (i was accepted to two other courses :smile:

). Anyway you've got loads of time to work on it so i wouldn't worry too much! good luck

Reply 8

OhNO!

16

Manchester are trying very hard to push up their reputation at the moment, and that means they're being a lot choosier about who they're giving offers to. It's a really competitive course, anyway - 70 places for 1400 applicants. I think your only real problem would be your AS subjects, as they're not traditional, academic subjects.

You should be alright if you get the grades, have a good PS, do some work experience and read lots and lots.

Reply 9

Hundingsbane

OhNO!

Manchester are trying very hard to push up their reputation at the moment, and that means they're being a lot choosier about who they're giving offers to.

Heh, god knows why they gave me an offer then.

Does anyone know if there are any English open days coming up for Manchester? I'm pretty sure I've missed the final one though.

Reply 10

OhNO!

16

^ I'm going to an English Lit open day on April 2nd.

Reply 11

Hundingsbane

OhNO!

^ I'm going to an English Lit open day on April 2nd.

Ah ok thanks, is there any information on their website about it or is it email invite?

I might email the admissions tutor today and ask.

Reply 12

OhNO!

16

I got a letter about it a few days after they sent me a letter about my offer, yours might have got lost in the post. Yeah, email them or ring them. They're pretty friendly when it comes to re-sending stuff out.

Reply 13

amylase55

OP

i'm most likely chaning colleges/options now to english lit, french, history and french - dont enjoy media much and photography all the work takes away the fun of it i feel. so hopefully i will have a better chance now :smile:

Reply 14

Leggy Lucy

5

I know that if you combine English Lit with Spanish at Manchester for example, the offer is lowered to ABB. I'd wait and see what your AS results are but there's no reason why you couldn't make a successful application provided you work hard for your AS and A2 exams (as I hope you would anyway)...changing subjects seems like a good idea though, but remember that it's very difficult to do well in them if you're not interested/good at them, so make sure you're picking them for the right reasons. Good luck!

Reply 15

LdnShmoo

amylase55

hey guys so i am hoping to do english literature at manchester uni in a few years, i remember looking a few months ago on man uni website and it said to do english literature you needed a C or above in a foreign language at gcse and then AAA-AAB a levels...however i looked again today and now it says you need an A in english literature or language at gcse but no mention of the foreign language. and then the a level grades are still the same.
however i have a B in english at gcse, not an A. (kinda mucked up some coursework :s-smilie:

)i do have a C or above in a foreign language though (french). does anyone think this would affect my chances of getting in much??
if it helps im doing english lit and lang, photography, french and media studies a levels
thanks for any help! :smile:

i have a conditional for music and on the website it says you need AAA-AAB with an A in english or an 'english rich subject'. I dont do english but i do do history, and my offer is AAB with a specified B in history, and an A in psychology, which doesnt really count as english rich. So (there is a point to this rambling i promise), they dont always stick exacly to the requirements, there are other things to take into account such as your personal statement and your references, etc. but good luck! :biggrin:

Reply 16

LouisianaPuuurchase

1

It depends on so many things, mainly the course and how competitive it is.

When I was doing A2 at college in 2006/7 I applied for History and got rejected within a week of sending off my application - my predicted grades werent high enough - even though I got AAC (Lit, History, Law) in my AS Levels. There's no way I'd have met an offer anyway though as I came out with a pretty embarassing BBD (I was supposed to be a straight A student).

Nevertheless, I reapplied this time round after being in work for a while and having a long think about what I wanted to do, and somehow I got an unconditional offer for Archaeology. Despite bad results they took into account my maturity and experience, and Archaeology isn't exactly mega-popular...but I'm still over the moon as I applied as a kind of laugh, I really didn't think I'd get in.

I think in some cases it's harder for college leavers to get into prestigious unis (Manchester is quite prestigious after all) having really good grades, than it is for mature students with other experiences and all-round abilities to - as they're more likely to stick with the course and do well, and not drop out. Seems kind of unfair, but I'm not complaining.

is it hard to get into manchester uni?

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