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gap year or bristol?
ok well i really need some advice here, im in a bit of a dilemma.
i applied for physics at cambridge, imperial, warwick, bristol and southampton. Ive got offers from the last two, rejections from the first 2 and still waiting on warwick.
Thing is, i really thought (and hoped) that id get into one of the first two, but now that ive been rejected from both, ive realised that i dont particularly want to go to any of the other three. I know bristol and southampton are still really good unis but i have really high hopes and i know i can do well at an even better uni. i feel like taking a gap year, but at the same time, a gap year really doesnt appeal to me. many have told me to take bristol, but i cant help but feel its not the place for me. i also feel really bad becuase lots of people who want to go to bristol dont get an offer, and i do feel like an ungrateful cow, but i really dont tihnk bristol is the place for me. if i do take a gap year and reapply, there is still no guarantee i would get into oxbridge, imperial, ucl, so theres the risk again.
but if i do take bristol, i will have the 'what if' feeling for 3 years, and perhaps taking one year out will mean 3/4 years of true happiness.
i really dont know what to do, gap year, or just take bristol (or warwick if i get accepted)?
help would be appreciated, thanks.
i applied for physics at cambridge, imperial, warwick, bristol and southampton. Ive got offers from the last two, rejections from the first 2 and still waiting on warwick.
Thing is, i really thought (and hoped) that id get into one of the first two, but now that ive been rejected from both, ive realised that i dont particularly want to go to any of the other three. I know bristol and southampton are still really good unis but i have really high hopes and i know i can do well at an even better uni. i feel like taking a gap year, but at the same time, a gap year really doesnt appeal to me. many have told me to take bristol, but i cant help but feel its not the place for me. i also feel really bad becuase lots of people who want to go to bristol dont get an offer, and i do feel like an ungrateful cow, but i really dont tihnk bristol is the place for me. if i do take a gap year and reapply, there is still no guarantee i would get into oxbridge, imperial, ucl, so theres the risk again.
but if i do take bristol, i will have the 'what if' feeling for 3 years, and perhaps taking one year out will mean 3/4 years of true happiness.
i really dont know what to do, gap year, or just take bristol (or warwick if i get accepted)?
help would be appreciated, thanks.
Scroll to see replies
Reply 1
Well, considering Bristol is very good for Physics (better than Warwick), a good uni overall and a brilliant place to be....I'd go there. If you were rejected this time by Cambridge and Imperial, you could just get rejected next time like so many other people. I was thinking I would reapply but Bristol is good...
Go with your gut, you have noted many reasons why you shouldnt go to bristol.. e.g the what if feeling and the fact you cant help but feel its not the place for you. Wait until you hear back from warwick b/c if you get accepted then that may change your mind about taking a gap year or not.. or it made even help you make the decision to take a year out. I say wait on warwick and then go from there, but if you needed an answer asap, i say take the year out, you somewhat kinda know you want to.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Reply 3
Go to Bristol. Gap afterwards unless you can accept and then explore the possibilties of deffering? It's a decent opportunity.
Reply 4
If you really don't want to go to Bristol then don't, but bear in mind that you may change your opinion once you get there - make sure that you have another look round the place because it does do an amazing course (it's my insurance - and was very nearly my firm). But if you have your heart set on better things then spend your gap year working your arse off and hope for a better result next year. Just decide whether the risk is worth it.
p.s. bear in mind that Bristol has a lecturer that fires penguins at you in the first year - that's what swung it for me!
p.s. bear in mind that Bristol has a lecturer that fires penguins at you in the first year - that's what swung it for me!
Reply 5
CookieDough8
If you really don't want to go to Bristol then don't, but bear in mind that you may change your opinion once you get there - make sure that you have another look round the place because it does do an amazing course (it's my insurance - and was very nearly my firm). But if you have your heart set on better things then spend your gap year working your arse off and hope for a better result next year. Just decide whether the risk is worth it.
p.s. bear in mind that Bristol has a lecturer that fires penguins at you in the first year - that's what swung it for me!
p.s. bear in mind that Bristol has a lecturer that fires penguins at you in the first year - that's what swung it for me!
thats the thing though, im not entirely sure whether im ruling it out completely, becuase the labs were amazing when i went to an open day. but tbh, that was the only up side to bristol i found.
Reply 7
I know a lot of people who are doing physics at bristol and prefer it to doing physics at oxbridge and no its not because they got rejected by them. I wonder what the op doesnt like about bristol because the city is immence (countryside is beautiful yet you have all the qualities of a big city) and the uni is really good. The thing is that in bristol you find that a lot of students are as talented as oxbridge and imperial students but are a lot more to them than just work.
In short i advice that over this easter holiday you visit bristol and then make your decision as theres nothing worse than taking a gap year only to realise that you've wasted a year and missed out on going to a truly awesome university.
In short i advice that over this easter holiday you visit bristol and then make your decision as theres nothing worse than taking a gap year only to realise that you've wasted a year and missed out on going to a truly awesome university.
Reply 8
Complex Simplicity
I know a lot of people who are doing physics at bristol and prefer it to doing physics at oxbridge
If they're going to Bristol then how do they know what oxbridge is like?
Reply 9
CookieDough8
If they're going to Bristol then how do they know what oxbridge is like?
one can infer a lot based on interviews, open days and knowledge of the course in different universities.
Reply 12
Don't dissmiss Bristol out of arrogance, make sure that you actually don't like the place and that you really think you are capable of going to a better uni.
What will make you a better candidate after a gap year? Are you going to undertake amazing work experience, are your grades going to be higher than your predicted grades?
Seriously consider your chances...
Or for a safer option (and if you really don't like bristol) reapply to other "better" unis next year who are not Cambridge/imperial). eg St Andrews, UCL, Oxford. Each uni department will evaluate your application differently, so perhaps it would be better to try your chances elsewhere.
In the end, don't go somewhere you wont be happy. Learn from this experience, and next year do not apply to Bristol if you don't want to go there, otherwise it is a waste of a choice.
lol, my 666th post *evil smile*
What will make you a better candidate after a gap year? Are you going to undertake amazing work experience, are your grades going to be higher than your predicted grades?
Seriously consider your chances...
Or for a safer option (and if you really don't like bristol) reapply to other "better" unis next year who are not Cambridge/imperial). eg St Andrews, UCL, Oxford. Each uni department will evaluate your application differently, so perhaps it would be better to try your chances elsewhere.
In the end, don't go somewhere you wont be happy. Learn from this experience, and next year do not apply to Bristol if you don't want to go there, otherwise it is a waste of a choice.
lol, my 666th post *evil smile*
Reply 14
jkyng1
are you sure you will be a better applicant next year for cambridge and imperial
well "better" as in better grades? probably. i mean my ASs werent the best, but they were pretty good, my PS was quite good (says people who have read it), so i guess i was quite strong, but not a very strong applicant. after this year though, ill have my grades (hopefully 4As and a merit/distinction in AEA physics), get some good work experience, better PS, better interview skills (i was quite nervous in this years round) so....i should be stronger?
Reply 15
frances19
well "better" as in better grades? probably. i mean my ASs werent the best, but they were pretty good, my PS was quite good (says people who have read it), so i guess i was quite strong, but not a very strong applicant. after this year though, ill have my grades (hopefully 4As and a merit/distinction in AEA physics), get some good work experience, better PS, better interview skills (i was quite nervous in this years round) so....i should be stronger?
i would advise you to work really hard in a gap year (get top grades and good work experience) and then you cud maybe stand a chance at sum of the top places like hull or cardiff
Reply 16
easyiam
i would advise you to work really hard in a gap year (get top grades and good work experience) and then you cud maybe stand a chance at sum of the top places like hull or cardiff
lets get one thing straight.....I DONT WANT TO GO TO HULL OR CARDIFF.
Reply 18
easyiam
i would advise you to work really hard in a gap year (get top grades and good work experience) and then you cud maybe stand a chance at sum of the top places like hull or cardiff
Let me guess... TVU don't offer Physics?
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