Primary Education Applicants Scotland 2021

Thank you x

Hey Felicity,

What unis have you applied to and have you sent your application away? Also do you know which are your favourites so far?

Thanks,
Ella

Hi Elsie,

The Edinburgh course sounds good for you especially if you are looking to work in the highlands in the future!! I agree with you about Dundee however a lot people are the complete opposite and have that as their first choice. The course at Strathclyde does appear to be very good, I still can’t decide which would be my first choice. If you don’t mind me asking, have you met the entry requirements or are you waiting to sit some exams this year to help you meet them. I can also message you on instagram if that is easier too.

Thanks,
Ella

I’m not exactly sure on the number of weeks I think it varies on which year I’m sure there’s 2 shorter ones and 2 longer ones! I just know that we have one every year, it’s been pushed back this year because of covid but they are determined we will get it which is really nice to see them passionate about us still getting the full experience! The modules options change after each year so it’s good to get a wide range! In first year the core ones are a values based one that really makes you reflect on your own morals and how we view others etc so interesting! Then a working together one too which is also good fun! The third one can be any of the following (quite a big list sorry for the info spam haha) Geography- The unequal world, Politics and Public Policy, Urban planning, French, German, Spanish, (all languages go from level 1-5 you can be a beginner or an expert), Russian (level 1-2) Gaelic (level 1) psychology, philosophy, Film studies, Creative writing, Humanities, Humanities politics, Intro to literary study, Global Economics (business)! There may be more but that’s the ones I can remember. I’m sure some people asked about sign language and were able to do that which is great I wish I knew about it! Those 3 modules are up until Xmas and then after that we do 3 primary ed focused ones which are Pedagogical studies (science behind teaching learning etc), Teaching across the curriculum (covering some subjects within the curriculum) and usually we would do our placement after Xmas too but as it stands we are doing it when schools go back in August instead. Hope this helped!
@elsiemay16

So I’ve applied to Dundee, strathclyde, Glasgow, Aberdeen and queen Margaret! I sent my application about half way through October but obviously it goes back to your school first and then to ucas so ucas received it last week and the day after I got thank you for your application emails from Dundee, Aberdeen and QMU. My favourite is definitely Dundee, I don’t really want to go anywhere else to be honest. It’s the best course for me because it’s the most practical, you get to do an IB, I have a friend who goes to Dundee right now and he loves it there, and I like the fact that the uni is on a campus. And everyone there seems really down to Earth
Hope this helps xx

So I’ve applied to Dundee, strathclyde, Glasgow, Aberdeen and queen Margaret! I sent my application about half way through October but obviously it goes back to your school first and then to ucas so ucas received it last week and the day after I got thank you for your application emails from Dundee, Aberdeen and QMU. My favourite is definitely Dundee, I don’t really want to go anywhere else to be honest. It’s the best course for me because it’s the most practical, you get to do an IB, I have a friend who goes to Dundee right now and he loves it there, and I like the fact that the uni is on a campus. And everyone there seems really down to Earth
Hope this helps xx

Just wanted to say I’m in my first year of primary education at Dundee! I’d be happy to answer any questions. Good luck with your application, although I’m sure you won’t need it!

Wow that sounds great! It’s so hard to find specific information so thank you for the list and the response your such a help! I was reading the other comments on this thread and read that you didn’t get into stirling because they only give out 15 placements per specialism! I hadn’t realised it was one of the harder universities to get into! Do you know anyone who got in and if so do you know if they got into the special needs course, this is the course that I’m applying for and after a deep dive I’ve grown to love it! It’s not my top uni but would be disappointing to miss out on the option! Your really put Dundee in the running for me! Thank you!

Hi sorry I know I’ve asked so many questions but thank you for putting yourself out there it’s great to get more information! What was your interview like and do you know anything about this years interview, is it online do you know? My friend recently got an interview for medicine at Dundee and it’s online so was wondering if teaching was following this same format?
Thank you again!

I only know one other person who applied to Stirling, my friend applied for the numeracy specialism at Stirling and also was unsuccessful. Although, none of us said we had any interest in these specialisms in our statements so I can see why! We both wanted to be closer to home anyways for me personally it would’ve been my 3rd choice but thankfully I received offers from my top 2 so I can’t complain. I only heard about the special needs specialism after I applied which was quite annoying because it sounds amazing and really rewarding so if I could go back I would’ve chosen that over literacy! I’m incredibly happy where I am though I always had my heart set on Dundee! I hope you get your first choice I’m sure you’ll do great I was so nervous at this time during the application process so I’m glad I’ve been able to answer some of your questions! 5 other girls at my school also applied to primary ed so we were able to speak to eachother and I even attended an interview the same day as two of them in Aberdeen (I think I was more nervous because they were watching me though so that wasn’t great!) I seen you say you didn’t know anyone applying so I’m glad this discussion might help you out and as the months go on more people will come across it and you’ll have lots of advice for eachother I’d have been lost without this last year!

Don’t apologise I know how nerve wracking it can be I was a mess haha I’m not good with the unknown! There’s a bit about interviews on the website if I remember! The interview at Dundee was split into 3 parts, after everyone’s registered two interviewers at a time come in to read out the names of their groups so usually 9-11 people and then the group is taken to a classroom which is nice because it’s quite small so doesn’t feel daunting! We did an icebreaker task at our tables and there was two tables so we all chatted for a bit etc and the two interviewers reassured us that it would be fine they were so lovely! Then after the small icebreaker task it was time for the two minute talks we had each prepared and they give you a question to answer so the talks based off the question as far as I’m aware it changes each year and it can be anything teaching/child related they will email you about it when they give the interview invitation! They went in alphabetical order by surname and I was first for doing my talk I was panicking haha! I think going first in hindsight wasn’t so bad as I didn’t have time to stress too much or compare myself to anyone else! Then there was a group task at the end and the interviewers just swap tables half way through to listen to the discussions it’s actually quite chilled they really want you to feel comfortable and do well! I went from worrying the most about the dundee interview to feeling confident when I’d left! I received an offer 10 days after the interview so I think I did my best and I was shocked I’m normally the last to enjoy anything to do with speaking to audiences etc! This year might be online but I’m not too sure. Obviously online would maybe be slightly less nerve wracking which would be good for you all! What would you prefer online or in person?

Hi quick question I’m also applying to Dundee but I’ve struggled to find much info, this might be such an obvious question but what is an IB...?
haha thanks!

An IB is an International Baccalaureate and is basically just an extra qualification without anymore work, if I’m correct it allows u to work abroad xx

Oh wow didn’t know that was a thing but it sounds great! Do you know if any other universities have that? Also have you found any admissions stats? I can’t find any for the unis apart from Edinburgh, for teaching with Gaelic they had a 27% acceptance rate there was about 91 applicants, 25 places given and 9 people who took it! And according to this chat Stirling only gives out 15 places in each specialism! It’s getting me quite worried because those both seem like bad odds and I can’t find any others! Do you know anything else??

For 2020 entry at Dundee there were almost 1000 applicants, 400 interviews for a max of 70 places! This seems quite competitive and it is but as long as you have some experience you should be perfectly fine!

Oh wow didn’t know that was a thing but it sounds great! Do you know if any other universities have that? Also have you found any admissions stats? I can’t find any for the unis apart from Edinburgh, for teaching with Gaelic they had a 27% acceptance rate there was about 91 applicants, 25 places given and 9 people who took it! And according to this chat Stirling only gives out 15 places in each specialism! It’s getting me quite worried because those both seem like bad odds and I can’t find any others! Do you know anything else??

I dont rly know anything about any of the other unis apart from Dundee, and I’m not sure about acceptance rate sorry :/