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Is a psychology conversion course competitive?

I'm an English BA student studying at Royal Holloway. For a long while I've been very interested in psychology and because of my genuine passion I'm hoping to apply to a conversion course.

I was wondering how competitive they are to get into? I'm averaging at 68% in my studies, so I feel relatively competent academically, though I'm definitely not the best as I got BCD in my a levels, (with psychology included). I feel extenuating circumstances may apply there, though! I got 6As and 4Bs at GCSE.

Will my a levels affect my chances, or is it just about the degree? Thank you, any other advice would be really appreciated.
(edited 3 years ago)
They aren't generally competitive. There is a bit of a strong focus on UCL, Bath and a couple of other places on these forums which might give you the wrong impression.

It's also quite common for conversion course students to overestimate how difficult it is to get on a course. Psychology is a very, very oversubscribed field, there are far more students than their are jobs.

It's also relatively common to read psychology student CVs with A-levels similar to you, or having done access courses. I've seen this many times.
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moonplant5
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Original post by marinade
They aren't generally competitive. There is a bit of a strong focus on UCL, Bath and a couple of other places on these forums which might give you the wrong impression.

It's also quite common for conversion course students to overestimate how difficult it is to get on a course. Psychology is a very, very oversubscribed field, there are far more students than their are jobs.

It's also relatively common to read psychology student CVs with A-levels similar to you, or having done access courses. I've seen this many times.

That's positive to hear somewhat! I've heard the doctorates are much more competitive, so I was wondering if conversions were the same in that respect.

That's also reassuring. I'm still considering my options, but it's nice to hear that there is a chance if this is a course I wanted to go down. Thank you very much!
Original post by moonplant5
That's positive to hear somewhat! I've heard the doctorates are much more competitive, so I was wondering if conversions were the same in that respect.

That's also reassuring. I'm still considering my options, but it's nice to hear that there is a chance if this is a course I wanted to go down. Thank you very much!

For a master's you are paying a lot of money to do it. So the unis want you. It's the income stream.

For things like the clinical doctorate you are getting a massive salary, everything funded, so yeah it's insanely competitive. For other PhDs with funding bodies it's competitive again as you are being paid.
Original post by moonplant5
I'm an English BA student studying at Royal Holloway. For a long while I've been very interested in psychology and because of my genuine passion I'm hoping to apply to a conversion course.

I was wondering how competitive they are to get into? I'm averaging at 68% in my studies, so I feel relatively competent academically, though I'm definitely not the best as I got BCD in my a levels, (with psychology included). I feel extenuating circumstances may apply there, though! I got 6As and 4Bs at GCSE.

Will my a levels affect my chances, or is it just about the degree? Thank you, any other advice would be really appreciated.

Hey @moonplant5,

I'm currently doing a Psychology Conversion Masters Course at Arden University. My A levels were slightly lower than yours, but I got a 2:1 in my undergrad degree which is the first thing usually to be considered at Masters level. However there are a range of conversion courses out there with different entry requirements so it is worth doing some research. It might also be worth considering distance learning, which enables you to work, study and fulfil other commitments at the same time or gaining work experience in the Psychology field you are interested in.

Hope that gives you a bit of an insight.

Abigail
Arden University Student Ambassador
Hi,

To follow up on Abigail's post, here's a link to the Arden University MSc Psychology conversion course: https://arden.ac.uk/our-courses/distance-learning/postgraduate/msc-psychology-bps

Amy

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