biological natural sciences or neuroscience or psychology
in a bit of a crisis here ngl
for context, im in year 13, i do bio chem and psych a level. predicted a*a*a but i am taking a gap year (to get a job, earn money) and will be applying to uni in 2024.
part of me wants to do a psychology degree (but only at cambridge as i love how broad it is, i can learn about philosophy and neurobiology and the history of science etc)
another part of me wants to do neuroscience (i love the course content at bristol, again it includes elements of philsophy and psychology, quite broad for a neuroscience degree). ive just ordered a bunch of neuroscience books from amazon, nearly spent my last bloody paycheck on it. i believe neuroscience is the future. and i am oddly obsessed with brains.
until i discovered natural sciences. where i can study multiple areas of science. instead of narrowing down to just pbs/ neuroscience, perhaps it would be wiser to pick a nice broad subject like natural sciences, where i could study the environment and animals too. i understand the salary for scientists is very low, but atp im just following my heart.
honestly i just feel so lost. i guess i could apply to PBS cambridge, neuroscience at bristol, and natural sciences at 3 other unis but i dont know how the hell i will pull that off in my personal statement.
i need help.
for context, im in year 13, i do bio chem and psych a level. predicted a*a*a but i am taking a gap year (to get a job, earn money) and will be applying to uni in 2024.
part of me wants to do a psychology degree (but only at cambridge as i love how broad it is, i can learn about philosophy and neurobiology and the history of science etc)
another part of me wants to do neuroscience (i love the course content at bristol, again it includes elements of philsophy and psychology, quite broad for a neuroscience degree). ive just ordered a bunch of neuroscience books from amazon, nearly spent my last bloody paycheck on it. i believe neuroscience is the future. and i am oddly obsessed with brains.
until i discovered natural sciences. where i can study multiple areas of science. instead of narrowing down to just pbs/ neuroscience, perhaps it would be wiser to pick a nice broad subject like natural sciences, where i could study the environment and animals too. i understand the salary for scientists is very low, but atp im just following my heart.
honestly i just feel so lost. i guess i could apply to PBS cambridge, neuroscience at bristol, and natural sciences at 3 other unis but i dont know how the hell i will pull that off in my personal statement.
i need help.
Reply 1
17
In your personal statement you’re suppose to talk about each of your studies, so you can say what you said above and maybe just apply for neuroscience in general as it will have bio psych and a bit of chem in it. Only you know what you want so go with your gut instinct, we can all advise you but you have to make the ultimate decision
Just write about your interests in psychology/neuroscience for your PS. If you choose to apply to other natural sciences courses I assume they will have neuroscience/psychology options/tracks, and that will fit with your PS.
People applying to natural sciences are often applying to single subject sciences elsewhere, or specific joint honours courses, so don't talk about science "in general" because it's a bit besides the point.
You may also want to look into joint honours courses in psychology and neuroscience (e.g. at KCL) or very scientific aligned psychology courses (like PBS at Cambridge, EP at Oxford, UCL psychology generally, etc).
People applying to natural sciences are often applying to single subject sciences elsewhere, or specific joint honours courses, so don't talk about science "in general" because it's a bit besides the point.
You may also want to look into joint honours courses in psychology and neuroscience (e.g. at KCL) or very scientific aligned psychology courses (like PBS at Cambridge, EP at Oxford, UCL psychology generally, etc).
Reply 3
I applied for biochem at Warwick and neuroscience at Bristol, my personal statement was more about my skillset, experience and aspirations rather then my academic knowledge as I wrote it at the start of my access course and had only done a small amount of physiological in a public service BTEC prior.
I wrote about analytical skills and extra reading on topics which interested me mainly.
I got an offer from both universities and have firmed Bristol as I have a better background in psychology and biology from my course. I had no predicted grades so I got the contextual offers from my personal statement alone
I wrote about analytical skills and extra reading on topics which interested me mainly.
I got an offer from both universities and have firmed Bristol as I have a better background in psychology and biology from my course. I had no predicted grades so I got the contextual offers from my personal statement alone
Reply 4
Original post
by OCRs biggest oppin a bit of a crisis here ngl
for context, im in year 13, i do bio chem and psych a level. predicted a*a*a but i am taking a gap year (to get a job, earn money) and will be applying to uni in 2024.
part of me wants to do a psychology degree (but only at cambridge as i love how broad it is, i can learn about philosophy and neurobiology and the history of science etc)
another part of me wants to do neuroscience (i love the course content at bristol, again it includes elements of philsophy and psychology, quite broad for a neuroscience degree). ive just ordered a bunch of neuroscience books from amazon, nearly spent my last bloody paycheck on it. i believe neuroscience is the future. and i am oddly obsessed with brains.
until i discovered natural sciences. where i can study multiple areas of science. instead of narrowing down to just pbs/ neuroscience, perhaps it would be wiser to pick a nice broad subject like natural sciences, where i could study the environment and animals too. i understand the salary for scientists is very low, but atp im just following my heart.
honestly i just feel so lost. i guess i could apply to PBS cambridge, neuroscience at bristol, and natural sciences at 3 other unis but i dont know how the hell i will pull that off in my personal statement.
i need help.
for context, im in year 13, i do bio chem and psych a level. predicted a*a*a but i am taking a gap year (to get a job, earn money) and will be applying to uni in 2024.
part of me wants to do a psychology degree (but only at cambridge as i love how broad it is, i can learn about philosophy and neurobiology and the history of science etc)
another part of me wants to do neuroscience (i love the course content at bristol, again it includes elements of philsophy and psychology, quite broad for a neuroscience degree). ive just ordered a bunch of neuroscience books from amazon, nearly spent my last bloody paycheck on it. i believe neuroscience is the future. and i am oddly obsessed with brains.
until i discovered natural sciences. where i can study multiple areas of science. instead of narrowing down to just pbs/ neuroscience, perhaps it would be wiser to pick a nice broad subject like natural sciences, where i could study the environment and animals too. i understand the salary for scientists is very low, but atp im just following my heart.
honestly i just feel so lost. i guess i could apply to PBS cambridge, neuroscience at bristol, and natural sciences at 3 other unis but i dont know how the hell i will pull that off in my personal statement.
i need help.
Hey!
I’m Oliver and am currently a fourth year in natural sciences at Lancaster University. As someone who was torn between studying different sciences at university (chemistry and biology in my case!) I have found natural sciences to be a great option at allowing me to pursue multiple interests at once and getting to see how they all interlink.
Natural sciences is definitely one of the most flexible degrees out there allowing you to study across two or three different departments. At Lancaster there are so many different pathways to choose from across all branches of chemistry, physics, maths, biology, geography and psychology, just to name a few. Each university will do pathways slightly differently and a have a varied range of possible combinations so definitely check that out on the relevant websites. The full list of pathways and entry requirements for Lancaster can be found here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/natural-sciences/
I know there is also there is also the option to take a non science subject as your third pathway and throughout your degree 25% of your credits can be in a non science subject.
There is also the option to alter you pathway choices as you progress through your degree. For me this was extremely valuable as I was able to drop my physical chemistry pathway after first year to allow for a greater focus on biochemistry.
One of the best things about natural sciences is the vast range of experiences you get and people you meet. Since you study alongside the single honours students across multiple departments, you get to see so many more faces and there is never a lonely lecture. It’s also great to see how all the different sciences interlink and you can often apply something you learnt in one subject to one of your other pathways which is fascinating!
Hope that is helpful and best of luck with your decision 😊 Feel free to ask me any other questions if you have any
Oliver (Student Ambassador)
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