Zoology at Bangor or Accounting and Finance/Economics at Aberystwyth?

Hey everyone, i’m new to this site. I was just wondering what you think I should do in my situation. I’m 23 years old currently and thinking about applying to uni for the 2024/25 term. I’m considering either going to Bangor to do Zoology with Primatology or going to Aberystwyth to do Accounting and Finance/Economics. I realise both are very different career paths however there are reasons for this. The Bangor course appeals to me as i love animals and especially apes/monkeys so naturally primatology interests me however I didn’t do a-level biology which is required for the course and therefore I would have to do a private a-level biology exam in Summer 2024 and get a C in Biology which I think is absolutely doable even if i only teach myself from books. My concern with going this route is the employability of people that have done zoology seems to be rough from what i’ve heard and apparently it’s extremely competitive to get into a job where you actually work with animals. My other option would be Accounting and Finance/Economics at Aber, I wouldn’t need to do any private a-levels for this as I already meet the entry requirements (I have A-levels in Economics, History and Chemistry getting 2B’s and a C respectively), that said I got a U at AS-Maths forcing me to drop it and this course would have a lot of maths though i’m unsure as to how hard it would be. Also, the employability for accountancy seems to be better than it is for zoology however I doubt I’d enjoy the course as much as I don’t really have a passion for accountancy or economics.

In terms of actually checking both uni’s out in person, I’ve actually been to Aberystwyth twice as my friend went there and I stayed at his place for the weekend and I liked it a lot. I haven’t been to Bangor yet however I intend to do so when the next Open Day takes place. So what would you suggest I do?

Reply 1

Ghostlady

I did biology alevel and flunked it, then had kids and now my youngest is doing biology Alevel. Now I have the OCR Alevel book and help off biorach off you tube, going through revision sessions with the youngest together, I think I could get a C too (daughters getting around B, so were doing something right lol). Be mindful though of the maths side of biology. Things like Chi squared and T-Test and logorithms you may need to know and Miss Estruch on you tube definitely is good on showing you the maths. Also past papers should help you reading the graphs side of things.

Daughters applied for Zoology with animal behaviour at bangor, Animal behaviour chester, Zoology at Reading, Zoology at Lancaster and Zoology at Lincoln. She chose reading firm and chester insurance (bangor was the third). With zoology you have to be prepared that you may have to work with animals in a different way if you cant get into a zoo right away. She wants to work abroad as an option if she cant work here, or work with cats protection so something along the lines of.

You like Aberystwyth, they also do zoology as well. its one of the places we looked at. Chester is offering a BCC and they do zoology as well as animal behaviour and thats really doable. If you do choose to work with animals, thats really great and it sounds like your following the dream rather than being practical with the accountancy. Dont base your choice on what the uni is like, but if you do choose Zoology, be prepared if things dont work out, you can always do accountancy as you have the grades for those. OCR has around 24 modules, so be prepared to factor those in to your daily schedule. At least you got chemistry so Biochemistry will fall pretty easily for you :smile:

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Reply 2

Ghostlady

Original post by __Orangutan__

Thanks for the response, honestly I think i’d end up doing the AQA a-level Biology exams instead of OCR as I already bought some CGP books and the closest private exam centre would be close to my house, that said i’m not sure if there is much difference between them. I’ve saved some of Miss Estruch’s playlists for future viewing, seems like she’s the best for a-level Biology on Youtube. Not gonna lie, I hadn’t thought of Chester Uni, I imagine they have strong connections with Chester Zoo though I’d prefer to go somewhere outside of North West England since that’s where I currently live and i’m a little tired of it. As for working abroad, that’s something i’ve strongly thought about, given the choice and resources i’d love to live/work with orangutans in Borneo/Sumatra though i’m not sure how realistic that would be.

It’s true Aber do Zoology however they don’t do Zoology with Primatology and the Primatology is the main reason i’d wanna do the course, Zoology on its own doesn’t do that much for me, also Bangor has Steve Backshall as a lecturer for the course which I find cool. It’s true that I do have the grades for accountancy however the amount of debt i’d be in if I dropped out of one course and started another concerns me. All of that said i’m not that money-driven in life and would prefer doing a course I enjoy however the brutal reality for me is there is a high chance my dad will kick me out and make me homeless in the future so getting a higher paid job that I’m actually capable of doing would probably get me out of that situation quicker if I ever found myself in it.

I think Bangor is the only one that does it with primatology, so Bangor is a kind of all or nothing when it comes to primatology which is a risk when you have to choose 5 on the UCAS. Chester do have strong connections to Chester zoo. You could still take accountancy, and do these vouluntary places. you still have to pay like a fee. I suppose if your an accountant you will be able to afford it lol
https://www.volunteerworld.com/en/volunteer-abroad/animal?tm=tt&ap=gads&aaid=adabsE5XzwUMV&gclid=CjwKCAjw_YShBhAiEiwAMomsEDHEdWh-s2WGhWVuqcyE5oqH4fE2tbReXt_zXoKxhH-6KPUZzPYj1xoCQ64QAvD_BwE
You can do like 1 week or 8 They do have primates there too.

Reply 3

MadMathsMum

There are many routes into accountancy, including starting on a grad scheme with a strong degree. You can start in a more junior accounting role and train with an employer sponsoring you through your exams as you work - so you could do this after your degree.
Personally (and I am an accountant) go to Bangor and follow your passion. Can you access this course via a Foundation or an access to to learning course??

If you start the accounting route it is like likely that you will come back to studying this Primatology course in the future. Good luck.