University help for psychology

Original post by wayuqii

Can anyone who’s applied for psychology at uni/ considering to apply/doing a psychology degree recommend any placements/work experience/extra and super curriculars recommend anything which I could do? I only just heard about placements like Nuffield and In2Science but now the deadlines have passed 🥲 and I can’t stop stress about it 😭 Can anyone help?

you're in year 12? You don't need any placements or work experience. I didn't have any at least, what I did do - and put it on my personal statement too - was read Psychology books/articles/research, enrolled in some courses and with the OU. I didn't take Psychology as an A-Level either, don't worry, you'll be fine and you've got time. Placements and work experience is more important for Medicine, Engineering and those sort of degrees.

Reply 3

Original post by wayuqii

Can anyone who’s applied for psychology at uni/ considering to apply/doing a psychology degree recommend any placements/work experience/extra and super curriculars recommend anything which I could do? I only just heard about placements like Nuffield and In2Science but now the deadlines have passed 🥲 and I can’t stop stress about it 😭 Can anyone help?

Don't worry, you don't need to do work experience placements or anything like that (which is not to say you shouldn't if you get the opportunity as they can provide you with stuff to talk about in an application, but its not the only way to do it). I did Psychology at Oxford and in my application I discussed some books I had read and some wider academic reading from my EPQ, I didn't have any work experience/summer schools/placements etc. Its generally more about showing you are passionate about a subject and have engaged with it yourself, and there's lots of ways to do that. An interesting and thoughtful discussion of a book you read looks far better on a personal statement than a superficial account of a work experience placement; it's less about what it is you've done but rather how you'd engaged with it. Online courses, books, even podcasts and tv shows could work, it doesn't need to be impressive.

I'd also have a look and see what the unis you are applying to are looking for in applications/personal statements as well, as some will be more interested in broader extra curriculars than others. My advice is admittedly slightly Oxford skewed (but that application also got me into all the other unis I applied for).

Reply 4

OP

Original post by DataVenia

For Psychology, universities don't expect you to have any placements or work experience - so stop stressing about it.
Also, although I don't know for a fact that universities are entirely disinterested in your extra-curriculars (captain of a school sports team, member of the student council, etc.), I very much suspect that is the case.
Super-curriculars are a different story, as they can both broaden and deepen your knowledge of Psychology - beyond what is taught within the A level itself. You could read Psychology books or journals, listed to podcasts, watch a TED talk, do a MOOC - anything which adds to your knowledge of the subject.

Thank you! I’ll definitely look into it

Reply 5

OP

Original post by eeeli

Don't worry, you don't need to do work experience placements or anything like that (which is not to say you shouldn't if you get the opportunity as they can provide you with stuff to talk about in an application, but its not the only way to do it). I did Psychology at Oxford and in my application I discussed some books I had read and some wider academic reading from my EPQ, I didn't have any work experience/summer schools/placements etc. Its generally more about showing you are passionate about a subject and have engaged with it yourself, and there's lots of ways to do that. An interesting and thoughtful discussion of a book you read looks far better on a personal statement than a superficial account of a work experience placement; it's less about what it is you've done but rather how you'd engaged with it. Online courses, books, even podcasts and tv shows could work, it doesn't need to be impressive.
I'd also have a look and see what the unis you are applying to are looking for in applications/personal statements as well, as some will be more interested in broader extra curriculars than others. My advice is admittedly slightly Oxford skewed (but that application also got me into all the other unis I applied for).

Thank you! Did you do any extracurriculars?

Reply 6

OP

Original post by crazyhuman007

you're in year 12? You don't need any placements or work experience. I didn't have any at least, what I did do - and put it on my personal statement too - was read Psychology books/articles/research, enrolled in some courses and with the OU. I didn't take Psychology as an A-Level either, don't worry, you'll be fine and you've got time. Placements and work experience is more important for Medicine, Engineering and those sort of degrees.

Thank you! Honestly it’s been all I’ve been thinking about for the past week

Reply 7

Original post by wayuqii

Thank you! Did you do any extracurriculars?

I did a few extracurriculars that weren’t related to Psychology - I did youth musical theatre, I was a student governor (my schools version of head boy/girl) in my sixth form, I volunteered helping in a year 7 maths class, I had a part time job in a shop and I helped organise school climate strikes in my city. I mentioned a couple of these in one sentence on my personal statement but didn’t really talk about them on my uni application as I was focusing on discussing my supercurricular reading related to Psychology.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by eeeli

I did a few extracurriculars that weren’t related to Psychology - I did youth musical theatre, I was a student governor (my schools version of head boy/girl) in my sixth form, I volunteered helping in a year 7 maths class, I had a part time job in a shop and I helped organise school climate strikes in my city. I mentioned a couple of these in one sentence on my personal statement but didn’t really talk about them on my uni application as I was focusing on discussing my supercurricular reading related to Psychology.

What books do you recommend for psychology extra reading?

Reply 9

Original post by wayuqii

What books do you recommend for psychology extra reading?

It depends on what you're most interested in to be honest. There's a a series called Very Short Introductions that has (as the name suggests) short introductory books on a range of specific topics including many areas of psychology which might be a good starting point to branch out from. You could also head to a local bookshop or library and see if they have a Psychology section and read some book blurbs to see if any interest you, or do a similar thing on an online bookshop. Also to broaden your approach you could also look for podcasts, free online courses, documentaries etc about your area of interest.

Reply 10

Frankii20

2

Original post by wayuqii

Can anyone who’s applied for psychology at uni/ considering to apply/doing a psychology degree recommend any placements/work experience/extra and super curriculars recommend anything which I could do? I only just heard about placements like Nuffield and In2Science but now the deadlines have passed 🥲 and I can’t stop stress about it 😭 Can anyone help?

I wouldn't worry about needing to get experience. Obviously, its great for your personal growth but its not a must for the university. I think, if you want to get prepared early for the course, the best thing to do is start reading research papers and articles because that is what you will be doing most of your course. Have a look at psychology paper on google scholar just to get used to the type of writing because its very different from writing essays in school.
Also, your university may offer placement opportunities as part of the course as mine did and that was really helpful because i didn't have to stress about finding one myself.

Reply 11

Lugg13

17

Original post by eeeli

Don't worry, you don't need to do work experience placements or anything like that (which is not to say you shouldn't if you get the opportunity as they can provide you with stuff to talk about in an application, but its not the only way to do it). I did Psychology at Oxford and in my application I discussed some books I had read and some wider academic reading from my EPQ, I didn't have any work experience/summer schools/placements etc. Its generally more about showing you are passionate about a subject and have engaged with it yourself, and there's lots of ways to do that. An interesting and thoughtful discussion of a book you read looks far better on a personal statement than a superficial account of a work experience placement; it's less about what it is you've done but rather how you'd engaged with it. Online courses, books, even podcasts and tv shows could work, it doesn't need to be impressive.
I'd also have a look and see what the unis you are applying to are looking for in applications/personal statements as well, as some will be more interested in broader extra curriculars than others. My advice is admittedly slightly Oxford skewed (but that application also got me into all the other unis I applied for).

A question to what you said. Like the OP I also wish to study psychology at uni (good luck to OP!)
You said you don’t need work experience in psychology but if you do have it how much of your personal statement should involve discussing your work experience? Thanks!

Reply 12

UNI17c

5

Original post by crazyhuman007

you're in year 12? You don't need any placements or work experience. I didn't have any at least, what I did do - and put it on my personal statement too - was read Psychology books/articles/research, enrolled in some courses and with the OU. I didn't take Psychology as an A-Level either, don't worry, you'll be fine and you've got time. Placements and work experience is more important for Medicine, Engineering and those sort of degrees.

Did you feel behind by not taking psychology a level ?

Reply 13

crazyhuman007

Original post by UNI17c

Did you feel behind by not taking psychology a level ?

I don't feel behind exactly, but as I'm not sure what to expect in Uni then I am definitely gonna revise some Psychology by myself over summer. Worst case scenario in uni I feel a bit behind in which case I think I can catch up 🙂

Reply 14