Official Chemistry Applicants Thread 2025

Are you applying to study chemistry at uni this year?
Well this is the place for you!

Tell us about ...

Specific course:
Universities you're applying to:
A level / IB / Higher grades:
Any questions:

Share as much detail as you're comfortable with.

You may also want to have a look at this HUGE LIST of other applicants threads for all the universities you're applying to as well as other potential courses if you're a joint honours student.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 1

normaw

OP

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

19

Original post by shrubh

This is a thread for all of us applying for chemistry at university for 2025 entry.
Introduce where your applying and why you chose to study chemistry! I’ll start:

I’m applying to KCL, UCL and QMUL so far, I chose chemistry because it has many transferable skills, and I’ve always loved science and chemistry acts as the most interdisciplinary making it the science of our future imo!

I've merged your thread with the official chemistry applicants thread that was already in place. :smile:

Good look with your application and don't worry about when you will hear back - it can take up to next April.

Reply 2

lisaj1

1

Im so conflicted about where to apply!
My predicted grades are AAA - maths, chemistry and computer science
I have confirmed 4 out of 5 - Manchester, Bristol, York and Plymouth (backup)
and I cannot decided on my fifth option - Bath or Southampton.
I visited Bath in the summer and it looks like a nice place and I loved the staff and focusses on sustainability, which I am interested in, but I don't think the modules fully appeal to me.
I haven't visited Southampton but reading on the website made it seem like a good place but they seem to be more research based than hands on.

Any help would be appreciated!!

Reply 3

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by lisaj1

Im so conflicted about where to apply!
My predicted grades are AAA - maths, chemistry and computer science
I have confirmed 4 out of 5 - Manchester, Bristol, York and Plymouth (backup)
and I cannot decided on my fifth option - Bath or Southampton.
I visited Bath in the summer and it looks like a nice place and I loved the staff and focusses on sustainability, which I am interested in, but I don't think the modules fully appeal to me.
I haven't visited Southampton but reading on the website made it seem like a good place but they seem to be more research based than hands on.

Any help would be appreciated!!

https://www.ucas.com/file/130391/download?token=oeEZRiu_#

According to UCAS itself, you don't have to list all your choices before you send off your application. I would actually encourage you to just send off your application now and wait and see what happens. If you get 4 rejections (highly unlikely given chemistry isn't too competitive and you have a good set of predicted grades), you then have a backup.

I do believe that there are requirements for a chemistry degree to get accreditation from the RSC that include the amount of hands-on experience you get (by which I presume you mean afternoons in the lab, which you will have plenty of wherever you choose to study chemistry). To my knowledge, all chemistry degrees here in the UK meet that requirement and so you will have roughly as much time in the labs at Southampton as you would anywhere else - but do try to visit the university first before deciding. I do believe @CheeseIsVeg studied chemistry at Southampton and can give some insights into life there and what the course is like.

https://d2fc7ojl9ttfsq.cloudfront.net/Uploads/g/d/n/studentaccreditationguide_44111.pdf

Original post by lisaj1

Im so conflicted about where to apply!
My predicted grades are AAA - maths, chemistry and computer science
I have confirmed 4 out of 5 - Manchester, Bristol, York and Plymouth (backup)
and I cannot decided on my fifth option - Bath or Southampton.
I visited Bath in the summer and it looks like a nice place and I loved the staff and focusses on sustainability, which I am interested in, but I don't think the modules fully appeal to me.
I haven't visited Southampton but reading on the website made it seem like a good place but they seem to be more research based than hands on.

Any help would be appreciated!!

Hi there

Recent MChem graduate from Southampton so if you have any specific questions, just let me know :smile:

. I answered a fair few on my thread here: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6422876&page=2

The chemistry department is very good at Southampton, just generally thinking about your options here you could also consider the cost of living/rent. Bath is known for very high rental prices and I don't know how sparse student accommodation is there.

Also check out the city and whether you'd be up for that kind of vibe for socialising or going places with friends too.

Chemistry at Southampton have a specific style when it comes to practicals.
There are prelab exercises you have to do before you go to the lab.
These are usually videos, quizzes and safety forms you have to do that give you an insight to what you're going to do and how you're going to do it.
In your first year, you basically follow instructions from the lab manual on what to do that lab session. You may have to do some analysis and stuff in your lab book. It's usually your either end result (product), lab book and analysis and sometimes a presentation that you get assessed on during the practical.

You get lots of support during the lab.
Usually the Lab manager gives a short briefing/presentation before you go and do your practical. This involves maybe going through some underlying chemistry or a technique you might be using. There is always a chance to ask them questions before you start.
During the lab there are PhD students and Postdocs there to help you! These guys are super chill and really helpful. Make use of them, I remember I certainly did Sometimes a few lecturers will also come and help as well, these people are honestly really lovely and will help you practically, they may be a bit more secretive when it comes to answering the questions on the practical or for the lab report afterwards though, be warned! :ninja:

How are labs assessed?
So when I did it labs kinda contributed to a part of your core modules ie: there were labs assigned to each type of chemistry: physical, inorganic and organic chemistry. Each lab had a breakdown of marks ie: Some % for prelab exercises, some % for in-lab exercises - lab book/compound and presentation (some had them not all) and then for after the lab, some % for lab report (this is an account of what you did and then the answers to a few questions about the chemistry involved).

Overall the lab contribution feels quite small but doing well on them does affect your marks. I actually performed better in labs than in exams I think I am a practical person :beard:

I got 82% overall in my years 1-2 lab practicals and I definitely still messed up sometimes! Labs feel a bit stressful but honestly they are quite cool and fun and your fellow coursemates will be fun and chill about them! Everyone is sort of in it together so everyone kinda helps each other and it's really nice. I made quite a few friends through labs

So yeah you're not really expected to do a perfect job the first time round but there is a lot of support during the lab and also things to prepare you beforehand. If you're super worried you can always google the experiment or check the RSC website as that often has lots of useful stuff. I would also recommend doing the reaction scheme and having a look at report questions before the lab so if you think you might get stuck, you can ask questions about them during the lab

[DISCLAIMER: This information was when I did year 1-2 practicals which I now know has undergone some changes so this will not be exactly how it is done now. I think electronic lab books are now a thing and there may be less emphasis on some parts and of course THERE ARE BRAND NEW SHINY UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING LABS! They are super nice, new students are so lucky haha! For most up-to-date information on lab practicals, best to ask the Chem Department or read what they have on the prospectus/website for the course in years 1-2 for practicals).]

Original post by TypicalNerd

https://www.ucas.com/file/130391/download?token=oeEZRiu_#

According to UCAS itself, you don't have to list all your choices before you send off your application. I would actually encourage you to just send off your application now and wait and see what happens. If you get 4 rejections (highly unlikely given chemistry isn't too competitive and you have a good set of predicted grades), you then have a backup.

I do believe that there are requirements for a chemistry degree to get accreditation from the RSC that include the amount of hands-on experience you get (by which I presume you mean afternoons in the lab, which you will have plenty of wherever you choose to study chemistry). To my knowledge, all chemistry degrees here in the UK meet that requirement and so you will have roughly as much time in the labs at Southampton as you would anywhere else - but do try to visit the university first before deciding. I do believe @CheeseIsVeg studied chemistry at Southampton and can give some insights into life there and what the course is like.

https://d2fc7ojl9ttfsq.cloudfront.net/Uploads/g/d/n/studentaccreditationguide_44111.pdf

Thanks for tagging me, cool that we have the new applicants thread open :woo:

Official Chemistry Applicants Thread 2025

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