2012 UCAS Applicants Thread

[The Economist]

The summer goes by fast and most of us (applying in the UK for 2012 entry) are already into UCAS trying to finish our application as quickly as possible.

EDIT: deleted every information initially written and this post is now about:

Where are you applying this year? Have the increased fees affected your choices?

Edited July 17, 2011 by Jirashimosu

[Costello]

Hi, those are some good grades, I'm hoping to get 36+ and I'll be applying for psychology, so my uni choices will probably be Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Southampton and Manchester. When do you think is the best time to send off the application?

[Daedalus]

I officially label this thread an undercover-boast thread

[The Economist]

I officially label this thread an undercover-boast thread

There are hundreds of threads like this on TSR every year.

[Daedalus]

I officially label this thread an undercover-boast thread

There are hundreds of threads like this on TSR every year.

I'm running out of labels

(also, congrats on your score)

Edited July 17, 2011 by Daedalus

[dessskris]

f*ck off Daedalus. TSR and some other forums do this too. it's not just us.

Jirashimosu you don't have to delete what you wrote just because of him. he's not a moderator or anything anyway... unless a mod said that this thread is inappropriate.

I'm predicted a 39/42, hoping to get 41 or 42 out of 45.

I'm thinking of applying to:

Oxford - Computer Science

Imperial - MSci Math&CS

Southampton - MSci Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence

East Anglia - MComp Computing Science

Birmingham - MSci Mathematics and Computer Science

Bristol - MEng Mathematics and Computer Science

Westminster - Computer Games Development (not sure though)

but I'm still conflicted. not sure which 5 to apply to. I've registered to UCAS (YAY!) and I've made a very rough PS draft although it needs to be fixed.

increased fees...hmmm. if I get a scholarship, I'd accept the offer. if not, I'll apply to Singaporean unis (which offer full scholarships). if I don't get any of those I'd take a gap year and re-apply next year.

[Dr. Polaris]

The high university prices are really bothering the s*** outta me, veterinary science is a whopping 19k, how the heck are my parents and me working part-time supposed to fund that?

Anyways my Second Term report is 36, and predicted around 39 excluding TOK and EE.

[ninety]

Hi guys. I'm predicted 39/42 and these are the unis that I'm applying to for Law LLB (none of which require LNAT! Hah!):

LSE

Queen Mary

SOAS

Warwick

Kent

The first three unis are all part of the University of London, because I want to study in London or at least near it. I'm applying to Warwick because of its rank and praise. Kent is a back-up.

I have a bit of a problem here and I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give some advice:

The London Us and Warwick all have similar rankings and requirements (36~38 points). If I don't make this range, I'll have to fall back to Kent (33 points). I'm troubled because Kent's ranking is much lower than the other four Us, so it's a bit of a 'make or break' situation. Is anyone else in a similar situation as me? How many Us are you applying to as 'back-ups'?

I want a larger chance of getting into a London U or Warwick, but if I don't get the grades I'll have to go to Kent. Should I play safe by switching out one of the London U for one that's ranked moderately between them? Or do you think it's worth the risk?

Edited August 9, 2011 by ninety

[dessskris]

has anyone decided which 5 final unis to apply to? has anyone finished their personal statement and completed their application?

[jmw]

has anyone decided which 5 final unis to apply to? has anyone finished their personal statement and completed their application?

When is the due date for the UCAS applications btw?

[ninety]

has anyone decided which 5 final unis to apply to? has anyone finished their personal statement and completed their application?

When is the due date for the UCAS applications btw?

15 January 2012, except for Oxbridge and Art & Design people.

[dessskris]

hey guys let's get the discussion going! get this thread as active as the one on TSR!

who else is applying to the UK? how many of you have sent in the application? to which unis and for what course? what is everyone predicted? let's get this thread updated with our application status including acknowledgements and offers!

Prediction: idk :/ the school refused to tell me

Application Status: submitted on 12th oct and is being processed

Choices:

* Oxford (Oriel College) - Mathematics & Computer Science

* Imperial - Mathematics & Computer Science

* UCL - Mathematical Computation

* Southampton - Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence

No acknowledgements yet or anything

Looking forward to hear from the other applicants!

[Draconian28]

Hey there. My centre submitted my application on the 7th October, and UCAS processed it on the 10th.

Predictions: 45/45. I still don't know how I was predicted 7's in English and Spanish, I really don't think I can get those grades. Now I'm scared I'll get an insanely high offer I won't fulfil.

Choices:

Oxford (St. John's College) - Mathematics

Durham (Van Mildert College) - Mathematics

Warwick - Mathematics

St. Andrews - Mathematics

UCL - Mathematics

Thus far I've received acknowledgments from Durham, Warwick, St. Andrews, and UCL, and an email from Durham saying that my application was under considerations and that I should expect a decision 'shortly'. What they mean by shortly, however, I don't know. I'm so nervous I'm checking UCAS Track every half hour, so yeah...

Best of luck for all of you!

PS. Desy, how are you preparing for the MAT, if you don't mind my asking?

[LegendaryAsian]

I'm not sure what my predicted grades are, but at the end of IB1 I had 36 points. I slacked off in Dutch and only got a 5, so I have to work my ass off this year. The 5 in Chemistry should be a 6, our teacher is just retarded. I'm hoping to get around 40 points.

I completed my application UCAS on October 12, and the references/predictions are being sent by the school today. I applied to Cambridge, Imperial College, UCL, Southampton, and Bristol. I'll be studying electrical/eletronic engineering.

[dessskris]

wow, nice to see other applicants for similar majors! (Maths, Science)

Hey there. My centre submitted my application on the 7th October, and UCAS processed it on the 10th.

Predictions: 45/45. I still don't know how I was predicted 7's in English and Spanish, I really don't think I can get those grades. Now I'm scared I'll get an insanely high offer I won't fulfil.

Choices:

Oxford (St. John's College) - Mathematics

Durham (Van Mildert College) - Mathematics

Warwick - Mathematics

St. Andrews - Mathematics

UCL - Mathematics

Thus far I've received acknowledgments from Durham, Warwick, St. Andrews, and UCL, and an email from Durham saying that my application was under considerations and that I should expect a decision 'shortly'. What they mean by shortly, however, I don't know. I'm so nervous I'm checking UCAS Track every half hour, so yeah...

Best of luck for all of you!

PS. Desy, how are you preparing for the MAT, if you don't mind my asking?

congrats on the 45 prediction! I hope you can make it don't worry I don't think Oxford's offer will be too high. should be about 40-42 methinks! are you in the Oxford Applicants FB group?

I've only got my acknowledgement from UCL, waiting for the others especially Oxford! I hope you'll hear a good news from Durham soon

ahaha tbh I haven't done any preparation for the MAT I have downloaded all the past papers and specimen, but haven't got the time to look through them and to try working on them. I think I'll give it some time after my mocks, which is next week. but it's an aptitude test anyway, right? have you done anything to prepare?

I'm not sure what my predicted grades are, but at the end of IB1 I had 36 points. I slacked off in Dutch and only got a 5, so I have to work my ass off this year. The 5 in Chemistry should be a 6, our teacher is just retarded. I'm hoping to get around 40 points.

I completed my application UCAS on October 12, and the references/predictions are being sent by the school today. I applied to Cambridge, Imperial College, UCL, Southampton, and Bristol. I'll be studying electrical/eletronic engineering.

good luck! you should've forced your school to do it earlier 3 universities in common, yay! let me know if you've got acknowledgements or offers from those universities

[Draconian28]

wow, nice to see other applicants for similar majors! (Maths, Science)

Hey there. My centre submitted my application on the 7th October, and UCAS processed it on the 10th.

Predictions: 45/45. I still don't know how I was predicted 7's in English and Spanish, I really don't think I can get those grades. Now I'm scared I'll get an insanely high offer I won't fulfil.

Choices:

Oxford (St. John's College) - Mathematics

Durham (Van Mildert College) - Mathematics

Warwick - Mathematics

St. Andrews - Mathematics

UCL - Mathematics

Thus far I've received acknowledgments from Durham, Warwick, St. Andrews, and UCL, and an email from Durham saying that my application was under considerations and that I should expect a decision 'shortly'. What they mean by shortly, however, I don't know. I'm so nervous I'm checking UCAS Track every half hour, so yeah...

Best of luck for all of you!

PS. Desy, how are you preparing for the MAT, if you don't mind my asking?

congrats on the 45 prediction! I hope you can make it don't worry I don't think Oxford's offer will be too high. should be about 40-42 methinks! are you in the Oxford Applicants FB group?

I've only got my acknowledgement from UCL, waiting for the others especially Oxford! I hope you'll hear a good news from Durham soon

ahaha tbh I haven't done any preparation for the MAT I have downloaded all the past papers and specimen, but haven't got the time to look through them and to try working on them. I think I'll give it some time after my mocks, which is next week. but it's an aptitude test anyway, right? have you done anything to prepare?

I'm not sure what my predicted grades are, but at the end of IB1 I had 36 points. I slacked off in Dutch and only got a 5, so I have to work my ass off this year. The 5 in Chemistry should be a 6, our teacher is just retarded. I'm hoping to get around 40 points.

I completed my application UCAS on October 12, and the references/predictions are being sent by the school today. I applied to Cambridge, Imperial College, UCL, Southampton, and Bristol. I'll be studying electrical/eletronic engineering.

good luck! you should've forced your school to do it earlier 3 universities in common, yay! let me know if you've got acknowledgements or offers from those universities

Thanks!

No, I'm not on the FB group, I don't even have a FB haha. I would be very inefficient if I had one, so yeah... I've been following the thread on TSR, though, and it seems not many people have got an acknowledgment from Oxford. I guess some colleges haven't started going through the applications or something like that.

I really hope to hear good news from Durham, and the sooner the better. I love that university and the town is just beautiful. I guess that'd be my second choice after Oxford.

I've worked through some MAT past papers, and the questions don't seem THAT hard, although occasionally there are some that make me , not so much because of their content, but their wording. When you see the question on Martian songs you'll know what I mean. Even though I think it's not extremely hard, I really don't want to get over-confident and end up underestimating the MAT. What really does worry me is that the use of calculators is not allowed, given that my mental arithmetic is terrible, but oh well, I'll have to deal with that. Also, since there are just a few past papers, I'm planning to work through some STEP I papers just in case. And since Warwick increased their standard offer this year, I'll have to take STEP anyway if I get an offer from them, so I guess practising with those will be worth it.

Good luck on your mocks btw

[dessskris]

lol ic! I think I've seen you on TSR before, your avatar rings a bell

a couple of people have said on FB they've got acknowledgements, so let's wait. as they say, it might be different due to the different colleges. so, just wait. hahah.

sounds awesome! hope you'll get an offer actually i have no second choice in the UK, if i don't get into Oxford i'll go to another country! i'm applying to other UK unis just to find out if i'm good enough :/

orly? argh, that's scary. i'm not looking forward to seeing the past papers now hahh really? calculators are not allowed??? daaaaang!! my calculator and i cannot part!! i always hate paper 1 due to this reason and now i hate the MAT too. oh, since you've gone through them, is the syllabus content pretty much similar with IB Maths HL? or will i need to catch up a lot? thank you

[Draconian28]

lol ic! I think I've seen you on TSR before, your avatar rings a bell

a couple of people have said on FB they've got acknowledgements, so let's wait. as they say, it might be different due to the different colleges. so, just wait. hahah.

sounds awesome! hope you'll get an offer actually i have no second choice in the UK, if i don't get into Oxford i'll go to another country! i'm applying to other UK unis just to find out if i'm good enough :/

orly? argh, that's scary. i'm not looking forward to seeing the past papers now hahh really? calculators are not allowed??? daaaaang!! my calculator and i cannot part!! i always hate paper 1 due to this reason and now i hate the MAT too. oh, since you've gone through them, is the syllabus content pretty much similar with IB Maths HL? or will i need to catch up a lot? thank you

Ha, so that explains why you've got 4 choices instead of 5. I would add a fifth one on UCAS Track even if just for the lols, since you wouldn't have to pay any more application fees if you did. But I do see your point, universities in the UK are so expensive for us international students that it really makes no sense to go there if you have good, cheaper universities in other countries in mind.

Actually, the MAT syllabus is much more basic than the Maths HL syllabus, and I think every MAT topic is part of Maths HL. They only test simple things like remainder theorem, factorisation, binomial theorem, systems of linear equations, linear and quadratic inequalities, differentiation and integration of basic functions like x^n, cos x, sin x, tan x, a^x..., the graphs of those functions, transformations of graphs, 2D vectors, basic trig identities, sine and cosine rule, and arithmetic and geometric sequences and series... The syllabus is in the Maths Department website if you want lo have a look at it. According to them, they don't want to test the breadth of your knowledge, but rather its depth and your appreciation for mathematical subtleties. So no need to learn any new topics for the MAT, I think.

[dessskris]

haha yepp I left one space on purpose, because I honestly don't know which other uni to apply to. I've got ideas in mind, but can't decide yet. I'll wait till January to see! I also think there might be more universities visiting my school in the future and in case if there's any good one from UK that I've never considered before... you know what I mean.

oh really? umm perhaps that's a good thing, I honestly thought it would be more difficult since they said it's similar to the A Level syllabus or something like that? but whew I'm glad, less thing to worry about! I just need to remember how to do nCr and nPr I guess hahah, I rely too much on the data booklet and the calculator...

depth and appreciation? interesting..

PS any other UCAS applicant or anyone considering applying to UK is welcome to join the convo!

[Indre]

Well, my application was sent to UCAS only 4 hours before the deadline!

So yeah, I was kind of freaking out yesterday

I'm appying to 5 unis for law in the UK, one of which is Oxford, and the other unis are all located in London. Even though my predicted grades exceed the entry requirements, I still fear that my choices are too risky. As it is indicated in the uni websites, each law course receives more than 10 times more apps than they offer places a year.

Well, I was just interested whether you know when can we expect the answer from Oxford whether we are invited for an interview or not? I'm afraid that >1 month of waiting can totally drive me crazy

And the last question: if I sent my app on 15 Oct instead of by 15 Jan, can I expect to receive an offer/a reject earlier than in March?