Back to College/School/Uni.

Why do you say that mate? (I'm doing AS PE atm)

It's seen as a soft subject. Some will even straight out blacklist your name if you apply with the course, I know Cambridge do, and Sheffield have some sort of blacklist so it's not excluded to the most prestigious. Unless you're doing something really related to it, then it's ok.
 
wow that all sounds really good, wish I was studying it now! did you have quite a lot of freedom with what you wanted to focus more on? are you doing a dissertation soon? wow Warwick very impressive. I am in year 13 so applying for first year at uni. Applying for Ancient history and Ancient History & Archaeology at Newcastle, Ancient History & Archaeology at Birmingham, Ancient History at Manchester and History & Roman Civilization study at Leeds (I liked the uni and city, but course isn't exactly what I wanted. Don't quite have the grades for those places (couldn't find any uni in between really or really bad, like an offer that was CCC) but when I was at Newcaslte I was told that I could lower my offer by getting work experience, which I have managed. Also I think my personal statement is quite good (I've been told it is) so hopefully I get an offer from somewhere! Would really encourage me to revise hard for my resits in January! If I think of any I will PM you thnx :)

Well in year 1 you just do what is prescribed really, but in years 2 and 3 you get a lot of options. Dissertation is in year 3 but I have a rough idea of what I want to do. Try looking at Royal Hollaway uni, not sure what grades it requires but I know it has a classics department which far exceeds the rest of the university- and the offer might not be too high. I'd also recommend reading a few relevant books before you go and maybe including them on your personal statement. I'd probably say try to read the Iliad, Aenead, Suetonius- Life of the Caesars, Hesiod and then maybe a few modern books which give a brief history of Greece and Rome.

EDIT: I've been to Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds unis to see friends and they all seem cool. I have a couple of friends at Leeds who love it and the same at Manchester- can't comment on the course but I can recommend the unis. Newcastle is one of my favourite cities in the UK and they do pretty cheap booze so I'm sure you'd enjoy it there too :p
 
Last edited:
It's seen as a soft subject. Some will even straight out blacklist your name if you apply with the course, I know Cambridge do, and Sheffield have some sort of blacklist so it's not excluded to the most prestigious. Unless you're doing something really related to it, then it's ok.

Unless you are going to university's right at the top end of the scale (and I around top 5-10) this really isn't the case. In my last year now, and I know people that took "soft subects" and ended up at great uni's. If you aren't going for the top ten....take the easier one, means that you'll get the best uni you can get, wish i'd taken easier ones myself.

The amount of clever people i know that took 3 sciences and maths or something of the like, found it too hard and ended up either at no uni, or a worse one than me....
 
Got to apply for a sixth form/collage from now on :S

Thinking of doing P.E, History, Geography and maybe business skills. Is anyone currently doing these at A Level ? and what are they like ?

Geography was a really easy A Level. I did it at AS and managed to kill every exam without any revision, it's just a mixture of common sense and bullshit- if you're good at winging exams it's the perfect subject. History is really fun, but I'd recommend looking into what modules they do, as you might have no interest in the topics. I had to do Tudors and the Russian Revoltuion- and although I despised the Tudor history the Russian side made up for it- but I know there are some potentially very boring subjects you can study. I would maybe try to do a more science orientated subject if you have any interest in them. It shows you are more well rounded as a person for when you eventually apply to uni. I know geography is kinda like that, but it's not quite looked upon in the same way. If you can stand to do maths, physiscs or chemistry or something I think it'd be worth it. As for your 4th option just choose whatever you want, you'll be dropping it anyway so it has little effect. I know for the universities I applied to Business skills and PE were generally looked down upon unless it was relevant to the course you were applying for. If you think that getting anywhere from 3 A* to ABB is likely then I'd probably not recommend doing them, if you think that BBB or lower is more likely then I'd do them if you have an interest.

Also my favourite A Level was probably English Language and Literature. If you enjoy literature and the study of it I'd highly recommend it. Also it's very useful if you plan to learn another language at some point- knowing how english works to some degree (which most people don't) helps a lot when learning the rules of another language.
 
Just pwned some essays. First few assessments now over, onto the fun stuff like creating subvertisements.
 
Unless you are going to university's right at the top end of the scale (and I around top 5-10) this really isn't the case. In my last year now, and I know people that took "soft subects" and ended up at great uni's. If you aren't going for the top ten....take the easier one, means that you'll get the best uni you can get, wish i'd taken easier ones myself.

The amount of clever people i know that took 3 sciences and maths or something of the like, found it too hard and ended up either at no uni, or a worse one than me....

Sheffield isn't a top 10 uni.

Usually they allow one soft subject, but no matter how you cut it, your application is going to be worst off, because those subjects simply don't test your ability any where near as much as a traditional one. Obviously, don't take a subject just because it's respected, it means nothing if you fail it. But it's always recommendable to take no soft subjects to A2 if possible.
 
Geography was a really easy A Level. I did it at AS and managed to kill every exam without any revision, it's just a mixture of common sense and bullshit- if you're good at winging exams it's the perfect subject. History is really fun, but I'd recommend looking into what modules they do, as you might have no interest in the topics. I had to do Tudors and the Russian Revoltuion- and although I despised the Tudor history the Russian side made up for it- but I know there are some potentially very boring subjects you can study. I would maybe try to do a more science orientated subject if you have any interest in them. It shows you are more well rounded as a person for when you eventually apply to uni. I know geography is kinda like that, but it's not quite looked upon in the same way. If you can stand to do maths, physiscs or chemistry or something I think it'd be worth it. As for your 4th option just choose whatever you want, you'll be dropping it anyway so it has little effect. I know for the universities I applied to Business skills and PE were generally looked down upon unless it was relevant to the course you were applying for. If you think that getting anywhere from 3 A* to ABB is likely then I'd probably not recommend doing them, if you think that BBB or lower is more likely then I'd do them if you have an interest.

Also my favourite A Level was probably English Language and Literature. If you enjoy literature and the study of it I'd highly recommend it. Also it's very useful if you plan to learn another language at some point- knowing how english works to some degree (which most people don't) helps a lot when learning the rules of another language.

Thanks for that and i think in my History at A level i study Klu Klux Klan etc. :)
 
it's not looked at as favourably by unis compared to other subjects (e.g Maths, biology, physics, chemistry etc). Unless of course you want to do something PE related at uni

It's seen as a soft subject. Some will even straight out blacklist your name if you apply with the course, I know Cambridge do, and Sheffield have some sort of blacklist so it's not excluded to the most prestigious. Unless you're doing something really related to it, then it's ok.

Unless you are going to university's right at the top end of the scale (and I around top 5-10) this really isn't the case. In my last year now, and I know people that took "soft subects" and ended up at great uni's. If you aren't going for the top ten....take the easier one, means that you'll get the best uni you can get, wish i'd taken easier ones myself.


Thanks guys.. :( I have no idea which uni I want to go to or even what I want to do yet, I'm doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry as well for what it's worth. Just have to see how it turns out, not getting to hung up about that yet though.
cheers again for the info :)
 
Well in year 1 you just do what is prescribed really, but in years 2 and 3 you get a lot of options. Dissertation is in year 3 but I have a rough idea of what I want to do. Try looking at Royal Hollaway uni, not sure what grades it requires but I know it has a classics department which far exceeds the rest of the university- and the offer might not be too high. I'd also recommend reading a few relevant books before you go and maybe including them on your personal statement. I'd probably say try to read the Iliad, Aenead, Suetonius- Life of the Caesars, Hesiod and then maybe a few modern books which give a brief history of Greece and Rome.

EDIT: I've been to Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds unis to see friends and they all seem cool. I have a couple of friends at Leeds who love it and the same at Manchester- can't comment on the course but I can recommend the unis. Newcastle is one of my favourite cities in the UK and they do pretty cheap booze so I'm sure you'd enjoy it there too :p

Thanks, the courses at the unis I looked at seemed good and said you could mould the course more to what you wanted in years 2 and 3. Man I wish I was at uni right now doing it! Already sent application off but had a quick look at that uni to see what the offer was. Was ABB so not kicking myself too much (if it was BBB or BBC I would have been a bit ****** off :p) Ye I plan on reading stuff if I get an offer. Made reference to one book ('In the name of Rome', would recommend it. All about the development of the Roman Army throughout the history of the empire). I hadn't read any ancient scripture but said I would be interested in reading it (used Livy as an example) so hopefully shows my interest. Yeah all those unis seemed good but I had nothing bad to say about Newcastle (awaits negativity from Joel or GC...)
 
Thanks, the courses at the unis I looked at seemed good and said you could mould the course more to what you wanted in years 2 and 3. Man I wish I was at uni right now doing it! Already sent application off but had a quick look at that uni to see what the offer was. Was ABB so not kicking myself too much (if it was BBB or BBC I would have been a bit ****** off :p) Ye I plan on reading stuff if I get an offer. Made reference to one book ('In the name of Rome', would recommend it. All about the development of the Roman Army throughout the history of the empire). I hadn't read any ancient scripture but said I would be interested in reading it (used Livy as an example) so hopefully shows my interest. Yeah all those unis seemed good but I had nothing bad to say about Newcastle (awaits negativity from Joel or GC...)

Alright cool :) You can probably check the modules on the university website, find the classics department, go to undergraduate study and there'll be alist of offered courses, go to the coure you applied for and there should be a list of modules. You'll be expected to read ancient sources on a regular basis- most study is centred around this and modern sources are used far less; if you haven't read any ancient sources before going to uni it could be a bit of a shock, so that's why I'd recommend reading some. I'd probably look at what your first year modules cover and read relevant things. But as a general rule the main areas of things to try reading are: Greek Historians (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Livy, Suetonius, Tacitus etc), Epic Poetry (Homer, Virgil, Hesiod, Ovid etc), Philosophy (presocratics, Plato, Aristotle etc), Drama/Comedy (Aeschylus, Aristophones, Sophocles, Euripides). If you could read at least one of each of those I think you'd be pretty well sorted.

The modules I can choose from are:


  1. Alexander the Great
  2. City of Rome
  3. Early Christianity
  4. Food & Drink in the Ancient Mediterranean
  5. History of Medicine from Ancient Greece to the Classical Ages of Islam
  6. Receptions of Antiquity: East and West
  7. Roman Economy
  8. Tiberius to Hadrian
  9. Transformation of Roman Society under Augustus
  10. World of Late Antiquity
  11. Warfare and Society


  1. Art & Architecture of Asia Minor
  2. Coinage of Greece & Rome
  3. Domestic Space in the Roman World
  4. Principles and Methods of Classical Archaeology
  5. Roman Britain
  6. Roman Near East


  1. Art & Death in Neronian Culture
  2. Epic & Epyllion
  3. The Ancient World in Film and Popular Culture
  4. Classical Views of Literature & the Visual Arts
  5. Greek Comedy
  6. Greek Tragedy
  7. Origins of the Modern Novel
  8. Politics and Poetics in Greek and Latin Literature
  9. Roman Comedy
  10. *** & Gender in Antiquity
  11. Epic Ancient and Modern
 
Thanks guys.. :( I have no idea which uni I want to go to or even what I want to do yet, I'm doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry as well for what it's worth. Just have to see how it turns out, not getting to hung up about that yet though.
cheers again for the info :)

All 3 of those are sound A-levels, most people drop their 4th AS anyway, so if you enjoy PE, you can always do it for the year, although it might bore you a tad when you're doing biology already.
 
I got an offer from Newcastle today :D BBB literally couldn't be happier
 
Manchester University are the king of trolls. They rejected me months ago and I wasn't too unhappy because, unless the offer was low, I wasn't going to go there. However yesterday they emailed me saying that I had been given an offer and were inviting me to an open day. Was very confused so emailed back. They replied today saying there had been a mistake and they hadn't meant to send out an email telling people they had offers (despite being rejected/not having an answer yet). While I'm not too fussed about this, I would be if I didn't have an offers yet. I feel sorry for the people who don't have offers/ Manchester is their first choice. I know everyone makes mistakes but for Manchster Uni (it prides itself on being one of the best in the country) to make a mistake of this magnitude is just horrific. Poor show
Newcastle all the way ;)
 
Got 3 of my offers so far for Comp Sci, Queens and Northumbria are my two preferred choices, then some backups. BBB needed by the looks of things, might have to study for English on Tuesday. yawn.
 
Got 3 of my offers so far for Comp Sci, Queens and Northumbria are my two preferred choices, then some backups. BBB needed by the looks of things, might have to study for English on Tuesday. yawn.
I want to go to Newcastle so I might see you there haha. I have 3 replies, 1 offer and 2 rejections (Newcastle offer is first choice so don't mind about the rejections) still waiting on other Newcastle course and Birmingham.
 
Where did you get rejected from?

My cousin got rejected for English Lit at UCL despite having predicted grades of A*,A*,A/A*, he's in the Cambridge pool and has alot of good things on his Personal Statement, seems some unis are being a little bit harsh!

Not going to lie, Nightlife was a big reason for applying to Newcastle! Newcastle uni was AAA for comp sci, fack that.
 
Where did you get rejected from?

My cousin got rejected for English Lit at UCL despite having predicted grades of A*,A*,A/A*, he's in the Cambridge pool and has alot of good things on his Personal Statement, seems some unis are being a little bit harsh!

Not going to lie, Nightlife was a big reason for applying to Newcastle! Newcastle uni was AAA for comp sci, fack that.
Was rejected by Manchester (see above post though, quite outrageous) and Leeds (don't really know why I applied, was always going to get rejected and the course wasn't great). Tbf I don't have the grades right now for any of the places I've applied to so for Newcastle to give me an offer (and lower it from the advertised offer) is really quite surprising. Guess they liked my personal statement :p Ye I had a friend similar grades who got rejected by Manchester and also was rejected by Oxford. Very clever guy. Maybe UCL thought they weren't his first choice so rejected them (**** move if true). haha ye the legendary nightlife! When I went on the open day I couldn't fault anything so really want to go there. Going on another open day there on Feb 1 :)
 
Was rejected by Manchester (see above post though, quite outrageous) and Leeds (don't really know why I applied, was always going to get rejected and the course wasn't great). Tbf I don't have the grades right now for any of the places I've applied to so for Newcastle to give me an offer (and lower it from the advertised offer) is really quite surprising. Guess they liked my personal statement :p Ye I had a friend similar grades who got rejected by Manchester and also was rejected by Oxford. Very clever guy. Maybe UCL thought they weren't his first choice so rejected them (**** move if true). haha ye the legendary nightlife! When I went on the open day I couldn't fault anything so really want to go there. Going on another open day there on Feb 1 :)

I didnt go to the open day, laziness with need to gamble and drink made sure i had no money.

Manchester was tempting me, then I realised not many of my pals were applying so left it out. Here's hoping for BBB.
 
I didnt go to the open day, laziness with need to gamble and drink made sure i had no money.

Manchester was tempting me, then I realised not many of my pals were applying so left it out. Here's hoping for BBB.
haha fair enough :p any plans to go to one? Probably a good idea :p I was going to reject Manchester anyway so I'm not annoyed by what they did. But would be ****** off if I had no offers or it was my first choice
 
Top