Chicken bald back

[chickencam]

Just wondering if anyone in the omlet community has any experience of this. My YD would like to do a psychology degree, she is in year 12 at present and has been studying psychology since September and is loving it. She has always wanted to get into talking therapy, counselling type rolls, having looked into these she really needs lots of life experience which makes sense and also work experience which is hard to come by. She is currently working one afternoon a week in a school for children with special needs mainly with autistic children. She enjoys that and has considered going into teaching in that area. She needs more work experience ideas please.

 

Also we have hit a potential problem, she struggled her way to average GCSE's mainly because she didn't work hard enough in the earlier years, she s"Ooops, word censored!"ed into her grammar school sixth form and this gave her a real scare. She only got a C in maths at GCSE and it looks like she may need a minimum of a B to gain a uni place to do psychology. She has spoken to the exam officer at school this morning who has told her that it is too late to be entered to retake her maths this summer but she could pay to be entered. She is going to speak to a couple of other teachers about her options but I would like some wisdom from my omlet friends please.

 

She has really turned a corner academically this year, we had high praise for her work and work ethic at a recent parents evening. She has realised that hard work is the way to go, I would hate her to lose out in the future because of one GCSE grade.

[mullethunter]

I can't advise on the Psychology entrance requirements, but I would say that if it turns out the B in maths GCSE really is necessary (to be honest I'd be surprised if a C isn't good enough) and she can't re-do it alongside her A levels, don't be scared of taking an extra year to do the GCSE and maybe some work experience too before heading off to uni.

 

Good luck to her - sounds like she's getting going at just the right time.

[dancing cloud]

Credit to her for deciding what she wants to do and going for it.

 

A thought about work experience - when she is over 18, she could volunteer with the Samaritans. It's not strictly-speaking psychology but could be seen as therapeutic counselling experience. I think there are volunteer opportunities for under-18's too, but I'm not sure what they could involve.

[Leicester_H]

Hi

Have a look at this site

http://search.ucas.com/

 

You can search for a subject (eg psychology) and a region (I did midlands) - you then get a list of courses - you can look at the entry requirements of each and get a feel for what they require.

 

eg. Birmingham says"GCSE/Standard Grade

General information on subjects/grades required for entry: English and Maths at grade C minimum"

 

Hope that helps, H

[Lewis]

Be persistent and think outside the box for getting work experience.

If every applicant has to do the same wex requirement then there must be opportunities out there. The Student Room forum is great for seeing what other people have done and get an idea of placements to do.

 

Good luck to her

[merlina]

Psychology courses vary quite a bit on their maths content -all require students to do a lot of statistical analysis, but some emphasise that, so that may well be reflected in the grade they require.

Many Unis, especially the former Polys, also offer additional maths support/classes, so if maths isn't her forte, that might be worth checking on.

As with all Uni courses, those are things that you can ask about at open days.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

What about volunteering outwith school (ie befriending or at afterschool clubs) with autistic children? I assume there's an equivalent to The Scottish Autistic Society which might be able to help.

[chickencam]

Thanks everyone . I did a fair amount of research into this yesterday, and there seem to be quite a few decent universities, including Birmingham that will accept a grade C. She has decided that she will apply to some of those and if she gets amazing A levels next year she will take a year out and apply with her actual grades and maybe re take her maths then. She could get work experience in that year too and get a feel for what she wants to do.

She did think that she may have to drop Art which she really didn't want to do, because ultimately she would love to do something art therapy based, that is what she has always wanted, but it is a very specialised area with few opportunities, but if she has a broad range of skills it will give her more options. She will do 4 A levels next year.

[Leicester_H]

and if she gets amazing A levels next year she will take a year out and apply with her actual grades

 

Why ? Isn't that what adjustment is for ? see eg https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/apply-and-track/results/adjustment-%E2%80%93-if-you%E2%80%99ve-done-better-expected

 

"Adjustment – if you’ve done better than expected

If you've met and exceeded conditions for your firm choice, you might be thinking about looking for an alternative course.

Adjustment is a chance for you to reconsider where and what to study. If you've had a firm conditional choice accepted – and therefore made into an unconditional firm choice – you could potentially swap your place for one on another course you prefer."

 

H

 

PS - Don't go on league tables - she needs to find a Uni she feels comfortable with and will be happy to spend time at. Different people like different things - so one size does NOT fit all!

[chickencam]

Thanks for the link. We were just thinking that if she got the good A levels they might still want the maths, although she would have proven that she could cope with the maths side of Psychology at A level by that stage.

 

A friend of my ED tried adjustment when she got much better A levels than expected, in the hope of getting onto a veterinary course rather than the animal science which she had applied for. She couldn't find one so went on to get a first in her animal science and is now part way through her first year of a veterinary degree.

 

I will have a good read up on adjustment

[Lewis]

Veterinary is so over-subscribed and have waiting lists so will never take people via adjustment from other courses.

The application process requires work experience questionnaires, aptitude tests and interviews so they would take people who had completed this but just missed out at interview (for example) rather than applicants from other courses.

[chickencam]

You of all people Lewis, know how hard you have to fight for the career that you want.

[Chucky Mama]

Not all universities will accept applications as part of the adjustment process and medicine and veterinary medicine would not consider an applicant from another course. The application process for veterinary and medicine is a bit like the Hunger Games!

 

The Student Room website and forum is a fantastic source of information.