[olive16]

hey there

i was just wondering if the common perception of it being easier to get into postgraduate courses is true or not...you guys having been accepted and all. i am currently studying for a BEng and am very interested in going to oxford for postgrad study. since i did not apply there first time around anyways, i wouldn't know whether or not i would have gotten in, but from what i gather undergrad admissions are said to be tough everywhere, since there are many qualified applicants for limited spaces...

anyways, say i get a first or 2:1 what are my chances for getting into oxford for a science degree?

thx
olivia

[Busta]

Aslong as you get a 1st then you have a good chance of obtaining a place at Oxbridge. Th vast majority of unis are interested in your degree result (each module) and not your performance at A level when going for a masters

[d750]

I don't see why there should be a general perception that it's easier to get onto postgrad courses - the opposite should really be true. But in any case, I think it's fair to say that admissions criteria are different. Unlike undergrad admissions, there's a much greater emphasis on academic results and references for non-vocational courses. And the research proposal (for research courses) is probably the most important.

I don't know about science admissions, but there are a couple of people around here who are / have been postgrad scientists at Oxford. A 1st from a good uni and good references should give you a very good chance.

EDIT: Perhaps you'd get a good response on the Oxbridge board.

[Busta]

To get a 1st in a degree is harder than getting 3 As at A level so in that sense it is harder

[olive16]

but the applicant - places ratio is lower right? although i guiess that could be quite meaningless...

by the way i'm at IC now, and it seems to be quite hard to do well here...esp for engineering...

[Blackmarket Boy]

Originally Posted by olive16

but the applicant - places ratio is lower right? although i guiess that could be quite meaningless...

by the way i'm at IC now, and it seems to be quite hard to do well here...esp for engineering...

I'm sure you'll be fine - good luck

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by olive16

hey there

i was just wondering if the common perception of it being easier to get into postgraduate courses is true or not...you guys having been accepted and all. i am currently studying for a BEng and am very interested in going to oxford for postgrad study. since i did not apply there first time around anyways, i wouldn't know whether or not i would have gotten in, but from what i gather undergrad admissions are said to be tough everywhere, since there are many qualified applicants for limited spaces...

anyways, say i get a first or 2:1 what are my chances for getting into oxford for a science degree?

thx
olivia

Speaking from some experience, most Oxford undergraduate courses have between 1.5 and 6 applications per place.

The D.Phil I did had nearly 100 applicants...

It's not impossible, but it is more competative - especially given the playing field is more even...

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by olive16

but the applicant - places ratio is lower right? although i guiess that could be quite meaningless...

No - for post grad courses it's much higher. Masters courses have anything from 5-20 applicants per place, and some D.Phils have been know to attract over 100 applications, although I'm led to believe that the average is about 20.

[katebush]

Originally Posted by olive16

but the applicant - places ratio is lower right? although i guiess that could be quite meaningless...

by the way i'm at IC now, and it seems to be quite hard to do well here...esp for engineering...

It's higher for postgrad in most subjects at Oxbridge, because I think I'm right in saying there are a lot more international students applying too.

[JustaGuy]

Originally Posted by olive16

but the applicant - places ratio is lower right? although i guiess that could be quite meaningless...

I second what most of the others say. If you look at the Oxford's postgrad webpages for each of the course (in the grad prospectus), you'll find that the applicants per place is in fact much, much higher than at undergrad level.

I also remember John Hood, in one interview article not too long ago, said that postgrad studies at Oxford is "highly competitive", with something like 40% international students compared to only 7 or 8% at the undergrad level.

[SamJL]

Originally Posted by Fluffy

No - for post grad courses it's much higher. Masters courses have anything from 5-20 applicants per place, and some D.Phils have been know to attract over 100 applications, although I'm led to believe that the average is about 20.

I'd agree, the postgrad course I'm starting in september had over 300 applicants for 20 places! By some miracle I managed to get a place

[BigDog04]

What course and uni ?

[SamJL]

Originally Posted by BigDog04

What course and uni ?

It's a MSc Physiotherapy (pre-registration), basically a conversion course for people with science degrees to convert to physiotherapy. There are about 10 uni's in the UK that do it, mine is at Queen Margarets in Edinburgh.

Physio as a whole is really, really hard to get into as there are limited numbers of places at uni at undergraduate level (over 1000 apply for the 70 odd places at each uni), and even fewer at postgrad.

It definitley depends on the popularity of the course