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University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
University of Oxford
Oxford

Postgrad dilemma: UCL scholarship Vs Oxford without funding

Hey guys,

I'm at my wits end trying to decide where I should go next year. I've made it onto two prestigious graduate programmes in philosophy, one at UCL, one at Oxford.

I was offered a big scholarship to go to UCL from 2016-18 (worth £45,000 over two years). I've not been offered funding for Oxford, but it has the edge as the more prestigious degree (and on paper it's the course I'd rather be taking). [FTC: I want to be an academic philosopher at the end of the day, and will be pursuing a doctoral degree after my Masters.]

I'm torn as hell because going to Oxford has been something of a lifelong dream of mine (corny I know), and actually getting in has rocked my world. I thought UCL's scholarship offer was the best thing ever, and I couldn't believe my luck, but the opportunity to study at Oxford right now (especially after a gruelling four years already spent studying in London) seems like a dream.

What would you guys do?

Thank you so much!

EDIT: I have sufficient funds to cover the course at Oxford. My home is actually in Oxford, and I recently inherited money from my late grandmother. Perhaps this should be factored into the consideration, too?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Phaedrus8
Hey guys,

I'm at my wits end trying to decide where I should go next year. I've made it onto two prestigious graduate programmes in philosophy, one at UCL, one at Oxford.

I was offered a big scholarship to go to UCL from 2016-18 (worth £45,000 over two years). I've not been offered funding for Oxford, but it has the edge as the more prestigious degree (and on paper it's the course I'd rather be taking). [FTC: I want to be an academic philosopher at the end of the day, and will be pursuing a doctoral degree after my Masters.]

I'm torn as hell because going to Oxford has been something of a lifelong dream of mine (corny I know), and actually getting in has rocked my world. I thought UCL's scholarship offer was the best thing ever, and I couldn't believe my luck, but the opportunity to study at Oxford right now (especially after a gruelling four years already spent studying in London) seems like a dream.

What would you guys do?

Thank you so much!


I'd go with UCL but I'm not sure how expensive the accommodation would be and how much you'd actually be saving.

But from what you've said, Oxford sounds right. But you could always do your PhD at Oxford and Masters at UCL?
University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
University of Oxford
Oxford
Oxford without funding is INSANELY expensive. Accept UCL! :yep:
the UCL MPhil stud is a great programme. BPhil is probably better but u would in no way be out of the game for academia
I'd take UCL. The differences between UCL & Oxford are small enough that it won't make a huge difference to your applying for PhD programmes, plus having secured funding (especially for a master's, and especially at so prestigious a university) will be a big boost for your CV when you start looking at PhD applications.
Original post by Phaedrus8
Hey guys,

I'm at my wits end trying to decide where I should go next year. I've made it onto two prestigious graduate programmes in philosophy, one at UCL, one at Oxford.

I was offered a big scholarship to go to UCL from 2016-18 (worth £45,000 over two years). I've not been offered funding for Oxford, but it has the edge as the more prestigious degree (and on paper it's the course I'd rather be taking). [FTC: I want to be an academic philosopher at the end of the day, and will be pursuing a doctoral degree after my Masters.]

I'm torn as hell because going to Oxford has been something of a lifelong dream of mine (corny I know), and actually getting in has rocked my world. I thought UCL's scholarship offer was the best thing ever, and I couldn't believe my luck, but the opportunity to study at Oxford right now (especially after a gruelling four years already spent studying in London) seems like a dream.

What would you guys do?

Thank you so much!

EDIT: I have sufficient funds to cover the course at Oxford. My home is actually in Oxford, and I recently inherited money from my late grandmother. Perhaps this should be factored into the consideration, too?


You will regret spending that money when you're doing a PhD believe me. Keep it as a deposit for a house. There's not a huge difference in prestige and securing funding always looks really good on your CV.

I could have gone to Imperial for my Masters but went to Leeds because it was waaaaay cheaper. Never regretted it, still got onto an amazing PhD
Reply 6
While all of the advice above are sound advice, i just want to contribute a bit to the pro-Oxford side. Academic philosophy, for better or worse, is very prestige sensitive. Finding a job as an academic philosopher is incredibly difficult. While the difference between UCL and Oxford may not be huge for other subjects, my sense is that the Oxford BPhil (or the Mst in Ancient Philosophy) is viewed much more highly by US PhD departments, if your plan is to apply to those programs. (One thing to do is to look at the BPhil alumni page to see which PhD programs they have gone on to and the UCL Placement records). If your intention is to stay in the UK, the Oxford Philosophy DPhil is also far superior employment wise. (I'm not sure about UCL's placement but some placement data on tenure-track positions in the US indicate that, of the UK universities, Oxford graduates dominate. Oxford ranks number 9 at placing its graduates at tenure-track positions at US Top 25 departments, and is the only UK program represented on the list. Source: http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2015/09/where-tenure-track-faculty-at-the-us-top-25-programs-received-their-phd-2015-16.html). And although rankings have to be taken with caution, they do tell you something about how philosophers view each department. And Oxford is PGR-ranked 2nd and UCL is tied for 38th with a bunch of universities. This says nothing about the quality of the graduate students at each university and nothing about the quality of the education you'll get. But these are things that, whether fairly or unfairly, will affect your employment opportunities.

Since you're after an academic job in the end, these are all considerations that should weigh heavily in your decision, I think. Of course, it's also possible to go on to do the Oxford DPhil after doing the masters at UCL. As the others have pointed out, all these considerations need to be weighed against how much you prefer spending your money elsewhere.
(edited 8 years ago)
I would go UCL 100%. Whilst Oxford is the better uni, UCL is still a great university and one of the best in the UK and the world as well. With having the funding for UCL this makes it head and shoulders above Oxford as the better option in my opinion.
Original post by Phaedrus8
Hey guys,

I'm at my wits end trying to decide where I should go next year. I've made it onto two prestigious graduate programmes in philosophy, one at UCL, one at Oxford.

I was offered a big scholarship to go to UCL from 2016-18 (worth £45,000 over two years). I've not been offered funding for Oxford, but it has the edge as the more prestigious degree (and on paper it's the course I'd rather be taking). [FTC: I want to be an academic philosopher at the end of the day, and will be pursuing a doctoral degree after my Masters.]

I'm torn as hell because going to Oxford has been something of a lifelong dream of mine (corny I know), and actually getting in has rocked my world. I thought UCL's scholarship offer was the best thing ever, and I couldn't believe my luck, but the opportunity to study at Oxford right now (especially after a gruelling four years already spent studying in London) seems like a dream.

What would you guys do?

Thank you so much!

EDIT: I have sufficient funds to cover the course at Oxford. My home is actually in Oxford, and I recently inherited money from my late grandmother. Perhaps this should be factored into the consideration, too?


a) You could still do your PHD at Oxford.
b) I don't know, how much money you have inherited, but as an aspiring academic, it seems wiser to keep the money for really bad times or times of unemployment, which are very likely. You could also e.g. invest it in going to conferences and network, working as an unpaid visiting scientist, etc.
if rich mofo {
Oxford
} else {
UCL
}
I took a £60k PhD scholarship at a lesser university, in lieu of a doctorate at a top ranking university, without funding. However, this was an easy decision as my subject is practice-based, and I didn't want to become an academic.

In your case, I'd take the funded route, as the scholarship will enable your postgrad application to stand out.

Please don't use the term "pursue" a PhD: it's not a pursuit experience. It's blood, sweat and tears.
I will go for ox for sure.

Please remember that you will need to pay for meals, travel and accommodation in London when you opt for UCL. $$$$$$

At the end of the day, the actual cost difference will be minimal after you get everything into account.


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Reply 12
Original post by Nathanielle
a) You could still do your PHD at Oxford.
b) I don't know, how much money you have inherited, but as an aspiring academic, it seems wiser to keep the money for really bad times or times of unemployment, which are very likely. You could also e.g. invest it in going to conferences and network, working as an unpaid visiting scientist, etc.


^This

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Original post by TPCAM2016
I will go for ox for sure.

Please remember that you will need to pay for meals, travel and accommodation in London when you opt for UCL. $$$$$$

At the end of the day, the actual cost difference will be minimal after you get everything into account.


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There's absolutely no way the difference is in minimal when OP would be entering the uni tens of thousands of pounds in dept already. I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion. And it's not like Oxford is a cheap place to live in either.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Lawliettt
There's absolutely no way the difference is in minimal when OP would be entering the uni tens of thousands of pounds in dept already. I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion. And it's not like Oxford is a cheap place to live in either.


OP wrote down that his/her home is in Oxford. That means OP does not need to pay for accommodation etc.

If you stay in London, accommodation plus tube plus meals etc, you tell me how much you need for two years.


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Original post by TPCAM2016


If you stay in London, accommodation plus tube plus meals etc, you tell me how much you need for two years.


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less than 45,000 that's for sure. It's a scholarship. A lot will be covered
(edited 8 years ago)

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