Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

I don't know a single BA student who has been able to achieve such a grade. I guess it was easier in the old degree programmes, as only your final exams and dissertation counted towards your degree, not every single module in three years.

Anyone?

I read they look for German students with a 1.33 average. These are not minimum requirements, but what they truly look for when it comes to offering places. Along with GPA 3.8 for Americans. It's quite demanding, considering that LSE asks for about 1.8/2 for Germans and GPA 3.5 for Americans.

We Italians have it easier: our top grades are 110/110, anything below and you're out, but with those grades in theory you can get in anywhere. In other words: 99.99% of Italian students in the top schools have a 110/110, no less, no more.

My question is:
There are 3 batches of deadlines, November, January, and March - if you apply in November is it possible to "add on" something (such as an updated research proposal) for the January or March batches?

My guess is no. And I hadn't really considered this question, but my friend asked me and I said I'd ask on TSR.

No. What your friend is envisioning basically amounts to submitting multiple applications for the same course, and you're not allowed to do that. You can only apply for one of the gathered fields, and that's when your application will be considered (unless your application is put on the 'maybe' pile and moved on to the next field). Someone who applies in November will normally have a decision by (late) January, so they're not going to reconsider the entire application at that point because something has changed about the research proposal. If your friend has made substantial changes to his research proposal, he should of course get in touch with the faculty he applied to asap, but otherwise tell him not to bother.

I have another question, sort of unrelated: I'm Irish, living in Ireland, and if by some miracle they want to give me a chance, do they set up phone interviews or anything like that, or would they expect me to get my ass on a plane and go for a formal interview with them?

cam specifically says that a 3.5 GPA is the minimum for us students, actually.

Thank you hobnob. It wouldn't be cause for complaint.


One other question for anyone who may know: in some online applications, you create a "profile" that you can come back to, uploading the documents, ticking off a checklist of items as you please (transcripts, written sample, references), and you can "save and logout" (instead of having to finish all the way through once you click "apply"). Does Oxford have a system like this?

(I ask for two specific reasons that I needn't bore any of you with)

cam specifically says that a 3.5 GPA is the minimum for us students, actually.

Surely there are most students with such a GPA there, but a 3.5 should be fine.

Most students there have a 3.8 because that's probably what their offer stipulated. At this level, attaining minimum standards will only get you so far.

You mean that applying with a 3.5 GPA should get you at most a conditional offer pending on your achieving a 3.8 GPA? I'm just curious, because I don't study in the US.