[thatfineframe]

(Original post by cinosia)
quite right - edited my other post to mention this in case of confusion! Good luck all, off I go to make my writing sample shorter and sweeter.

I think you and I both knew we were talking about English, and thus didn't really make it clear to everyone else that it was a discipline-specific point. Big apologies to anyone whom I confused.

Cinosia, you're fantastic for finding the official wording - I knew I'd seen it, but for some reason couldn't think where.

[Scout-]

(Original post by danielj315)
If your undergraduate degree was in History I would submit your best essay from that. Don't worry too much there is quite a lot of overlap and it's your academic skills they're looking for.

I'm going to send them a quick email to confirm we need to submit 2 x 2,000 word essays...

Thanks for the advice. I'd better go and look for two of my best works in the past two years.

Which deadline are you applying by? The November one?

[Little Jules]

(Original post by Scout-)
This is wonderful! Thank you so much. I was in a similar fix about the whole 2000-word each problem. Now, I can work in peace.

Does anyone have any idea about the topics of the written work? I mean, I am a history major but I'm applying for IR. So, can I post anything from my course work or do I need to write on an IR/Political Science related issue?

I would also suggest your best work from your current degree, rather than worrying about it being IR.

[Scout-]

(Original post by Little Jules)
I would also suggest your best work from your current degree, rather than worrying about it being IR.

Okay, thanks for the suggestion. I've decided to stick to my subject and submit two of the best marked essays.

[Venus_In_Furs]

Hi everyone - English, 1550-1700 MSt. Also applying to similar courses at Cambridge, York, Warwick and Edinburgh. Warwick is looking like a strong 2nd choice...3 months erasmus placement in Venice!

Essays and refs all ready to go, having a meltdown over the research proposal/personal statement. I read my friend's who got into Cam - it was just a very brilliant essay plan, basically. I'm working full time and so completely out the academic loop. Where to even start? How much info do they want - concepts, or specifics - I think mentioning previous work is a good idea, but bibliographies?!

GAH.

Wherever I end up, I can't wait to start....

[Venus_In_Furs]

Ooh, also - college choice? I was initially all about Merton, but now I'm leaning towards Lincoln as they have a lot of scholarships, ace accommodation and apparently loads of grads. And are also smack in the middle of town. My main concern is an active social life: work hard, play hard.

[thatfineframe]

(Original post by Venus_In_Furs)
Hi everyone - English, 1550-1700 MSt. Also applying to similar courses at Cambridge, York, Warwick and Edinburgh. Warwick is looking like a strong 2nd choice...3 months erasmus placement in Venice!

Essays and refs all ready to go, having a meltdown over the research proposal/personal statement. I read my friend's who got into Cam - it was just a very brilliant essay plan, basically. I'm working full time and so completely out the academic loop. Where to even start? How much info do they want - concepts, or specifics - I think mentioning previous work is a good idea, but bibliographies?!

GAH.

Wherever I end up, I can't wait to start....

I found the personal statement really tricky too, for the same course. If you'd like to see mine (with identifying info redacted, as I am already a bit too obviously myself on here ), PM me - the downside is that, of course, I am in exactly the same boat as you and applying now, so mine may not be any good at all! It certainly doesn't have the seal of approval that your friend's Cambridge one has.

I'm applying to go back to my original college, so it's college choice isn't much of an issue for me - but both Merton and Lincoln are lovely; I'm sure you'd have a great time at either!

Also, I am so envious re: York and Edinburgh! I can't apply anywhere too far from home (in the South), and it cuts out some great options. Warwick was on my list, but the funding situation there doesn't seem too great, unfortunately.

[QHF]

(Original post by Venus_In_Furs)
x

I can send you a copy of my successful statement of purpose from last year, redacted like thatfineframe's, if that might help. I wrote it rapidly while working full time, and I very much doubt I accidentally hit on the one magical formula, which suggests to me that there are many different ways to write a good statement, depending on what assets you have to hand and what kind of argument you're making for your admission.

I wouldn't put too much worry into the choice of college as apart from possibly providing accommodation they're less important for postgrads. IIRC you can make a first and second choice? If so, I believe the conventional wisdom is to put down a rich, old and centrally-located college followed by a less popular, poorer, newer and more remote college that you still like.

[Scout-]

(Original post by QHF)
IIRC you can make a first and second choice? If so, I believe the conventional wisdom is to put down a rich, old and centrally-located college followed by a less popular, poorer, newer and more remote college that you still like.

I think there's no option of second choice. All they have is one column for college preference. So, I am assuming that putting a college means only one choice.

I chose Exeter. It seems great and has a special fund for students from my country. I have not ticked the box at the end of the financial information page, though - I don't mind the college choice being overlooked if they can get me a funding elsewhere.

[Zenobia]

Maybe an odd question - but why are MAs at Oxford 2 years instead of 1? I definitely don't mind studying an extra year - but on the other hand I really can't afford it.

[cinosia]

(Original post by Venus_In_Furs)
Hi everyone - English, 1550-1700 MSt. Also applying to similar courses at Cambridge, York, Warwick and Edinburgh. Warwick is looking like a strong 2nd choice...3 months erasmus placement in Venice!

Essays and refs all ready to go, having a meltdown over the research proposal/personal statement. I read my friend's who got into Cam - it was just a very brilliant essay plan, basically. I'm working full time and so completely out the academic loop. Where to even start? How much info do they want - concepts, or specifics - I think mentioning previous work is a good idea, but bibliographies?!

GAH.

Wherever I end up, I can't wait to start....

Aha, another early modernist. Don't have a meltdown. May I ask what your research interests are? Yes, Warwick are in an enviable position with their Venetian setup. Do you have to write a full research proposal for the MSt?!! I'm struggling enough to formulate a clear one for DPhil, with a year of graduate study behind me

anyway, good luck. I'm working this year too, and missing academia.

[cinosia]

(Original post by thatfineframe)
I found the personal statement really tricky too, for the same course. If you'd like to see mine (with identifying info redacted, as I am already a bit too obviously myself on here ), PM me - the downside is that, of course, I am in exactly the same boat as you and applying now, so mine may not be any good at all! It certainly doesn't have the seal of approval that your friend's Cambridge one has.

I'm applying to go back to my original college, so it's college choice isn't much of an issue for me - but both Merton and Lincoln are lovely; I'm sure you'd have a great time at either!

Also, I am so envious re: York and Edinburgh! I can't apply anywhere too far from home (in the South), and it cuts out some great options. Warwick was on my list, but the funding situation there doesn't seem too great, unfortunately.

You did Oxford undergrad? Yay, you can help us all pick colleges Seriously, this is quite a peculiar aspect of the Oxford application, and I really don't understand how one goes about it. I mean, I get that there are scholarships particular to colleges, but I did tick the little box that says override my choice if a scholarship comes up. So I don't really know what to pick, nor do I want to think about it too much and obsess. Still, I'm visiting Oxford soon so might get a better feel for what it's all about.

Sad to hear you're restricted in your choices. York and Edinburgh are great cities with some very cool scholars. But Oxford's not too shabby either.

[thatfineframe]

(Original post by cinosia)
You did Oxford undergrad? Yay, you can help us all pick colleges Seriously, this is quite a peculiar aspect of the Oxford application, and I really don't understand how one goes about it. I mean, I get that there are scholarships particular to colleges, but I did tick the little box that says override my choice if a scholarship comes up. So I don't really know what to pick, nor do I want to think about it too much and obsess. Still, I'm visiting Oxford soon so might get a better feel for what it's all about.

Sad to hear you're restricted in your choices. York and Edinburgh are great cities with some very cool scholars. But Oxford's not too shabby either.

Getting a feel for it through visiting is definitely wise! I think most people end up liking their colleges, to be honest, and you're less tied to it at grad level than you are as an undergraduate - so you're unlikely to end up miserable about your choice. If it feels pleasant and fits any basic requirements you might have (location, accommodation, &c.), then you will probably have chosen very well. Which ones are you leaning towards now?

[Scout-]

(Original post by cinosia)
You did Oxford undergrad? Yay, you can help us all pick colleges Seriously, this is quite a peculiar aspect of the Oxford application, and I really don't understand how one goes about it. I mean, I get that there are scholarships particular to colleges, but I did tick the little box that says override my choice if a scholarship comes up.

I'm sorry but am I misunderstanding the form? Doesn't it ask you to tick the box if you do not wish them to override your college choice even if you can get funding from another college?

The application says -
We may override your preferred college choice (if you have indicated one) in order to enable you to take up funding you are awarded by a different college. This may apply to Clarendon scholarships as described above, and other funding. If you do NOT wish to have your preference changed to take up a funding offer, please tick this box.

So, ideally, if you want them to override your college choice, you leave the box unchecked, isn't it? I know it sounds like a silly question but the above post confused me.

[cinosia]

(Original post by thatfineframe)
Getting a feel for it through visiting is definitely wise! I think most people end up liking their colleges, to be honest, and you're less tied to it at grad level than you are as an undergraduate - so you're unlikely to end up miserable about your choice. If it feels pleasant and fits any basic requirements you might have (location, accommodation, &c.), then you will probably have chosen very well. Which ones are you leaning towards now?

Not sure, as it's years since I was last in Oxford. I used to have a good friend at New and visited quite a bit. We went round Magdalen once and I thought it was magnificent, I had one of those Wordsworth earth-hath-not-anything-to-show-more-fair moments. But I was a lot younger then, I wonder if my tastes have changed. I need to go and have a little wander around and see if the gut-wrenching beauty of Magdalen still works for me, or if the intervening years have limited my susceptibility to such things.

I do, genuinely, worry that that is happening. I'm sure I used to feel more as a teenager. I need to get out of England and go and see some really great mountains or something, you know, or some particularly excellent stretch of spruce forest or maybe some Aztec ruins or something like that. Does the constant drive to prove oneself really deaden you inside? Maybe.

But this is highly irrelevant ...

[cinosia]

(Original post by Scout-)
I'm sorry but am I misunderstanding the form? Doesn't it ask you to tick the box if you do not wish them to override your college choice even if you can get funding from another college?

The application says -
We may override your preferred college choice (if you have indicated one) in order to enable you to take up funding you are awarded by a different college. This may apply to Clarendon scholarships as described above, and other funding. If you do NOT wish to have your preference changed to take up a funding offer, please tick this box.

So, ideally, if you want them to override your college choice, you leave the box unchecked, isn't it? I know it sounds like a silly question but the above post confused me.

oh, well-spotted! I'll go back and check. Thank you for being much more attentive than I am!!

[QHF]

(Original post by Scout-)
I think there's no option of second choice. All they have is one column for college preference. So, I am assuming that putting a college means only one choice.

Ah, in that case it's either changed, or -- and this is much more likely -- my memory's off. Sorry!

[Little Jules]

(Original post by QHF)
Ah, in that case it's either changed, or -- and this is much more likely -- my memory's off. Sorry!

No, it has changed. It used to be two.

[thatfineframe]

(Original post by cinosia)
Not sure, as it's years since I was last in Oxford. I used to have a good friend at New and visited quite a bit. We went round Magdalen once and I thought it was magnificent, I had one of those Wordsworth earth-hath-not-anything-to-show-more-fair moments. But I was a lot younger then, I wonder if my tastes have changed. I need to go and have a little wander around and see if the gut-wrenching beauty of Magdalen still works for me, or if the intervening years have limited my susceptibility to such things.

I do, genuinely, worry that that is happening. I'm sure I used to feel more as a teenager. I need to get out of England and go and see some really great mountains or something, you know, or some particularly excellent stretch of spruce forest or maybe some Aztec ruins or something like that. Does the constant drive to prove oneself really deaden you inside? Maybe.

But this is highly irrelevant ...

I think you need to travel to some continental landscapes, that would reawaken your sense of the sublime! Or, indeed, maybe Magdalen will.

I mean, I know that sounds as though I'm joking, but actually I do rather know what you mean - there is a sort of absorption in things (not literally 'getting and spending' when one's an English student, but broadly akin) which does draw one away from that immediacy of response, I think. I don't believe that your capacity for it is killed or erased, though; perhaps just because I can't bear to believe that.

[cinosia]

(Original post by thatfineframe)
I think you need to travel to some continental landscapes, that would reawaken your sense of the sublime! Or, indeed, maybe Magdalen will.

I mean, I know that sounds as though I'm joking, but actually I do rather know what you mean - there is a sort of absorption in things (not literally 'getting and spending' when one's an English student, but broadly akin) which does draw one away from that immediacy of response, I think. I don't believe that your capacity for it is killed or erased, though; perhaps just because I can't bear to believe that.

really, ultimately, figuring out these questions is what my academic work comes down to. It's a deeply personal agenda that I hide in all kinds of intellectual jargon. And don't worry, I don't believe it ever dies, either.