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University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
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Official OXFORD 2019 Postgraduate Applicants thread

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Original post by geos2018
MCR? Are you ready to apply already- I’m working on the basis I’ll get them in before november, but hopefully earlier. Fee is impossible, but I worked full time this summer and part time at uni so I figure it’s what I work for! I’ll look for the pros and cons list now!

The MCR is made up of the graduates of each college, and they usually have their own websites with more information about accomodation and social stuff on (like the JCR, but middle not junior) :smile:

And no, not in the slightest! I've got a rough draft of things, but I'm looking at November-ish too. That's how I feel - it's ridiculously high, but I've already worked full time pretty much all summer and am resigning some of my earnings! :frown:
University of Oxford, Pawel-Sytniewski
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Original post by happywhale
The MCR is made up of the graduates of each college, and they usually have their own websites with more information about accomodation and social stuff on (like the JCR, but middle not junior) :smile:

And no, not in the slightest! I've got a rough draft of things, but I'm looking at November-ish too. That's how I feel - it's ridiculously high, but I've already worked full time pretty much all summer and am resigning some of my earnings! :frown:

I know! Don’t want to give my earnings to not get in! I’ll check out the MCR- thanks!! Do you know where else you’ll be applying yet? And are you going to mention teaching/ other work outside uni in your personal statement? Sorry I know that’s a lot of questions ☺️
Current/Recently Graduated from University: Birmingham (Political Science)
Achieved Grade: First (79%) and 85% in dissertation
Prospective course: MSc Politics Research
Prospective college: Any which gives the most funding - Nuffield would be great, but highly doubt it

Oxford seems like a real-long shot, but because of the amount of funding on offer it seems worth a shot - supervisor said to give it a try.

Funding is pretty much a must; no chance of going otherwise. I've seen they have a scholarship for students who are resident in the North East. Wonder why there's not a scholarship for funding for students from North West - that would help

Really bad that you have pay £75 application fee - enough to put most people off straight away; Oxford keeps going on about trying to make itself more open to people from 'all kinds of backgrounds', and then they charge you £75... As if a place with a total endowment of about £5bn needs an extra 75 quid.

For the application process, it says you need 2 2000 essays. I have that available but do they have to be relevant to your proposed research topic?

Anyway, not sure why i'm posting, I stopped using the studentroom back when I was doing GCSEs....

Thanks for taking the time...
(edited 5 years ago)
Also, another quick question - how do you decide on a final research topic/area? I have 3 ideas but not sure which to pick
- Achieved (Expected) Grade: First in undergrad, just starting Master's.
- Prospective Course: History Doctorate
- Prospective College: Exeter

Just wondering: the essays that you submit. Do they have to be verbatim the same as you submitted originally, or are you allowed to edit/add to them?

Original post by The Disaster
Current/Recently Graduated from University: Birmingham (Political Science)
For the application process, it says you need 2 2000 essays. I have that available but do they have to be relevant to your proposed research topic?


For my humanities subject, they emphasise the importance of keeping it relevant. Might be more lax with political science.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by The Disaster
Current/Recently Graduated from University: Birmingham (Political Science)
Achieved Grade: First (79%) and 85% in dissertation
Prospective course: MSc Politics Research
Prospective college: Any which gives the most funding - Nuffield would be great, but highly doubt it

Oxford seems like a real-long shot, but because of the amount of funding on offer it seems worth a shot - supervisor said to give it a try.

Funding is pretty much a must; no chance of going otherwise. I've seen they have a scholarship for students who are resident in the North East. Wonder why there's not a scholarship for funding for students from North West - that would help

Really bad that you have pay £75 application fee - enough to put most people off straight away; Oxford keeps going on about trying to make itself more open to people from 'all kinds of backgrounds', and then they charge you £75... As if a place with a total endowment of about £5bn needs an extra 75 quid.

For the application process, it says you need 2 2000 essays. I have that available but do they have to be relevant to your proposed research topic?

Anyway, not sure why I'm posting, I stopped using the studentroom back when I was doing GCSEs....

Thanks for taking the time...


Welcome!

With those grades, I would think that you're a shoe-in for lots of funding.

I think you can get a fee waiver depending on where you're from, but yeah, £75 is a piss take.

According to Oxford:

Oxford DPIR

You should submit academic essays on any subject or theme within the discipline of politics but preferably ones that relate to your proposed field of study.
The essays may be written specially for the application or may have been produced for other purposes, for instance as a coursework submission within a previous degree programme. Essays that comprise extracts or excerpted sections from longer pieces are acceptable but should be prefaced with a brief note that places them in context.
All written work should be in English. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.
This will be assessed for understanding of the subject area; understanding of problems in the area; ability to construct and defend an argument; powers of analysis; and powers of expression.


All you need to know will be on the website unless it's super specific to you

Original post by The Disaster
Also, another quick question - how do you decide on a final research topic/area? I have 3 ideas but not sure which to pick


That's up to you, we can't do your application for you :tongue:

EDIT:
Original post by Private, I
- Achieved (Expected) Grade: First in undergrad, just starting Master's.
- Prospective Course: History Doctorate
- Prospective College: Exeter

Just wondering: the essays that you submit. Do they have to be verbatim the same as you submitted originally, or are you allowed to edit/add to them?



For my humanities subject, they emphasise the importance of keeping it relevant. Might be more lax with political science.


You can submit verbatim, with feedback, edited, whatever. As long as they're academic, you should be fine.
(edited 5 years ago)
Hm, sounds good. That being the case, I have two good essays. Both got an 80 - but both are also above 2000 and below 4000. So I'll need to either subtract from both, or lengthen one.One essay was for an early modern history module, the other for an analysis of the medieval beowulf manuscript.My proposal concerns medieval history, so if I decide to lengthen one, which would be more relevant? The English one is better written, and would take less time to lengthen.
Reply 47
Original post by The Disaster
For the application process, it says you need 2 2000 essays. I have that available but do they have to be relevant to your proposed research topic?


It helps if they are, but there're multiple kinds of relevance. An essay could be about something completely unrelated to your proposed postgraduate topic, but still involve a methodology or theory which you propose to use or to develop further in your future work. (And you can point this out in passing in your statement of purpose, if you want to: 'In one undergraduate essay I used X to do Y, and I would now like to build on that experience by applying my expertise in X to topic Z…')

Since it sounds like you wrote a brilliant dissertation, you could also consider submitting a 2000-word slice of it as one of your essays, if you can find a chunk that's good and also coherent at that scale (you can add short notes at the start and end to contextualise it).

Original post by The Disaster
Also, another quick question - how do you decide on a final research topic/area? I have 3 ideas but not sure which to pick


If you have three and would be happy doing any of them, pick the one which you judge would fit in best with the specialisations and resources of the course and department: who do they have who could supervise you? do they have any ongoing research projects or research seminars which might be relevant? are there particular databases, archives, libraries at Oxford which would help with one of the three over the other two? Then talk about those connections in your application. They'll have plenty of good applicants (though I think your pretty exceptional marks might stand out even in a field of good applicants), but not all of those applicants will have an answer to the 'Why Oxford specifically and not any other good department in this field?' question.

If you have your ducks lined up in a row in good time, it would do no harm to let your referees know what your proposed topic is, and perhaps show them your statement of purpose. Then they can be more specific in their references about how you're particularly well positioned to do the exact thing you want to do.

Your application isn't a contract signed in blood, and it's expected that students will refine and alter their ideas over the course of a master's, so don't worry that you're committing yourself to every detail of the research direction you sketch in your application.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by QHF
It helps if they are, but there're multiple kinds of relevance. An essay could be about something completely unrelated to your proposed postgraduate topic, but still involve a methodology or theory which you propose to use or to develop further in your future work. (And you can point this out in passing in your statement of purpose, if you want to: 'In one undergraduate essay I used X to do Y, and I would now like to build on that experience by applying my expertise in X to topic Z…':wink:

Since it sounds like you wrote a brilliant dissertation, you could also consider submitting a 2000-word slice of it as one of your essays, if you can find a chunk that's good and also coherent at that scale (you can add short notes at the start and end to contextualise it).



If you have three and would be happy doing any of them, pick the one which you judge would fit in best with the specialisations and resources of the course and department: who do they have who could supervise you? do they have any ongoing research projects or research seminars which might be relevant? are there particular databases, archives, libraries at Oxford which would help with one of the three over the other two? Then talk about those connections in your application. They'll have plenty of good applicants (though I think your pretty exceptional marks might stand out even in a field of good applicants), but not all of those applicants will have an answer to the 'Why Oxford specifically and not any other good department in this field?' question.

If you have your ducks lined up in a row in good time, it would do no harm to let your referees know what your proposed topic is, and perhaps show them your statement of purpose. Then they can be more specific in their references about how you're particularly well positioned to do the exact thing you want to do.

Your application isn't a contract signed in blood, and it's expected that students will refine and alter their ideas over the course of a master's, so don't worry that you're committing yourself to every detail of the research direction you sketch in your application.


Hi - thanks very much for the long reply, really appreciate you taking the time.

Lots of helpful information in your reply - especially about the 2 essays; i've got a better idea of now of which essays/sections of dissertation to submit

And thanks for the advice on research proposal - think i've definitely got the area of research nailed down, just not the precise question yet

I've been thinking more about the MPhil Politics (Comparative Government) recently as a better choice. The only issue is I can't find much detailed information on it - i.e. on what the core modules entail, how the teaching is structured, what optional modules there are etc. There's so many missing (404) links on the course webpage that it's a joke! So i've emailed the admins and then i'll be deciding after that.

Then it'll be deciding whether its worth the £75 application fee - I cannot afford the course without funding, so even if I pass the long-shot of getting in, i'd have to pass the even longer-shot of funding; but still worth a try I think, think i'd probably regret it a little if I didn't..... then again I'd probably regret the loss of £75 just as much...

Thanks for the help again
I applied for a master’s in an education subject and I noticed from Oxford’s graduate acceptance figures that close to half of applicants get an offer.

I already have one master’s degree (for which I received a first) plus many years of professional experience related to the subject of the MSc.

I’m confident that I meet the academic and professional criteria for admittance but I’m curious about the “other half” who received no offer. What percentage of them didn’t meet the basic requirements (ie didn’t have the grades, the experience, etc.)? What percentage were rejected for ostensibly trifling reasons, such as a merely average personal statement etc.?

Knowing that Oxford has many deluded applicants who have no chance from the beginning of gaining acceptance would actually be very reassuring to me as I know I meet every one of their requirements.
(edited 5 years ago)
I am applying for the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

I am an international applicant from Canada. :smile:
Original post by parryhotter
I applied for a master’s in an education subject and I noticed from Oxford’s graduate acceptance figures that close to half of applicants get an offer.

I already have one master’s degree (for which I received a first) plus many years of professional experience related to the subject of the MSc.

I’m confident that I meet the academic and professional criteria for admittance but I’m curious about the “other half” who received no offer. What percentage of them didn’t meet the basic requirements (ie didn’t have the grades, the experience, etc.)? What percentage were rejected for ostensibly trifling reasons, such as a merely average personal statement etc.?

Knowing that Oxford has many deluded applicants who have no chance from the beginning of gaining acceptance would actually be very reassuring to me as I know I meet every one of their requirements.


There’s no way of knowing and there’s also no point in thinking about it. It doesn’t matter what other people do, what matters is that you’re content that you tried your best in your application. Outside of that, whatever happens, happens
I'm considering whether to apply for a DPhil in mathematics, either this year or next. It seems like a long shot, as I'm starting my third year and I am unsure as to what a successful application would include. I'm not sure my university does "predictive grades," but my average is comfortably over 90%, so I would assume it would be a first. However, I feel that this is not enough to make me stand out amongst some very able candidates (I'm not the most interesting person when it comes to hobbies and extracurricular activities). There are few universities in the UK that specialise in the particular area of mathematics that I wish to study, Oxford being the best. My other dilemma is that, on the slim chance that I do get in (only around 30/300+ applicants are successful), I would not be able to afford the tuition/living costs without some form of scholarship. Am I wasting my time thinking of applying for a DPhil here, or do you think I have some chance of being admitted? Since it's a rather niche area I wish to study, I feel as though this would be my only shot at a PhD.
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 53
Original post by A Slice of Pi
I'm considering whether to apply for a DPhil in mathematics, either this year or next. It seems like a long shot, as I'm starting my third year and I am unsure as to what a successful application would include. I'm not sure my university does "predictive grades," but my average is comfortably over 90%, so I would assume it would be a first. However, I feel that this is not enough to make me stand out amongst some very able candidates (I'm not the most interesting person when it comes to hobbies and extracurricular activities). There are few universities in the UK that specialise in the particular area of mathematics that I wish to study, Oxford being the best. My other dilemma is that, on the slim chance that I do get in (only around 30/300+ applicants are successful), I would not be able to afford the tuition/living costs without some form of scholarship. Am I wasting my time thinking of applying for a DPhil here, or do you think I have some chance of being admitted? Since it's a rather niche area I wish to study, I feel as though this would be my only shot at a PhD.


Im sorry what, your average is comfortably over 90%?! :eek:
My suggestion would be to just apply, you're not gonna know if you have a chance if you don't even apply :smile:
Original post by Wwys
Im sorry what, your average is comfortably over 90%?! :eek:
My suggestion would be to just apply, you're not gonna know if you have a chance if you don't even apply :smile:

Yeah it is, and yeah I probably will after I've talked it through with my supervisor etc. I just worry that high grades aren't enough
- Current University: Birmingham
- Achieved (Expected) Grade: 1st (73)
- Prospective Course: MSt Theology
- Prospective College: Harris Manchester
- Fun fact/Extra Curricular activities: Fluent Polish as a second language :smile:


My undergrad was in History, but I am much more interested in theology/philosophy of religion.

For the two 2000 word essays can you write new ones that haven't been submitted at undergrad? And, if so, is it worth writing a theology one?
Anybody at the personal statement writing stage yet?

Not as straightforward writing it as it may sound - anybody got advice?
Hi all, I am desperately in need of some advice!!

I am currently finishing my BA in International Studies at a US University. I expect to receive a high 1st degree (all of my grades have been 93+), and I am planning to apply to the MSc Refugee Studies and Forced Migration.

This is the perfect program for me, but I'm terrified I won't get it. I think I have strong letters of rec, past essays, and CV, but I can't help but think I'm not good enough. I am thinking about applying to another program as well, which is in a different department but still relevant to my research interests. Is this a bad idea? Do I stand a chance for the Refugee program?

thanks and good luck everyone :smile:
Original post by sbenewith
Hi all, I am desperately in need of some advice!!

I am currently finishing my BA in International Studies at a US University. I expect to receive a high 1st degree (all of my grades have been 93+), and I am planning to apply to the MSc Refugee Studies and Forced Migration.

This is the perfect program for me, but I'm terrified I won't get it. I think I have strong letters of rec, past essays, and CV, but I can't help but think I'm not good enough. I am thinking about applying to another program as well, which is in a different department but still relevant to my research interests. Is this a bad idea? Do I stand a chance for the Refugee program?

thanks and good luck everyone :smile:


93%+ across your work? I'm not too sure about how the American grading system works. And in a social science subject. Those are exceptional grades - I don't think you should worry one bit. Which university are you at? I'm applying for the MPhil Politics (Comparative Government) but my grades are not as good as yours. I think with those grades and good references you'll be just fine. But then again don't pay too much attention to my words because i'm in the same boat of applying, and i'm just as unsure about my chances.

Applying to a different department is probably fine - the only issue is it might look like you're not sure what you want to do and that might not come across too well. But, if its in a different department I don't think anybody would necessarily know you were applying there - because the admission people would be different.

Anyway, all we can do is apply and see - it's a guessing game in the end really.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by The Disaster
93%+ across your work? I'm not too sure about how the American grading system works. And in a social science subject. Those are exceptional grades - I don't think you should worry one bit. Which university are you at? I'm applying for the MPhil Politics (Comparative Government) but my grades are not as good as yours. I think with those grades and good references you'll be just fine. But then again don't pay too much attention to my words because i'm in the same boat of applying, and i'm just as unsure about my chances.


Thanks for your reply! I go to the University of San Francisco, which is part of my concern. It's not really a world-renowned school. Good luck with your application, that program was super interesting to me, too!

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