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Background of tutors
Hello, I will be having my Cambridge interviews for Economics in Malaysia soon. I have reason to believe that my interviewers may either be Dr Murray Milgate (DOS and Senior Tutor in Queen's) or Dr Kelvin Bowkett (Senior Tutor in Christ's).
I was hoping if any of you seniors over there already in Cambrige, informed prospective students, or anyone else who could spare a bit of information about them.It would be interesting if I could obtain information on their research, books or publications.
I tried looking it up on the website but to no avail; I think it has something to do with them being senior tutors as information on most of the other lecturers are there.
Really appreciate your help!
I was hoping if any of you seniors over there already in Cambrige, informed prospective students, or anyone else who could spare a bit of information about them.It would be interesting if I could obtain information on their research, books or publications.
I tried looking it up on the website but to no avail; I think it has something to do with them being senior tutors as information on most of the other lecturers are there.
Really appreciate your help!
yichung
Hello, I will be having my Cambridge interviews for Economics in Malaysia soon. I have reason to believe that my interviewers may either be Dr Murray Milgate (DOS and Senior Tutor in Queen's) or Dr Kelvin Bowkett (Senior Tutor in Christ's).
I was hoping if any of you seniors over there already in Cambrige, informed prospective students, or anyone else who could spare a bit of information about them.It would be interesting if I could obtain information on their research, books or publications.
I tried looking it up on the website but to no avail; I think it has something to do with them being senior tutors as information on most of the other lecturers are there.
Really appreciate your help!
I was hoping if any of you seniors over there already in Cambrige, informed prospective students, or anyone else who could spare a bit of information about them.It would be interesting if I could obtain information on their research, books or publications.
I tried looking it up on the website but to no avail; I think it has something to do with them being senior tutors as information on most of the other lecturers are there.
Really appreciate your help!
If you're asking out of curiosity fine, but if you're hoping to benefit from this in an interview don't go down this route. There's nothing to be gained by artificially claiming that you have an interest in such or such speciality, even if you plan to do some research in it beforehand. Be honest in your interview about what your interests are.
Neapolitan
If you're asking out of curiosity fine, but if you're hoping to benefit from this in an interview don't go down this route. There's nothing to be gained by artificially claiming that you have an interest in such or such speciality, even if you plan to do some research in it beforehand. Be honest in your interview about what your interests are.
in fact,
me in an Oxford sub forum thread
similarly i wouldn't necessarily worry too much about who specifically is interviewing you & don't fall into the trap of frantically researching all their work & saying all their interests happen to be yours too - unless it's true, this can horribly backfire apparently*.. so i'd just prepare for the interviews in general & then be yourself.
similarly i wouldn't necessarily worry too much about who specifically is interviewing you & don't fall into the trap of frantically researching all their work & saying all their interests happen to be yours too - unless it's true, this can horribly backfire apparently*.. so i'd just prepare for the interviews in general & then be yourself.
* sources - other forum applicants i've conversed with. & my tutors!
I understand what Elles and Neapolitan are saying; we students aren't experts and shouldn't expect to turn one overnight. Yea, if I try to cram, I could be digging my own grave.
However, like Soonalvin said, I do wanna get to know 'thy enemy' = the interviewer. Perhaps not topic specific, but areas of interest. Personally, I hope to find out whether he has similar interests to the college's DOS, in Christ's case. =)
To Poohbear: Thanks for the info! That's a lot of stuff that Dr. Milgate has written.
To everyone else: Thanks for the advice and feedback; I really appreciate it. Just need to mentally (perhaps physically as well) prepare for the coming week! Grrrrrrrr...
However, like Soonalvin said, I do wanna get to know 'thy enemy' = the interviewer. Perhaps not topic specific, but areas of interest. Personally, I hope to find out whether he has similar interests to the college's DOS, in Christ's case. =)
To Poohbear: Thanks for the info! That's a lot of stuff that Dr. Milgate has written.
To everyone else: Thanks for the advice and feedback; I really appreciate it. Just need to mentally (perhaps physically as well) prepare for the coming week! Grrrrrrrr...
I don't think you can work out what questions they are going to ask from what their interests are. I'm sure whenI was interviewed and even now my interviewers could take me apart on anything that I thought I was well informed on.
Any time spent looking at what these people are interested in is bascially time better spent reading something that you are interested in - or relaxing!
Ps don't see it the interviewer as an enemy or adversarial. They have the same goal as you - to bring out the best in you at the interview. Aside from the odd horror story they arent trying to trip you up or upset you or make you feel stupid!
Any time spent looking at what these people are interested in is bascially time better spent reading something that you are interested in - or relaxing!
Ps don't see it the interviewer as an enemy or adversarial. They have the same goal as you - to bring out the best in you at the interview. Aside from the odd horror story they arent trying to trip you up or upset you or make you feel stupid!
Just as an example, my DoS is a neuroanatomist, and we didn't even come near to mentioning that in my interviews!
Also, just because someone has a specific research interest, doesn't mean that your teaching at their college will be biassed because of it, or even that they'll necessarily teach you in that!
Also, just because someone has a specific research interest, doesn't mean that your teaching at their college will be biassed because of it, or even that they'll necessarily teach you in that!
My interviewers for Engineering at Peterhouse didn't really do anything more than was in A-Level Maths and Mechanics, much less talk about anything that they might have any interest in. However - I'd probably steer clear of talking about anything that the tutor is researching as they're going to know an immense amount more than you about it, and especially in opinionated subjects such as History. You don't want to be arguing with the interviewer about whether Stalin, overall, was good for Russia, or anything.
My first interviewer's specialty was: The Conservative Party's Relationship with Women in the Interwar Years. If that's not fascinating, I don't know what is. Of course he was a historian and I am not, and history, particularly that sort of history, never even came up. But supposing that I had even read his work, if I agreed, I would be underinformed in my case and sound agreeable and if I disagreed, I would sound underinformed and most likely be ripped to shreds.
As an undergrad it's not likely you'll ever have the opportunity to do much in the way of what your tutors are working on. That's PhD level. You may be able to work on something in your DoS's field for a final year project but even then, it's not going to be real in depth research of the nature they're doing.
You should have the attitude of trying to be informed, not an expert, in your interview and be able to comment widely about whatever topic that might come up because they'll ask you the questions and most likely the questions won't be able their research specialty.
As an undergrad it's not likely you'll ever have the opportunity to do much in the way of what your tutors are working on. That's PhD level. You may be able to work on something in your DoS's field for a final year project but even then, it's not going to be real in depth research of the nature they're doing.
You should have the attitude of trying to be informed, not an expert, in your interview and be able to comment widely about whatever topic that might come up because they'll ask you the questions and most likely the questions won't be able their research specialty.
Dr Millgate = cool bloke!
When I said who was interviewing me, my dad said "Oh, I know one of them, he and I do research in the same thing. He's written stuff for the journal I edit a few times." Knowing this, I could have gone into my interview and said "You know my dad, he does..." or the like, but not once did the interview mention he'd heard of my dad, if he recognised the name (not particularly common), nor would I have said anything either.
Even if you think you might want to go into the same area of research as your interviewer, don't say it. What you think the material is and what they know it to be is likely to be VASTLY different and you'll only fall over yourself. I'd picked up interesting bits of information about fluid mechanics from my dad over the years, but if I'd tried to strike up a conversation about it with my interviewer I'd have crashed and burned.
As it happened, a small thing I mentioned on my personal statement happened to be a random interest of his too, and we got talking about that. Even now, 4 years later and having had him as a Director of Studies he's not mentioned it again, so there's no way I could have found out before hand, it was just luck. Sometimes things happen just from being honest and truthful, don't go in there trying to think you've read up on their prefered material, because they'll tell instantly if you're trying to blag it.
Even if you think you might want to go into the same area of research as your interviewer, don't say it. What you think the material is and what they know it to be is likely to be VASTLY different and you'll only fall over yourself. I'd picked up interesting bits of information about fluid mechanics from my dad over the years, but if I'd tried to strike up a conversation about it with my interviewer I'd have crashed and burned.
As it happened, a small thing I mentioned on my personal statement happened to be a random interest of his too, and we got talking about that. Even now, 4 years later and having had him as a Director of Studies he's not mentioned it again, so there's no way I could have found out before hand, it was just luck. Sometimes things happen just from being honest and truthful, don't go in there trying to think you've read up on their prefered material, because they'll tell instantly if you're trying to blag it.
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