The Student Room Group

Will I really get into Durham as a postgrad?

Hello,

I am in my third year at Northumbria University (yes, I was a waster at college and know I should've done better so spare me any pretentious responses) and I am pretty much guaranteed to get a solid 2:1.

I was looking at Durham Uni to do a masters and saw the entry requirements were a 2:1 from a "recognised university". I messaged Durham as this seemed too straightforward for somewhere so prestigious and they responded by saying that a 2:1 from Northumbria Uni was "perfectly acceptable". I have a piece of work that I scraped a first for this year (70) so if I apply and use that piece of work, am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly? Whilst I feel I am capable, the concomitant assumptions people make about ex-poly's unsettle me a little bit.

Thanks in advance.
Reply 1
Original post by Rosser94
Hello,

I am in my third year at Northumbria University (yes, I was a waster at college and know I should've done better so spare me any pretentious responses) and I am pretty much guaranteed to get a solid 2:1.

I was looking at Durham Uni to do a masters and saw the entry requirements were a 2:1 from a "recognised university". I messaged Durham as this seemed too straightforward for somewhere so prestigious and they responded by saying that a 2:1 from Northumbria Uni was "perfectly acceptable". I have a piece of work that I scraped a first for this year (70) so if I apply and use that piece of work, am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly? Whilst I feel I am capable, the concomitant assumptions people make about ex-poly's unsettle me a little bit.

Thanks in advance.


Stop worrying so much and apply. As much as people on TSR like to circlejerk about university prestige, it's a different story in the 'real world'. In reality, potential employers will focus on plenty of other things on your application before they look at the name of the university you went to. Get good grades and get some extracurriculars under your belt and have confidence in yourself.

Best of luck!
Original post by Rosser94


am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly?


Yep, with a 2.1 from Northumbria you'll have met the requirements for application, so from there it's up to you. Good references tend to hold quite a lot of weight for Masters applications so it would be worth thinking about who you're going to use for your referees and approaching them early in the process. Go for it and good luck!
Original post by Rosser94
Hello,

I am in my third year at Northumbria University (yes, I was a waster at college and know I should've done better so spare me any pretentious responses) and I am pretty much guaranteed to get a solid 2:1.

I was looking at Durham Uni to do a masters and saw the entry requirements were a 2:1 from a "recognised university". I messaged Durham as this seemed too straightforward for somewhere so prestigious and they responded by saying that a 2:1 from Northumbria Uni was "perfectly acceptable". I have a piece of work that I scraped a first for this year (70) so if I apply and use that piece of work, am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly? Whilst I feel I am capable, the concomitant assumptions people make about ex-poly's unsettle me a little bit.

Thanks in advance.


The university you did your undergraduate doesn't have a baring on postgraduate admissions. What will matter is the personal statement - I suggest you look at Durham Universities own examples here:
https://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/pgstudy/app/

And any other evidence they ask for like CV/example of work.
Reply 4
They'll likely welcome you with open arms! I'm currently an undergrad finalist at Durham and they're almost ott in being 'inclusive' now, so if your undergrad uni was going to matter for anything - it's a positive. What course are you interested in?
Reply 5
Thanks for all the replies everyone.


Original post by SETJ
They'll likely welcome you with open arms! I'm currently an undergrad finalist at Durham and they're almost ott in being 'inclusive' now, so if your undergrad uni was going to matter for anything - it's a positive. What course are you interested in?



I want to do a research based English Literary Studies MA. I don't fully understand what you're trying to say though haha, you said they'll welcome me with open arms but what do you mean by 'inclusive'? And what did you mean my uni will be a positive? As Northumbria, let's be fair, is pretty mediocre.

Thanks in advance
Original post by Rosser94
Hello,

I am in my third year at Northumbria University (yes, I was a waster at college and know I should've done better so spare me any pretentious responses) and I am pretty much guaranteed to get a solid 2:1.

I was looking at Durham Uni to do a masters and saw the entry requirements were a 2:1 from a "recognised university". I messaged Durham as this seemed too straightforward for somewhere so prestigious and they responded by saying that a 2:1 from Northumbria Uni was "perfectly acceptable". I have a piece of work that I scraped a first for this year (70) so if I apply and use that piece of work, am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly? Whilst I feel I am capable, the concomitant assumptions people make about ex-poly's unsettle me a little bit.

Thanks in advance.


In most cases, postgraduate entry is relatively lax; programmes are, in the first instance, sources of university income, rebalancing capped undergraduate fees. The real difficulty is in obtaining funding.

Original post by jelly1000
The university you did your undergraduate doesn't have a baring on postgraduate admissions. What will matter is the personal statement - I suggest you look at Durham Universities own examples here:
https://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/pgstudy/app/

And any other evidence they ask for like CV/example of work.


I'm rather surprised as to how bad those examples are.
Original post by Misovlogos
In most cases, postgraduate entry is relatively lax; programmes are, in the first instance, sources of university income, rebalancing capped undergraduate fees. The real difficulty is in obtaining funding.



I'm rather surprised as to how bad those examples are.


My bad, I confess I trusted Durham would have good examples. I based my PS on them and got in for postgrad although not at Durham
Reply 8
Original post by Rosser94
Hello,

I am in my third year at Northumbria University (yes, I was a waster at college and know I should've done better so spare me any pretentious responses) and I am pretty much guaranteed to get a solid 2:1.

I was looking at Durham Uni to do a masters and saw the entry requirements were a 2:1 from a "recognised university". I messaged Durham as this seemed too straightforward for somewhere so prestigious and they responded by saying that a 2:1 from Northumbria Uni was "perfectly acceptable". I have a piece of work that I scraped a first for this year (70) so if I apply and use that piece of work, am I really in with a good chance of getting into Durham despite the fact I have completed my degree at a poly? Whilst I feel I am capable, the concomitant assumptions people make about ex-poly's unsettle me a little bit.

Thanks in advance.

I've been accepted for a PhD there whilst I graduated from totally unknown universities. You have your chance.

Original post by Misovlogos

I'm rather surprised as to how bad those examples are.

Same.
"Development Anthropology is a discipline that fascinates and stimulates me both theoretically and practically."
Starting a proposal like this is lame.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by Rosser94
Thanks for all the replies everyone.





I want to do a research based English Literary Studies MA. I don't fully understand what you're trying to say though haha, you said they'll welcome me with open arms but what do you mean by 'inclusive'? And what did you mean my uni will be a positive? As Northumbria, let's be fair, is pretty mediocre.

Thanks in advance


Yeah my point is that even though Northumbria is 'mediocre', Durham is being inclusive by looking for students from 'lesser' universities now. There has been a real drive to get away from the snobbery elite bs by only going for the Oxbridge, London and Bristol crew - thus, it counts as a positive.
the only problem may be that as it's research you want, there has to be someone interested in supervising you. But given the English department's size, that ought not be an issue
Reply 10
Original post by SETJ
Yeah my point is that even though Northumbria is 'mediocre', Durham is being inclusive by looking for students from 'lesser' universities now. There has been a real drive to get away from the snobbery elite bs by only going for the Oxbridge, London and Bristol crew - thus, it counts as a positive.
the only problem may be that as it's research you want, there has to be someone interested in supervising you. But given the English department's size, that ought not be an issue



Ah I see, thanks for the information.
My plan to go for a research masters has changed now though, as I initially decided to go down the route because of the money, but that isn't an issue anymore so I am going to go for the taught modules type instead.

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