Interview for PhD at Oxford

The Boosh

do i need to write anymore disclaimers after my posts?

Obviously the easiest way would be to use your sig for an automatic disclaimer. :biggrin:

Reply 22

hahaha what a good idea!!!!

Reply 23

nikk

OP

hobnob

Wasn't the OP actually making a completely different point, i.e. that when you do well for your undergraduate degree at a "good" university and do well, you can still do well afterwards and be accepted on a postgraduate programme at another "good" university? :confused:

Although I don't think I really remember anybody questioning this...

Hi,

I wasn't referring to this thread, but rather a (perhaps) small subset of people on TSR that tend to write off anybody that attended a university outside of the top 10.

I have had people question points I make on TSR on the completely irrelevant basis that I attend the University of Plymouth. Some people think unless you have a top 10 uni to your name then your opinion is worthless. I guess I was a bit naughty in adding in that comment, but it was something I couldn't resist!

On a different note, thank you everyone that wished by congratulations.

Reply 24

Alan Smithee

hobnob

Sorry, which person? :confused:

The link just leads to the first page of the thread.

Anyway, for what it's worth, I agree with you that it's idiotic to think that good universities produce good students and mediocre universities produce mediocre students, as though it was the universities that made the students. :rolleyes:

But I don't think anybody has been implying that on this thread - although obviously such posts are all over TSR.
Edit: Ah, sorry, did you mean this post? But surely that was meant to illustrate that it doesn't matter?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It doesn't matter what university you go to (mostly) it is what the student makes of it.

Reply 25

nikk

OP

Shady - It is not a matter of hard-facts that I was referring to, but rather to some people's snooty opinions.

Reply 26

Alan Smithee

The Boosh

the claim that new university degrees are worth **** is rife on tsr - even you must have seen that, shady

Seen it?

She promotes it, mate.

Reply 27

lol

Reply 28

nikk - whereabout in cornwall are you from?

Reply 29

nikk

Hi,

I wasn't referring to this thread, but rather a (perhaps) small subset of people on TSR that tend to write off anybody that attended a university outside of the top 10.

I have had people question points I make on TSR on the completely irrelevant basis that I attend the University of Plymouth. Some people think unless you have a top 10 uni to your name then your opinion is worthless. I guess I was a bit naughty in adding in that comment, but it was something I couldn't resist!

On a different note, thank you everyone that wished by congratulations.

To tell you the truth, I'm actually completely ignorant of Plymouth's position in the various league tables and whether or not it's an "ex-poly". From what you said ("going to a 'top ten' university for your undergraduate degree doesn't decrease your chances") I assumed that it was a "top 10" uni, although apparently it isn't... Oh well. Doesn't matter now, does it? :biggrin:

Reply 30

fundamentally

shady lane

Why do people think you can't get into a good postgrad from a mediocre undergraduate university? It's such a myth.

And shady lane is a fine example of this.
She managed to go from Stanford to the LSE. :smile:

Reply 31

ChemistBoy

16

nikk

I wasn't referring to this thread, but rather a (perhaps) small subset of people on TSR that tend to write off anybody that attended a university outside of the top 10.

I have had people question points I make on TSR on the completely irrelevant basis that I attend the University of Plymouth. Some people think unless you have a top 10 uni to your name then your opinion is worthless. I guess I was a bit naughty in adding in that comment, but it was something I couldn't resist!

Yet these threads keep popping up in various disguises all around the site and it does worry me because many of the people spouting these views are still at school! I'm embroiled in one at the moment where some school pupil is trying to tell me that a physics degree from Imperial signifcantly prepares you better for research than a physics degree at Nottingham or Manchester - this is getting ridiculous!

I am very dissappointed about the amount of ingrained and ill-informed prejudice about institutions on this board and the reluctance of people to take informed advice seriously if it conflicts with their own prejudices or what their teachers have sold them (of course they have no vested interesting in getting as many people into oxbridge as possible, do they?). It seems to me that most of the people who are doing or have done research postgraduate are saying the same thing - institution of first study is largely irrelevant for research studentships. I just think we are due a bit more respect from the 16 & 17 year olds who are only too happy to treat their opinions on the matter as of greater worth than ours.

Oh btw good luck with your research career.

I must stop getting sucked into these debates...

Reply 32

ChemistBoy

Yet these threads keep popping up in various disguises all around the site and it does worry me because many of the people spouting these views are still at school! I'm embroiled in one at the moment where some school pupil is trying to tell me that a physics degree from Imperial signifcantly prepares you better for research than a physics degree at Nottingham or Manchester - this is getting ridiculous!

Of course it's ridiculous, but then again, how would they know? Pretty much all the information they have comes from listening to hearsay or obsessing over league tables without even taking into account how they're compiled. :rolleyes:

I am very dissappointed about the amount of ingrained and ill-informed prejudice about institutions on this board and the reluctance of people to take informed advice seriously if it conflicts with their own prejudices or what their teachers have sold them (of course they have no vested interesting in getting as many people into oxbridge as possible, do they?). It seems to me that most of the people who are doing or have done research postgraduate are saying the same thing - institution of first study is largely irrelevant for research studentships. I just think we are due a bit more respect from the 16 & 17 year olds who are only too happy to treat their opinions on the matter as of greater worth than ours.

Respect from 16- and 17-year-olds is a bit of a contradiction in terms, though, don't you think? :biggrin:

But they seem to be the largest group on these forums, so they're constantly reinforcing each other's prejudices.

Personally, I think this has a lot to do with a general sense of insecurity, and all the talk of raised tuition fees have only intensified it. Those 16- and 17-year-olds are already worrying about paying off their debts (even though they probably won't have to start paying the off until they're in their early to mid-twenties) feel their own future is far from secure, so they desperately want to believe that they can make it secure by making the "right" decisions and maximising their chances. So they gobble up all those statistics they're being given and go to extremes preparing those "right" decisions and worrying about the relative employment prospects for graduates from different universities at an age where they're not even close to finishing their A-levels, let alone graduating from university.

It's quite frightening, actually. There are teenagers on the Oxbridge forums asking questions like "what A-level subjects should I pick to maximise my chances of being accepted for maths at Cambridge, and supposing I am accepted, how do I go about going to Harvard for my PhD?". I certainly wasn't planning my postgraduate career at that age, and I find it rather worrying that somebody who has only just finished his GCSEs has already mapped out his life like that, but hardly anybody ever tells them that...

Reply 33

aye. these wierd, perpetuating myths grate me too. there is an older generation out there who keep feeding the youngsters queer, hierarchical rubbish and they need to let go of their fantasies. how teachers know the differentials between physics degrees at imperial, manchester and nottingham in 2007 is beyond me. the traditional, middle-class universities are not top-dog like the older generation remembers.

i think in 2-3 years time a lot of tsr folk are going to be very disappointed with the real world when they are rubbing shoulders with graduates from all backgrounds.

Reply 34

shady lane

16

Pretty Boy Floyd

Seen it?

She promotes it, mate.

Are you joking? I have never argued that someone who goes to a poorly ranked undergraduate can't get into a good postgraduate university. I have argued that for investment banks and MC law firms, the university you go to matters. That's true: those firms only recruit at top unis. But it doesn't mean students from other universities don't deserve the jobs, it's just the reality.

I seem to recall making a strong argument about a week ago against a certain Oxford law tutor favoring some universities' graduates over others, and that the individual student should be what is evaluated, not the quality of the law department that they study at. I know you certainly read that argument.

Reply 35

ChemistBoy

16

hobnob

Of course it's ridiculous, but then again, how would they know? Pretty much all the information they have comes from listening to hearsay or obsessing over league tables without even taking into account how they're compiled. :rolleyes:

Very true!

Respect from 16- and 17-year-olds is a bit of a contradiction in terms, though, don't you think? :biggrin:

But they seem to be the largest group on these forums, so they're constantly reinforcing each other's prejudices.

But, if they are asking for advice why won't they listen to the people who can advise them properly? It just seems nonsensical.

Personally, I think this has a lot to do with a general sense of insecurity, and all the talk of raised tuition fees have only intensified it. Those 16- and 17-year-olds are already worrying about paying off their debts (even though they probably won't have to start paying the off until they're in their early to mid-twenties) feel their own future is far from secure, so they desperately want to believe that they can make it secure by making the "right" decisions and maximising their chances. So they gobble up all those statistics they're being given and go to extremes preparing those "right" decisions and worrying about the relative employment prospects for graduates from different universities at an age where they're not even close to finishing their A-levels, let alone graduating from university.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. It is a great shame that these kids don't realise what a massive difference the next 3 or 4 years of their lives are going to make to their views and ambitions.

It's quite frightening, actually. There are teenagers on the Oxbridge forums asking questions like "what A-level subjects should I pick to maximise my chances of being accepted for maths at Cambridge, and supposing I am accepted, how do I go about going to Harvard for my PhD?". I certainly wasn't planning my postgraduate career at that age, and I find it rather worrying that somebody who has only just finished his GCSEs has already mapped out his life like that, but hardly anybody ever tells them that...

To be honest it is ridiculous. I guess I had always wanted to be a scientist certainly all the way through my A-levels, but I hadn't actually seriously thought about where and what I would do my PhD in (or even if I would do a PhD). Planning that far ahead at that age is a total waste of time.

Reply 36

ChemistBoy

But, if they are asking for advice why won't they listen to the people who can advise them properly? It just seems nonsensical.

That's teenagers for you. :wink:

Reply 37

Alan Smithee

fundamentally

And shady lane is a fine example of this.
She managed to go from Stanford to the LSE. :smile:

LMAOOOOO

Stanford >>>>>>> Oxford.

Reply 38

Pretty Boy Floyd

LMAOOOOO

Stanford >>>>>>> Oxford.

Better don't post something like that in public - you'll get lots of neg-rep and hateful messages from 17-year-olds who got their offers a month ago and are consequently experts on the matter. :p:

Reply 39

nikk

OP