The Student Room Group

Oxford English V UCL Publishing

Hey, haven't been on here for a while, hope you're all GOG-tastic.

I have until June 15th to decide whether I want to accept Oxford's MSt English offer, and just after that to decide about UCL's MA Publishing offer. So it's esseially a question of academic versus vocational (Though money is a factor, Ox is very expensive because of College fees, but UCL is, well, in London).

Obviously, I applied to UCL for this course as I'm considering moving in that direction - but to Oxford because I still somewhat fancy going all the way to PhD in English. I'm just aware that going to Ox for English without complete commitment might leave me struggling on an intense course.

Some people I know who work in the publishing industry have suggested that either course is actually as good as the other for finding a good job - i'm just not sure what to do, bah.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Welcome back! :mad:
Reply 2
Fazorme

Obviously, I applied to UCL for this course as I'm considering moving in that direction - but to Oxford because I still somewhat fancy going all the way to PhD in English. I'm just aware that going to Ox for English without complete commitment might leave me struggling on an intense course.

Some people I know who work in the publishing industry have suggested that either course is actually as good as the other for finding a good job - i'm just not sure what to do, bah.


Last time you were on here, if I remember rightly, weren't you leaning away from your Oxford offer because of their requirement of a First? So, does this renewed interest mean you are going to get a First? If so congrats! I haven't had a good experience on the Oxford MSt, as you know, but yours is in a different period and should be better. The work isn't THAT instense, so I don't think you'd struggle. Just three essays and a short dissertation really - less work than at undergrad in some ways, though the marking standards are tougher. It certainly wouldn't count against you if you want to go into publishing, as its quite a tried and tested route. However, I don't think a Publishing MA would count against you if you want to do a PhD either. So it's just a question of whether you want a break from academia to do something more vocational or not I guess. Sorry, this is mostly blather and no help. I tried publishing and disliked it, so can't really advise you on that score!
Reply 3
as an english undergrad i met students who studied english and journalism as a combined degree. in the year that i applied, the times advertised posts for journalists and explicitly stated that they wanted graduates with degrees in english rather than journalism to apply. the wanna-be-journalists explained that this view was common in newspaper journalism, journalism degrees were not valued enough and were seen in the same light as media studies. i don't know the extent to which a publishing masters is held in the same regard as a journalism masters, but it certainly makes you think which degree is more valued in publishing circles. it might help if you phoned up/emailed publishing houses (big and small) to get their opinion in order to see if a bias exists towards either of your masters subjects.
Reply 4
Hmm. I would say make your choice on which you feel you will get more out of - even, which you will enjoy more. That said, the MSt will leave more options open than the MA Publishing. Both would be a definite bonus when applying for publishing jobs (it's amazing how much difference a masters, in any subject, seems to make when applying for publishing jobs) - but the MSt would be a better preparation for a PhD.
Oxford.
Reply 6
This sounds completely daft, but I would suggest you may find living in a city as expensive as london whilst undertaking an intense (ish) course a miserable experience. For one thing, unless you can get into decent halls (which are still overpriced), with the type of money we're probably talking about here, you won't find suitable accommodation in London.
I'm a postgrad in London and having a great time, hardly miserable and living in a new flat in Zone 2!
shady lane
hardly miserable


Probably because mum and dad have got a lot of money? :wink:

Money isn't really an issue for you.

If my post sounded harsh, sorry.
Reply 9
The Orientalist
Probably because mum and dad have got a lot of money? :wink:

Money isn't really an issue for you.

If my post sounded harsh, sorry.


Well a new flat in zone 2 would imply plenty of money from money and daddy, so doesn't seem that harsh to me.

I by comparrison will only have an estimated £3000 to spend on accommodation for my masters, so London just isn't a viable option.
I pay £465/month, that's less than the halls LSE allocated to me. And I live in South London, just down Coldharbour Lane from Brixton, hardly a luxurious playground.

And how would you know how much money my parents have?
my mortgage for the house i own is less than that. price of rent is stupid in this country.
shady lane

And how would you know how much money my parents have?


You're an international student (9K/10K tuition fees approx) as far as I'm aware AND you're living in London, hence your parents must have quite a bit of money to help you financially.
Reply 13
The Orientalist
You're an international student (9K/10K tuition fees approx) as far as I'm aware AND you're living in London, hence your parents must have quite a bit of money to help you financially.


My logic exactly. And £465/month is still about £6k for the full 12 months. Thats at least £15k total before living expenses. That must be at least another 4k.

Do you have a scholarshop at all shady? Those are BIG figures.

And just for the sake of comparisson, I might as well add that I am paying £320/month for my rent (incl. bills) in London, so £465 (bills incl??) is actually quite a luxary budget.
Hahah I have friends in LSE halls paying £150/week.

I'm a postgraduate and was frankly unwilling to share a room or live in a hall full of rowdy undergraduates. When you're already paying loads for the degree, there's a relatively small difference between £400/month and £465/month. And given what my income will be in a few short months, it was frankly worth it :p:
does lse offer postgraduate halls, like exeter?
Yeah, there are 2 postgrad halls and 1 with preference to postgrads. There's also 1 University of London postgrad hall.
Reply 17
shady lane
Hahah I have friends in LSE halls paying £150/week.

I'm a postgraduate and was frankly unwilling to share a room or live in a hall full of rowdy undergraduates. When you're already paying loads for the degree, there's a relatively small difference between £400/month and £465/month. And given what my income will be in a few short months, it was frankly worth it :p:


How are you paying for it all though? Loan?
Cowz
How are you paying for it all though? Loan?


Everything from parents' wealth I imagine, international students in the UK don't get a lot, if any financial support. So unless you're an EU student (my case), you got to be very rich to study in the UK.
My parents believe in me...and it's cheaper to do an MSc in the UK than it is in the US! Although I would say that at LSE, the Americans and Canadians aren't particularly rich, while the students from continental Europe and other parts of the world are usually loaded. It's more common in the US for parents to support their children's education, so people are willing to take loans out for their kids.