Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

Reply 180

2

tony_ron

MSc Social and Economic History.

MSc Russian and East European Studies.

Would I be at any disadvantage applying for both? I know you need to show you are interested, but I think it's perfectly possible to be interested in one as much as the other. One is more Social/Economic History whereas the other is more European History - have done both thus far in my undergrad.

Ah yeah, sorry I forgot about them having (traditionally for a historian) zero ability with maths! Erm, the Russian & East European Studies is a different department so there shouldn't be any cross over in information between the European Studies Centre & the History Faculty. You shouldn't be at any sort of disadvantage other than being £50 down. The Eco-Social is a bit evil from what I understand but that's probably because I don't do maths and it requires you to have empirical training a la politics people - this is a requirement of the ESRC funding.

The Russian & East European Studies will require you to have a language in the end (just to make it easier) so if you haven't got one yet, get cracking on it! I know they say it doesn't matter, but to get the most out of it and to be able to read the majority of the literature, you really do need one. That said, you can get pretty good language training whilst you're there (same in Tabland I imagine) so wouldn't worry about it too much [i.e. a bit of self-familiarisation is probably enough to demonstrate enthusiasm].

Reply 181

Schott

11

Blimey fun times to be had by all then.

As for the MSc you don't need any relevant languages luckily. If you want to continue to MPhil it's preferable but not compulsory.

Reply 182

oriel historian

2

tony_ron

Blimey fun times to be had by all then.

As for the MSc you don't need any relevant languages luckily. If you want to continue to MPhil it's preferable but not compulsory.

Aye, they say that ... but, I would. The library in St Anthony's and at the Taylorian is chock full of original language texts and not all of them are translated.

Reply 183

Schott

11

Mon language skills est severely spacked so don't think it's really going to be an option for me. Might try applying anyway and seeing how far I get.

Then again, my Mathematics isn't exactly legendary and got a B in that at GCSE so the prospect of quantitative analysis at University masters level is somewhat daunting lol.

Probably won't get an offer for either anyway, - although does anyone know at what point you recieve your conditional offers? (If I applied in Michaelmas term).

Reply 184

oriel historian

2

tony_ron

Mon language skills est severely spacked so don't think it's really going to be an option for me. Might try applying anyway and seeing how far I get.

Then again, my Mathematics isn't exactly legendary and got a B in that at GCSE so the prospect of quantitative analysis at University masters level is somewhat daunting lol.

Probably won't get an offer for either anyway, - although does anyone know at what point you recieve your conditional offers? (If I applied in Michaelmas term).

Those teach yourself things are not too bad; and, if you pick a language which uses the latin alphabet rather than the cyrillic one, you should be able to get somewhere! Perhaps more so if you have any knowledge of German?

Anyway, erm as for offers: you ought to get some indication by the time of the next gathered field. That is early January if I remember rightly. It might be case they hold off on saying anything till say March but that's unlikely given the new requirements for the funding councils. You should hear sometime in the first half of Hilary Term.

Reply 185

darkchocolate11

oriel historian

Erm, the Russian & East European Studies is a different department so there shouldn't be any cross over in information between the European Studies Centre & the History Faculty. You shouldn't be at any sort of disadvantage other than being £50 down.

If there were cross-over in information, would it be a disadvantage? I'm thinking of applying for both Medieval Studies and Medieval Literature, which seem more likely to be in contact with one another even though technically they are in different departments. I would be studying very similar topics either way, though, so I don't see why I shouldn't be legitimately interested in both courses. :confused:

Thank you!

Reply 186

oriel historian

2

darkchocolate11

If there were cross-over in information, would it be a disadvantage? I'm thinking of applying for both Medieval Studies and Medieval Literature, which seem more likely to be in contact with one another even though technically they are in different departments. I would be studying very similar topics either way, though, so I don't see why I shouldn't be legitimately interested in both courses. :confused:

Thank you!

To my mind, if you're interested in literature apply for the lit course; if you're interested more broadly in the medieval period apply for the studies course. I'm not sure there is really any benefit in applying for lots of courses all at the same university, I mean I guess Oxford gets £25 out of you for each one but there are better ways of spending lots of money... :s-smilie:

Reply 187

Schott

11

Just noticed, a Left Left Left student at ORIEL. Unheard of, or so I'm told!

Reply 188

oriel historian

2

tony_ron

Just noticed, a Left Left Left student at ORIEL. Unheard of, or so I'm told!

Formerly of Oriel :p:

But I am from the Valleys, so what do you expect? :biggrin:

Reply 189

Angelil

19

tony_ron

Mon language skills est severely spacked so don't think it's really going to be an option for me. Might try applying anyway and seeing how far I get.

I like your turn of phrase my friend :biggrin:

although does anyone know at what point you recieve your conditional offers? (If I applied in Michaelmas term).

I applied end of November 2006; got me an offer 1st March 2007.
Can't believe it's two years since I was fannying about with all that paperwork :eek:

On the college front, I applied for Magdalen and Queen's at Oxford but got LMH :p:

It was a far better choice for me in retrospect - think about whether you *really* want to go to such a touristy college. Also think about distance from your department - LMH was also much more practically situated for me than either Magdalen or Queen's would have been.

Reply 190

roxy potter

13

LMH is amazing. I stayed there with a friend last week, it's such a lovely college, really nice atmosphere.

Reply 191

darkchocolate11

oriel historian

To my mind, if you're interested in literature apply for the lit course; if you're interested more broadly in the medieval period apply for the studies course. I'm not sure there is really any benefit in applying for lots of courses all at the same university, I mean I guess Oxford gets £25 out of you for each one but there are better ways of spending lots of money... :s-smilie:

If I get in to the studies course I would probably focus on literature, but it would be nice to have some history/art history modules as well. I would also be happy on the literature course though, I'm just trying to improve my chances of getting in to one or the other. So, do you think it would HURT my chances if they saw that I was applying for both??? :eek:

Reply 192

oriel historian

2

darkchocolate11

If I get in to the studies course I would probably focus on literature, but it would be nice to have some history/art history modules as well. I would also be happy on the literature course though, I'm just trying to improve my chances of getting in to one or the other. So, do you think it would HURT my chances if they saw that I was applying for both??? :eek:

Nah, it won't hurt anything - except your wallet - just you're probably better off putting more effort into 1 thing than spreading yourself around. Sounds like you'd be happy on both but the studies course gives you more freedom to do other things. If that's the sort of thing you want then go for it. Y

Reply 193

Schott

11

oriel historian

Formerly of Oriel :p:

But I am from the Valleys, so what do you expect? :biggrin:

I am too! ...almost

Reply 194

Ygraine

darkchocolate11

If I get in to the studies course I would probably focus on literature, but it would be nice to have some history/art history modules as well. I would also be happy on the literature course though, I'm just trying to improve my chances of getting in to one or the other. So, do you think it would HURT my chances if they saw that I was applying for both??? :eek:

Sorry to side-track a bit, but have you considered York? I received an offer from Oxford for the MPhil in Medieval lit, but came to York because of funding issues and I'm so glad things worked out this way. I can vouch for the general excellence of their interdisciplinary Medieval studies course (and indeed for the marvellosity of the Medieval lit course that I'm on).

If I can help at all with any questions you may have about courses or applications you're more than welcome to send a message my way. I was jumping through all the hoops myself this time last year, so it's all still fresh in my mind :smile:

Reply 195

darkchocolate11

Ygraine

Sorry to side-track a bit, but have you considered York? I received an offer from Oxford for the MPhil in Medieval lit, but came to York because of funding issues and I'm so glad things worked out this way. I can vouch for the general excellence of their interdisciplinary Medieval studies course (and indeed for the marvellosity of the Medieval lit course that I'm on).

If I can help at all with any questions you may have about courses or applications you're more than welcome to send a message my way. I was jumping through all the hoops myself this time last year, so it's all still fresh in my mind :smile:

Yes, actually I am applying to York as well! At the moment I am scrambling to get the Oxford application in by the Nov. 21 deadline, so I don't have any York questions at the front of my mind right now, but I may well be getting in touch with you in a few days! :smile:

I won't be sending my application to York for several days at least, though, as I'm still waiting for my referees to return the envelopes (the only thing I don't like so far is the paper-only application :mad:

). The courses at York do look fantastic, though!

Reply 196

Schott

11

New question: I am fairly equally interested in both the MSt History and the MSc Social and Economic History. If I apply for both, to what extent am I at a disadvantage? Will the applications be judged by the same people, who may then spot I've applied for both? Or is it likely to be separate, in which case it doesn't matter too much because the two bodies are unlikely to consult each other?

For me, applying for both does not represent a lack of decision in the path I wish to pursue. Though the two courses obviously have their differences, there is still a large element of Social and Economic History in both and as such I'd potentially be interested in applying for both, as I might therefore get a place on one even if I don't get it on the other.

I know that applying for two Masters in two separate departments wouldn't present too much of a problem, but what about within the same department as with this instance? Thoughts appreciated.

Please quote in response. :smile:

Reply 197

*Fra*

Hi everybody, I'm new here and I hope I'm writing on the right thread! :o:

I'm willing to apply for a Dphil in Sociology at Oxford. Since I live in Italy I'm wondering how an interview can be done... Do all the postgraduate programs involve an interview?

Reply 198

apotoftea

19

*Fra*

Hi everybody, I'm new here and I hope I'm writing on the right thread! :o:

I'm willing to apply for a Dphil in Sociology at Oxford. Since I live in Italy I'm wondering how an interview can be done... Do all the postgraduate programs involve an interview?

Very few departments interview for PG so I wouldn't worry too much. I believe international ones are done over the phone anyway :smile:

Reply 199

emioly

Not looking to offend anyone here. Actually don't really know why I'm thinking so far ahead but anyways...
What sort of universities are you people who are applying to Oxbridge for postgrad from?
Did many of you apply unsuccessfully for undergraduate study?
And lastly, do you think it is worth it? It's very expensive isn't it? and it's not regarded as well as if you had an undergraduate degree from there?..

Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

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