The Student Room Group

Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

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rhododendron

If you got a 1st, you would be in a good position to apply to Oxbridge,


And even without, depending on other factors (subject, relevant experience, published material etc etc) - first degree classification is probably the major factor, but by no means the only one, for postgraduate admissions and, as much as it may shock and appal some of the people here, some of us do go to Oxbridge for postgraduate work without first-class degrees :wink:

[if you tell us your subject, the replies could be more specific :smile:]


edit: I realise you say with a first, but that's three or four years down the line and while you may think you will get a first now, so do a lot more people than actually get them :wink:. Hence, don't be demoralised if you don't :smile:

edit2: my A-levels go on my CV, but just compressed onto one line, with GCSEs on another single line:
my CV

1996-2001: School, Street, City
A-level: Subject 1 (grade), Subject 2 (grade), Subject 3 (grade), Subject 4 (grade).
AS-level: Subject 5 (grade).
GCSE: N, grades X-Y

Certainly a lot of graduate job schemes do filter on A-level points, so I don't see as it does any harm for the university to know it, although you don't have to put them if you don't want to.
I had offers from both Oxford and Cambridge (rejected both, btw) and I don't think I mentioned my school marks anywhere. They are only interested in the results of any degree/diploma you might have taken post-school.

Cheers!
Reply 42
student_kyle
Im going to QMUL... why would that make A LOT of difference? I understand that LSE and UCL have more prestige, but basically it comes down to money and funding. LSE and the like are in richer areas of London and have more money in general which makes the difference. But QMUL is a decent uni, its in the countries top 20, with applicants going from there to Oxford in the past.

Surely Oxbridge wouldnt look upon a first from QMUL as 'less impressive' than say a first from Kings College.


A first from QMUL is not any "less impressive" than firsts from any other UoL colleges. I know of people from KCL, IC, UCL, LSE, QM at Oxbridge for their masters. Although a first is important, it is also equally important that you have very good recommendation letters from your academic referee(s).

Hope this helps! :smile:
Reply 43
shady lane
Someone on this forum went to QMUL and is now at Oxford for a masters.


Yours truly, :wink: :p: [but I'm sure I'm not the only one on this forum]
Reply 44
Excellent thread ba_mhaith_liom!

But who decided to move it to the Oxbridge forum? The reason we decided we needed this thread was that we'd get asked endlessly about it ini the POSTGRAD forum. This question pops up on the Oxbridge forum sometimes, as it did recently, but it's more or less a permanent feature in the postgrad section.

Maybe you could change the name of the thread? Instead of Oxbridge put 'top universities'? This really should be in the postgrad forum. It won't serve its purpose otherwise.
Thanks, I hope that it will be of use. I have made my case to the relevant authorities. I think the title of the thread, as you suggest, was a misnomer and I should also have phrased my request a little more exactly when I asked for it to be made a sticky.

I'm waiting to see whether the mods can move it back to the postgrad forum.
Reply 46
Personally I still think it could do well in Oxbridge...but I've copied it over to Postgrad as well :smile:
You are a lovely person.

Sorry for being so nit-picky!

Thanks!
Reply 48
Yeah, thanks. It's a topic that seems to crop up so much in the postgrad forum...
cor blimey - very thorough!!!
The Boosh
cor blimey - very thorough!!!


Thanks, it's not comprehensive at all as I simply stopped collecting threads once I got bored :p: but it should be helpful to a certain degree.
Reply 51
ba_mhaith_liom
Thanks, it's not comprehensive at all as I simply stopped collecting threads once I got bored :p: but it should be helpful to a certain degree.

Oh, so you mean this isn't a list of all posts ever written on that subject? I'm appalled!:p:
:frown:

I tried...honest...

:wink:
Reply 53
ba_mhaith_liom
:frown:

I tried...honest...

:wink:

Oh well, I'll give you an F for F-fort, then - I'm out of rep for today, I'm afraid.:p:
God, that is bloody depressing.
hobnob
Oh well, I'll give you an F for F-fort, then - I'm out of rep for today, I'm afraid.:p:


No rep?!

:mad:
Reply 56
ba_mhaith_liom
No rep?!

:mad:

Look again.:wink:
:redface:

thanks

(as you can see I've developed a penchant for smilies, they're so succint:p: )
I was going to post this in the mid section, but thought it'd never get looked at.

Is it highly unlikely of being offered a place for an Oxford MA if I have previously studied at Oxford Brookes? I'm looking to transfer to English Language and Linguistics...
Reply 59
Lady_Muck
I was going to post this in the mid section, but thought it'd never get looked at.

Is it highly unlikely of being offered a place for an Oxford MA if I have previously studied at Oxford Brookes? I'm looking to transfer to English Language and Linguistics...


Of course it's not 'highly unlikely'. Depending on which course you want to do, a high 2:1 would normally suffice, unless it's a really competitive course (such as MSt English 1900 - Present, in which case you usually need a First). This whole thread was created for the purpose of reassuring people from lower-tier universities that they have as much chance of getting onto Oxbridge Masters courses as anyone else, provided they get the grades. Get the grades (and the references, and the convincing postgrad statement), and it won't matter which university you come from . Honestly.

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