Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study

Oh, thanks, but I don't think it applies, as I would be paying overseas fees anyway.

I've just had a really lame response to a query I put forward to the Cambridge postgrad people regarding the course I should apply for. Because of the inter-disciplinary nature of my proposed dissertation, I was asking whether I should apply to do the History or English MA. The rather unhelpful response was that they do not 'pre-screen' applications and that I would therefore have to submit my application online, 'following procedures (as all other applicants do)'. They didn't even spell my name right. Other universities have answered my question satisfactorily.

I've just had a really lame response to a query I put forward to the Cambridge postgrad people regarding the course I should apply for. Because of the inter-disciplinary nature of my proposed dissertation, I was asking whether I should apply to do the History or English MA. The rather unhelpful response was that they do not 'pre-screen' applications and that I would therefore have to submit my application online, 'following procedures (as all other applicants do)'. They didn't even spell my name right. Other universities have answered my question satisfactorily.

How important is work experience?

For what? Admissions? Funding? Life in general?

Sorry for being vague. I meant for getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate study. The actual admission process. How much higher value, if any, will my application have with relevant work experience?

Hard to say but if you've got relevant work experience then I can't see it harming your application

But you don't reckon it will make much of a difference? Not a major one, at least?

Depends on the course, of course.

I forget where I picked up this bit of information (and am not sure how subjective it is): i.e a 2.2 plus MA is considered equivalent to a 2.1. Is this convention? Also, would a 2.1 plus an MSc be considered a 1.1 on applications? I realize that this may be a futile question as I have sent off my application, but the (extended) wait has got me wondering...Any thoughts?

I forget where I picked up this bit of information (and am not sure how subjective it is): i.e a 2.2 plus MA is considered equivalent to a 2.1. Is this convention? Also, would a 2.1 plus an MSc be considered a 1.1 on applications? I realize that this may be a futile question as I have sent off my application, but the (extended) wait has got me wondering...Any thoughts?

I doubt that it really works like that; it sounds far too simplistic to me... I mean, obviously a 2.2 followed by a decent MA performance will look better than a 2.2 followed by nothing at all, and as the work you did on your MA is usually more closely related to what you'll be doing in your PhD, universities might weight it a bit more, but an MA won't somehow transform 2.2s into 2.1s and 2.1s into firsts. Not to mention that it doesn't really make a lot of sense to convert postgraduate results into undergraduate 'equivalents' when quite often you can't actually apply for PhDs with just an undergraduate degree.*

*Yes, scientists can, but they're pretty much the only ones.