Oxford Graduate Application 2012/13

Today I received an e-mail that I've been put on the reserve list for the AHRC. But who would turn such an offer down...?

I am now officially nervous.

I wonder if this is for all departments, are you also an English applicant?

Yeah, Mst 1550-1700

I've noticed before that the English Faculty website doesn't say how many faculty studentships there are, but I always assumed they just happened not to have said, not that it was firm policy, iyswim. I wonder why that would be; it's hard to see why they wouldn't disclose.

That's the same strand as me, and I haven't had a confirmation - how worrying, argh. Congratulations, though!

And good luck to everyone else.

I haven't heard anything back yet, and Balliol is my first choice. Yet from what I understand, it should be another couple of weeks for me. 8-10 from when you recieved your departmental offer usually. Hope this helps. Good luck!

so much for letting us know about Ertegun today....I got no email.

So there's the potential for the HumDiv* one year to say 'Nope, we don't like Candidates Y and Z from the English people, and we do really like Candidates A and B from other Humanities faculties, so this year the number of studentships English has drops by two'. The BGP gets a set number of studentships but English doesn't always get dibs on the same proportion. But I am a student, not a funding administrator, so I could have that wrong.

* I imagine the HumDiv as a kind of military vehicle, like a Humvee.

I wouldn't worry. Mine was for the reserve list. If I remember rightly you were nominated to actually get some money ? They might have sent them in batches of reserve and offer.

Now, according to the graduate section on the Oxford website, decisions about colleges should be made 8-10 weeks after the decision. My offer letter tells me that I need to accept or decline the offer by mid April. Does this mean I will have to make a decision about the offer without knowing what college has offered me a place?

I am hoping to apply for MSc in Migration Studies in 2013 and I have a GPA of 3.7 right now. I am involved with many extracurricular activities at university. Do you know what are my chances for getting into Oxford Graduate program? I am currently in one of the top 20 US universities. Do you know what a 3.7 translates in terms of first honors or upper second honors for Oxford? Thanks so much for your help.

Unless your extracurricular activities are related to the program they will be of no interest to the admissions, it is not like undergrad application.

As for GPA - the boundaries there are a bit vague, some program state minimum requirements for US students, some don't. For International Relations minimum is stated as 3.85 GPA, for Russian and East European Studies it is 3.5
I got an offer stating 2.1 (upper second) as a minimum condition, and was told by the program administrator that it is 3.5 GPA, I assume 3.85 and up is where the First begins, which means 3.7 is a strong 2.1, but not quite the First.
So, for Oxford it appears to be:
less than 3.5 = 2.2
3.5 to 3.85 = 2.1
3.85 and above = First

This is higher than some other schools, but hey, it is Oxford!

Don't be discouraged, though, for most programs 3.7 is perfectly fine.

Unless your extracurricular activities are related to the program they will be of no interest to the admissions, it is not like undergrad application.

As for GPA - the boundaries there are a bit vague, some program state minimum requirements for US students, some don't. For International Relations minimum is stated as 3.85 GPA, for Russian and East European Studies it is 3.5
I got an offer stating 2.1 (upper second) as a minimum condition, and was told by the program administrator that it is 3.5 GPA, I assume 3.85 and up is where the First begins, which means 3.7 is a strong 2.1, but not quite the First.
So, for Oxford it appears to be:
less than 3.5 = 2.2
3.5 to 3.85 = 2.1
3.85 and above = First

This is higher than some other schools, but hey, it is Oxford!

Don't be discouraged, though, for most programs 3.7 is perfectly fine.

Thanks so much for the advice -- it is so helpful!! I just have a follow up question -- I am hoping to apply this November so I can receive a decision by January but that means my GPA might be around 3.74. If I apply in January and receive my decision in March my GPA might reach as high as 3.77. Do you think applying in January 2013 would be better for me? Or do you think the 0.03 difference is insignificant and that I should just apply in November (first round)?

anybody 1660 - 1830 strand?

Hello all!

Long time lurker but only just joined TSR - this waiting game is becoming a bit too stressful to go through alone ha!

I've applied for Mst Modern Languages and havent heard a thing, getting slightly nervous as people are already hearing funding decisions! AND its end of march *extra panics* ... doesnt look like anyone else is a languages student, is it just me here?