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B Phil @ Oxford

Hi,
i was wondering if anyone here does/knows anyone who does/did the b phil at oxford? (2 year postgrad philosophy degree)

Ive just submitted my application, and im feeling quite insecure about it.

I was wondering if anyone had any tales of admission (i.e. what they got at undergrad, what they felt swung the application process in their favor) and generally what the course was like, and if they think i have any chance at all, or if i just wasted £25...

I've got a solid first from the uni of manchester (77 for my dissertation, 72 average, all 2nd and 3rd year marks above 65).

If it matters (i doubt it) I got AAB at A level (Maths Physics Chemistry) and an A at AS Philosophy. GSCE: 6 A*s 4As at a truely terrible comp.

I'm pretty sure that my 3 referees will be nice about me, one in particular i know gave me a really good reference (he described it as 'glowing')

But then:

I submitted 2 pieces of work with my application. One was a section of my dissertation, which im pretty sure will look at least o.k. The other was a third year essay, im less sure about this one. I dithered a lot deciding to send it, and i'm not sure it was of that high a standard, but my application was rushed. I did get 73 for it, but i usually got around that and it was hard to pick.

My statement of purpose... I'm sure is rubbish. I had no idea what to write, so i guessed. I rambled on about how much i love philosophy, and my future PhD plans, and that the options at oxford looked good. I'm sure i could have done better given the time...

Anyway, anyone any views on my chances? Considering 180 ppl apply for 30 places each year. (Its moving up to 40 places this year, and considering that some will apply to oxford purely cause of its reputation, i suppose the statistical odds are actually slightly higher than 30/180)

Thanks,

katie

Reply 1

Angelil

It's really impossible to second-guess them. I got rejected from Cambridge but offers from York, UCL and Oxford for postgrad :dontknow:

You have better uni marks than me, which I'm sure will be seen favourably (I'm on a different course though). If they want to discuss your statement of purpose then who knows, they may call you for interview, in which case you should think about what you want to say - stuff you've done that's related to your subject such as subscribing to relevant journals/attending conferences. (Though saying this I didn't have any postgrad interviews so don't know how they differ from undergrad.)

Guess all you can do is sit tight and wait. Have you applied to any other courses/unis?

Reply 2

blown_speakers

Hey,

thanks for the reply.

the oxford philosophy website say that they never interview - it all goes on the application.

I've applied (well, im about to send the applications off) to Kings, UCL and Bristol aswell.

But i really want to go to oxford, the course is much better...

I havent gone to any conferences... Other than the informal ones that my uni had...

Oh well.

Reply 3

frognoise

I'm going to apply for this next year. How did your application go? Did you get in? If so, how is it?

Reply 4

hobnob

frognoise

I'm going to apply for this next year. How did your application go? Did you get in? If so, how is it?

The poster hasn't visited the forum since January 2008, so I doubt you'll get an answer...

Reply 5

frognoise

hobnob

The poster hasn't visited the forum since January 2008, so I doubt you'll get an answer...

True, but then again doesn't TFL notify you if your thread gets a post for ever after? (Or am I wrong?)

Reply 6

hobnob

frognoise

True, but then again doesn't TFL notify you if your thread gets a post for ever after? (Or am I wrong?)

Only if you've subscribed to the thread, I think. And not everybody does that.
Anyway, good luck with getting a reply. :smile:

Considering how popular the course is, there seem to be surprisingly few BPhil applicants around. :s-smilie:

Reply 7

frognoise

hobnob

Only if you've subscribed to the thread, I think. And not everybody does that.
Anyway, good luck with getting a reply. :smile:

Considering how popular the course is, there seem to be surprisingly few BPhil applicants around. :s-smilie:

I take it you're not a BPhil-er?

Reply 8

hobnob

frognoise

I take it you're not a BPhil-er?

'fraid not. :frown:

I only saw you had bumped an old thread and asked a question to a forum user who hasn't been here for over a week, so I thought I'd better point that out...

Reply 9

Maka

I have a friend in the US who applied for the BPhil in Oxford but has an undergrad degree in TESOL. He told me he has a first degree, but I told him he didn't have a chance to get into Oxford Philosophy with that BA, regardless the quality of his degree..Do you think he stands a chance? (He'll pester me for the rest of his life if he's right on this one lol...)

Reply 10

hobnob

flugestuge

My previous message appears to have vanished mysteriously.
The OP is now at Bristol.

Your message 'vanished mysteriously' because you were bumping a three-month-old thread only to show off the fact that you had successfully stalked the original poster of this thread (who last logged onto her TSR profile in January 2008). I apologise for failing to recognise the importance of your contribution. :rolleyes:

Reply 11

hobnob

flugestuge

The entire thread was about whether or not the OP would get into the BPhil at Oxford.
There was no information about what finally happened.
I supplied that information.
This will be useful in the future to those who plan to apply for the BPhil and stumble across this thread when they Google "BPhil admission".
The OP provided a reasonable amount of information about her academic background, and this will be usefull for potential applicants if they consider applying.

... and if they really do want to Google-stalk the OP, those potential applicants will easily be able to do so for themselves, on the basis of that information she provided (assuming they have two brain cells to rub together, which they ought to if they're considering applying for this course). Your point being?

Reply 12

hobnob

flugestuge

A lot of people with a single neuron do apply for this course. ( Of course, they do not get in. )
For instance, someone with a "TESOL degree" ( see Maka's post ) applied for the BPhil.
People like that are generally not able to do simple things like checking the OP's profile and then googling the information in the profile.
It was an attempt to help the more intellectually challenged applicants, of which there are many.

So what you're saying is that you're trying to help people who you believe aren't going to get in anyway? :confused:

Reply 13

blown_speakers

Hi,
So;
1. I subscribed to the thread, but oddly only just got an email telling me there were recent replies. That said, I lived in Vietnam for a year and so my emails often bounced.
2. Yes, Im at Bristol now. They offered me their AHRC grant for the masters, so I took it! There was no way I could go either way.
3. Oxford. Got a place, couldnt afford it. Nevermind!!
4. Wow, I wonder what else you could find out about me from google??

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