M.Phil Philosophy

I'm not a Tab, so I can't offer an educated opinion on the specifics of the course admissions, but I would say very strongly that you have nothing to lose by applying. If you're on for a strong first, write a good statement and have the backing of senior staff then I would say that you have as good a chance as any.

As my supervisor said: 'an amazingly competitive admissions process holds no fear if you're better than the competition'.

BTW, you might like to hop along to the postgrad section with any non-Cambridge specific masters questions.

Edit: a quick google later, I am 99% sure it's a one year course. A 15,000 word dissertation wouldn't be offered on a 2-year MPhil:

http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/pros_students/grad_prospectus.html#Course_Details

Thanks alot for the speedy reply

I too thought it was one-year (as in most universities) but I know that the Oxford equivalent is two-year and such I was a little unsure.

That quote is indeed inspiring! I'm going to give this as good a shot as I possibly can, I'm on for a 76 average this year (second) and I'm hoping to tailor a dissertation specifically to what I would find interesting at M.Phil level (Quantum theory of mind)

Thanks once again and kudos!

Genuinely, you sound like a strong candidate. I got onto an Oxford (boo, hiss) programme with a similar academic profile, so don't do yourself down. And certainly apply! I can't stress this enough.

I do thank my supervisor for that one. He was dead right, too. There's no point being put off by the strength of numbers, because if you're the best, you'll get a place.

Yeah, I think I'm going to go for it! Like you, my tutor advised me to give it a shot as, like you, he said I will lose nothing by trying and that he thinks I have a genuine chance (he's an external Phd marker or some such thing for Cambridge so I gather he knows whether I'm good enough etc)

However, saying that, I'm still not going to let myself think I have a chance untill I actually have the acceptance letter, in my hands, in front of my eyes, being read aloud to me by at least 4 objective witnesses and even then I will refuse to relinquish my right to skepticism

Edit: The best will always get the place, it's just discerning whether I'm 'the best' which bothers me!

Definitely give it a shot if it's somewhere you think you'd enjoy. Again, it's great that you've got staff support, and such people are usually right if they tell you you're in with a strong chance.

I was exactly the same. I was so stone-cold convinced that I wouldn't get the postgrad offer I wanted that I was having pretty much daily collywobbles! In the end I was spoilt for choice, and I'm so glad that I got over my nerves and actually put the application in. You may have trouble with the acceptance letter, though, since I believe Cambridge's PG replies now come online through CAMSIS (correct me if I'm wrong?), so you might have to get people to verify a print-out, instead.

Well, you'll never know whether you're the best unless you apply. There's nothing you can do about it other than put in a strong application and cross your fingers that you like what you see - but if you let assumptions about the other candidates put you off then you'll never know.

Thanks for all your words of encouragement and advice, you're a star

Sod it, I'm just going to do it, cross my fingers (and feet, toes, hair, nails, teeth, legs, arms, kneck) and hope for the best

You're welcome. In the immortal words of Starsky: 'do it!'

Hell yeah -- go for it, sir, and best of luck to you!