low 2:2 with 7 years of work experience
Hi all,I am considering applying to a political science/global politics/inter. affairs/European affairs program with low 2ii in history from an average former soviet union university. I began to work when I was studying and that obviously played out negatively in the final results not to say that I was quite a bad student at the time. But I did a career in journalism and now want to get back to studies in the UK as I think this will help me to widen my expertise and will boost my career in the future. I believe 6 years after graduation I am a different person. I see successful stories here of people getting into good universities with low UG grades. I'm seeking advice on where to look: should I try top unis given the fact I have (what I think) is good work experience? should I target unis below 20/60/80/100 qs world rank or what?thanks!
(edited 3 years ago)
Most post-1992, and some of the more-established, universities accept a 2:2 as the entry requirement for taught masters. You could always use this as back-up if the thought of rejections from the 'better' universities get you down.
That said, I would say go for it and aim higher (Oxbridge is probably not a good idea though). You ought to stand quite a decent chance of getting offers from the more-established universities, including some decent RG institutions, based on your work experience, especially if the course is either under-subscribed or not that competitive. Also, most UK universities do not charge application fees, so the worst that can happen is that they say no.
Good luck!
That said, I would say go for it and aim higher (Oxbridge is probably not a good idea though). You ought to stand quite a decent chance of getting offers from the more-established universities, including some decent RG institutions, based on your work experience, especially if the course is either under-subscribed or not that competitive. Also, most UK universities do not charge application fees, so the worst that can happen is that they say no.
Good luck!
Hi
Thank you for replying. Yeah, wasn’t thinking of Oxbridge at all.
Is there a way of finding out how competitive a course is? I plan to email admissions but wonder is there a database stored online. I see that not many universities publish this data on their websites.
Thank you for replying. Yeah, wasn’t thinking of Oxbridge at all.
Is there a way of finding out how competitive a course is? I plan to email admissions but wonder is there a database stored online. I see that not many universities publish this data on their websites.
On university websites they'll list the entry requirements. If you're fresh out of your undergrad they'll expect a 2.1. But you aren't, you have 7 years work experience. They almost always list that a 2.2 may be accepted with relevant work experience.
Write a good personal statement and you should be fine.
Write a good personal statement and you should be fine.
Original post by verybadstudent
..........
How are you proposing to measure competitiveness? Applications to places is irrelevant, because you can't tell the quality of the applications. Almost all overseas students have a strong preference for London universities which distorts their application numbers. Very niche subjects have few people who have the entry qualifications, so that makes a high offer ratio etc.
You need to consider where and with whom you hope to leverage this Masters afterwards. Mostly, it's about leveraging the name, and if overseas, then it needs to be a name that is recognised, either generally, or specifically in the sector.
It's extremely easy to pay a lot of money for a degree that doesn't add value, especially as an overseas student.
Hi all,
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by verybadstudent
Hi all,
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
ucl is a very competitive university generally, and lse even more so, and that'll apply to masters degrees too
yes I understand that they are at the very top, at the same time I only found a few graduates that did something interesting in the field - it’s either their selection process is wrong or maybe the program isn’t that strong. the majority of profiles are interns or people changing their careers. sorry for sounding bitter. but if people at ucl read this they should put some success stories up or maybe even redesign the program. because for these months when I was waiting the answer I was dubious if it’s something I really want to pay for and is there a career after it.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by verybadstudent
Hi all,
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
I see that people often forget to share their experience, not to be one of them, I'm posting my current status.
In the end, I've applied to three universities - UCL, Edinburgh, and Bristol. No word from Edinburgh yet, but I was rejected from both UCL and Bristol.
The rejection from UCL came to a real surprise since I had - what I think - a strong statement and a very good reference from a British employer with whom I worked since the start of my career and I think I had enough relevant experience to study for UCL International Public Policy. Also, I might be wrong but from what I heard UCL IPP isn't that competitive as other programs and often used as a backup, but I might be wrong here.
Bristol was an LLM International Law and International Relations the rejection wasn't that surprising I didn't have any law background here, maybe that was the case.
Still waiting for an answer from Edinburgh university. In the meantime, I want to try to apply to LSE, some of the programs I like are still open.
I realized that studying in London is quite important to me, so I'm a little bit upset that it didn't work out with UCL. It seemed like a perfect match.
P.S. I also applied to International and European Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and was accepted but decided not to go there thinking that only British university can help me achieve my goals.
Don't take rejections personally. There could be a million and one reasons why you were not offered a place at your chosen institutions. The most likely being that the course is competitive, and they have filled all the places, or it could simply be that admissions was being lazy and simply sticking to the letter of the entry requirements rather than the spirit. As for personal experiences, I was rejected from Durham even though I met their requirement of a 2:1. The reason they gave for the rejection was I couldn't produce my transcript, which was lost due to the long gap between my undergrad (1994) and my post-grad application (2016). I even showed them the letter from my undergrad institution stating that they could not give me a replacement transcript, but that they can confirm that my final degree classification. Durham ignored this and stuck to the letter of the entry requirement; no transcript, no offer. Newcastle, on the other hand, gave me an unconditional offer for a similar programme. I graduated with a distinction, and am now near the end of my second year studying for a PhD at Leeds.
I contacted various universities after my master's in search of a PhD place, including Durham. I asked about the need for an undergrad transcript if I were to apply there given the problems I had before with them during my master's application. They came back to say that given the lapse between my undergrad and my post-grad degrees, a transcript for my undergrad degree was not necessary. In fact, they went as far as to say that admissions should have referred my master's application further up the line rather than sticking to the letter of the entry requirements given my circumstances. In the end, I did not apply to Durham, as after a few email exchanges, I found that the potential supervisor and I were not on the same wave-length regarding the direction of my research. I applied to Newcastle, Leeds and Glasgow, and received unconditional offers from all 3.
So don't let the buggers grind you down. Keep on searching for the right course if you think it'd help you to develop your intellect and/or career further. Good luck!
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