Official Cambridge Postgraduate Applicants 2021 Thread

To international students living in college accommodation - how did you transfer money to the UK to pay the deposit before opening a local account? Does something like Transferwise work?

So has anyone else not been billed for anything thus far? I've scoured all the Cambridge sites and all my emails/spam and have received literally nothing about any kind of accommodations or tuition payment. I have been moved temporarily to start to the term because a problem with my assigned room and the rates are different--maybe that's why I'm not getting any bills yet? Maybe my college is behind everything? I figure they would want to make it very apparent that they want my money...

Hi Guys,

I have applied to an MPhil in Physics to start in Jan 2022.

I have done an interview with a supervisor and he has recommended me to the degree committee and I have been told he has sent in the paperwork.

Should I see a change in the applicant portal once the application goes to the degree committee stage?

Thanks a lot all.

In some departments, yes, in others, no. It's down to whether an administrator remembers to update it or not.

Every college is different. Most, I think, don’t ask for anything until term officially starts. You will probably be billed sometime next week.

I see that makes sense, thanks.

So if the administrator forgets to update, what is the next update I should expect?

Hi guys. Just wanted to check something. I keep hearing about how early the Oxbridge deadlines are, but when I look at their Masters courses, they all seem to have reasonable deadlines (except for Oxford with so many early November deadlines). Does the whole '15th of October deadline' thing only apply to undergrad then?

I am sorry if this is not relevant/helpful or taking up space.
Any Gates finalist here dying from anxiety? Looking at the timeline of US Applicants, next couple of days acceptances should be rolled out (if they are not out already) and then rejections come next week. Not trying to freak out anyone, but if there are any finalists here wanting to talk about this, feel free to PM me!

Hi! Sorry for bothering you. I am applying to Gates Cambridge from the US and would the deadline be in UK time or US time? I am still waiting for my references to upload their letters...

Hi people! Does anyone know if they notify your supervisor when they give you the offer? Like, what is the process from here in terms of contact with my supervisor?

Also, here's my timeline for anyone interested (MPhil Psychology):
Applied: Dec 3rd
Degree committee: Feb 1st
GAO: Feb 3rd
Offer: Feb 10th
(my timeline for movement on the portal seems to pretty much have been the same as those applying for the psych PhD. Don't know whether this holds for other departments)

Oh and I applied for the Health Data Science stream of Population Health Science MPhil, so it would make more sense that it was more technical, for context. I can't speak for other streams, I imagine the questions may be quite different

Oh congratulations!!!! very well done to you! i am not sure they actually interview all applicants, so you should be massively proud of yourself. This is a great opportunity, and I tell you, it's an even better opportunity to get to know the staff. They are lovely and quite warm so don't be nervous. But in saying so, it's Cambridge - so they always look for that something extra, particularly because it's part time and remote, so they want to ensure you're equipped to handle the work load and go above the standard expectations (which i am sure you are.)
They will just assess you on pretty much what they told you - they don't throw any curve ball situations at you but may ask you some questions in relation to practical things like ask you about what you would do in a particular situation pertaining to perhaps field work or group work but that's quite practical to see how you think on your feet and handle things based on your experience. Mine was almost the same structure but they gave us an assignment also , as well as general Qs in the end, but it was very related to the first year courses so it wasn't like something you wouldn't expect if you know what I mean.
Yes, my interview was also scheduled shortly after I applied - i think it was a week or two after.
I'd recommend you relax, enjoy the process, remember you applied to this because you love it and want to do it, show them your passion and also research the interests of the panel that will be interviewing you (most likely course director with the admissions). Tell them what you want to apply when you finish the course, why your research area is particularly important and interesting and show your true character. I've heard from my cohort it's a lovely and fascinating bunch of people from different parts of the world that is truly intersectional, so just bear that in mind. It's not a lot as it seems, it's all stuff you already know and you already are passionate about! just pace yourself, study daily, read up-to-date news and articles so you can demonstrate why it's the right course for you in how you want to apply it outside of academia. In saying so, I wish you best of luck! if all goes well, hopefully we will be studying the course of our dreams come September :-) !

Best of luck!! if all things go well, we will be class mates soon *fingers crossed* :-)
Have you heard back from the department at all? i got an e-mail after the interview saying they were unable to make a decision in the first round, so i'm in the second lot for consideration now..

Did any of you (or someone you know) get pooled to a prestigious/popular college despite not requesting one? Have you heard of that happening? Or do most pooled people just automatically go to the colleges with fewer applicants?