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Oxford graduate applicants 2009/2010

billydisco

What about 70% at the end? So a 1st spot on?

Ive been told by the CS department that my offer would be a 2.1 and not a 1st....

There is a distinct difference between an offer grade and an application grade.

- Application grade: the higher it is, the more competitive the application is, and assuming a pool of all very competent applicants, it is unlikely that one with 70 can easily outshine one with 80.

- Offer grade: something on paper, either high (First or very high 2.i) for the applicant to strive for in order to prove themselves even further after the application stage, or just plain mediocre (unspecific 2.i or even unconditional) for the admission team to ensure that the (very good) applicant will be admitted for sure.

I think you should not mistake one for another. Personally, I believe that an application grade of 70 is unlikely to assist you much.

Reply 1401

market-maker

Hey all,

Just received an offer of a college place but they want a decision by the end of this month. The letter says that if funding is not yet finalised, then a "provisional acceptance" is ok at this stage but that I should contact them as soon as funding is sorted.

I'm yet to secure funds for the course and it could be a while before I'm able to do so. Anyone else in the same boat or had this experience before? If I accept on a provisional basis, any ideas on how long until I have to make a firm commitment?

Cheers

Reply 1402

hobnob

14

market-maker

Hey all,

Just received an offer of a college place but they want a decision by the end of this month. The letter says that if funding is not yet finalised, then a "provisional acceptance" is ok at this stage but that I should contact them as soon as funding is sorted.

I'm yet to secure funds for the course and it could be a while before I'm able to do so. Anyone else in the same boat or had this experience before? If I accept on a provisional basis, any ideas on how long until I have to make a firm commitment?

Cheers

As soon as possible before the beginning of Michaelmas? :dontknow:

You can't be the only person who's in that sort of position. If I were you, I'd try asking the college office (or possibly the accounts office) by when they need to have proof of funding and whether they have any specific college-internal deadlines.

Reply 1403

Lady_La

Hello everyone! Well, I was placed for reconsideration for the MPhil programme in Politics in Oxford. I want to send some supporting materials - a recommendation and a paper, however, I have no clue how to mail these. Should I email them to the politics department or send them via ordinary mail? I tried to contact Mr. M but nobody picked the phone...

any ideas? Thanks a lot for your help!

Reply 1404

chochu444

I would email the department and if they don't accept it via email, they will probably tell you to mail it somewhere. I was in regular contact with the secretary of my program, and she encouraged me to just email her everything.

Lady_La

Hello everyone! Well, I was placed for reconsideration for the MPhil programme in Politics in Oxford. I want to send some supporting materials - a recommendation and a paper, however, I have no clue how to mail these. Should I email them to the politics department or send them via ordinary mail? I tried to contact Mr. M but nobody picked the phone...

any ideas? Thanks a lot for your help!

Reply 1405

billydisco

3

Ipsen

Personally, I believe that an application grade of 70 is unlikely to assist you much.

How could getting a 1st not help?? So someone applying from Oxford, for Oxford would not get much with a 70? Theres hardly any difference between Imperial and Oxford??

Can everyone else who got an offer say which uni they went to and their 1st 2nd and 3rd year results?

Reply 1406

hobnob

14

billydisco

How could getting a 1st not help?? So someone applying from Oxford, for Oxford would not get much with a 70? Theres hardly any difference between Imperial and Oxford??

Can everyone else who got an offer say which uni they went to and their 1st 2nd and 3rd year results?

I believe his point was that having a borderline first as your application grade (i.e. NOT your final classification, but the grade you already have on paper) may not give you much of an edge over someone whose application grade is a high 2.1. It wouldn't necessarily harm you, of course, and you could still get an offer, but it wouldn't be a huge boost to your application either.

Reply 1407

Angelil

19

I got an offer in early 2007 for Sept 2007 entry. Went to Exeter and frankly had quite average grades - 68, 63, and then a 2.1 overall (don't know third year mark as my transcript doesn't give it and I'm really poor at maths!).

Reply 1408

swiftuk

9

Woohoo - got my official dept. offer today for a funded DPhil with no academic conditions :smile:

I'd been concerned about this as people had been denegrating my first degree subject.

Juding by the letter, I just need to respond in the affirmative/accept the offer, and then wait for a college? (the letter says a college place is guaranteed, just not first choice).

Reply 1409

misemefein

That's great, congratulations! Why, what was your first degree subject? And what's the DPhil in? Exciting! Yeah, they have to put you in some college, just you might be waiting a while to hear which one - or you might get your first choice, it just depends on numbers of applicants.

Reply 1410

purple_kitten

as of October I shall be at St Cross - anyone else?

Reply 1411

swiftuk

9

misemefein

That's great, congratulations! Why, what was your first degree subject? And what's the DPhil in? Exciting! Yeah, they have to put you in some college, just you might be waiting a while to hear which one - or you might get your first choice, it just depends on numbers of applicants.

My first degree is occupational therapy, which some people felt wasn't academic enough for Oxford :rolleyes:

(I do have a broad range of A-levels prior to it though - seven total, as well as a couple of STEPs which probably helped).

Reply 1412

monica_z

I have a question for anyone who knows about the 1 +3 route at Oxford. I applied and was accepted to a 1 +3 route course in which I would earn an MSc and DPhil. I already hold a Masters degree, but had only one research methods course as part of my degree, thus, I thought the 1 + 3 program would be a good fit and would provide a stronger grounding in research methodology. I also thought that admission to the 1+3 program meant that I would automatically be able to start the DPhil. However, when I spoke to the graduate admissions assistant recently, I was told that my application would have to be evaluated should I wish to continue on to the DPhil.

I am now worried that perhaps I should have applied directly to the DPhil, rather than the 1+3 route. I am worried that perhaps I don't really need the additional research courses and that I am unnecessarily adding on an extra year to my education.Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

I was admitted directly into a couple of other PhD and DPhil programs and feeling concerned as I need to make a choice about programs soon.

Reply 1413

Ipsen

monica_z

I have a question for anyone who knows about the 1 +3 route at Oxford. I applied and was accepted to a 1 +3 route course in which I would earn an MSc and DPhil. I already hold a Masters degree, but had only one research methods course as part of my degree, thus, I thought the 1 + 3 program would be a good fit and would provide a stronger grounding in research methodology. I also thought that admission to the 1+3 program meant that I would automatically be able to start the DPhil. However, when I spoke to the graduate admissions assistant recently, I was told that my application would have to be evaluated should I wish to continue on to the DPhil.

I am now worried that perhaps I should have applied directly to the DPhil, rather than the 1+3 route. I am worried that perhaps I don't really need the additional research courses and that I am unnecessarily adding on an extra year to my education.Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

I was admitted directly into a couple of other PhD and DPhil programs and feeling concerned as I need to make a choice about programs soon.

I have yet to experience the same circumstance, but I think the 'evaluation' mentioned by the Department is like comparing your end-of-MSc result with what you have had before starting the course. Usually, a satisfactorily favourable progress would be sufficient for continuation - you would not have to compete again with other candidates.

My other thought is that if you are on friendly terms with the Admissions team, you may wish to ask them if there is any chance you may be accepted directly to Probationary Research, instead of MSc, or at least do both at the same time. Although I have to admit that they may say a re-evaluation of your application is needed - or even re-application!

Reply 1414

leviathan1

2

I have a question for those that have looked into this, and particularly those who are already or have been at Oxford as postgraduate students.

I've got an offer to read for a MPhil in IR, but at the moment I could not afford the fees (about £17,000 for two years). Also I'm a home student.

Maybe someone can enlighten me as to how the university scholarships and bursaries work.

When are the college scholarships announced? How much do they tend to be and are they relatively easy or really difficult to get? I said in my application that my choice of college could be overridden on the basis of college funding.

I'm particulary interested to know when these college scholarships are announced because my decision to take up the offer or decline it and go elsewhere depend on it.

Just one last question. Is there no university-wide funding for home students (like the Claredon Fund for overseas students)?

Thanks in advance for your answers. :woo:

Reply 1415

hobnob

14

leviathan1

When are the college scholarships announced?

That'll vary between colleges (possibly even between different scholarships offered by the same college). You should be able to find out the dates via the respective college websites or, failing that, their academic offices, though.

How much do they tend to be and are they relatively easy or really difficult to get?

It varies. Some college scholarships are only worth £150 or so, while others cover the full cost of university and college fees for a year. Just how difficult it is to get on depends on how many people are eligible to apply, but it's probably safe to assume there'll always be more applicants than scholarships, though, especially for the latter type, which is presumably the one you're hoping to get. I'm afraid that unless you're lucky enough to be eligible for a scholarship few other people are eligible for, I doubt you'll find it "relatively easy" to get a generous scholarship which will cover the costs of your degree for one year, let alone for two years...

I'm particulary interested to know when these college scholarships are announced because my decision to take up the offer or decline it and go elsewhere depend on it.

Ask the colleges in question.

Just one last question. Is there no university-wide funding for home students (like the Claredon Fund for overseas students)?

No (unless you're Scottish or of Armenian descent).

Reply 1416

gunner1986

Is it to late for applying for Oxford now for postgraduate study?

Reply 1417

codflaps

gunner1986

Is it to late for applying for Oxford now for postgraduate study?

Have a look at the course that you want to apply for and see what the deadline is. It probably is a bit late though, and you are almost certainly late for funding.

Reply 1418

fleur1

leviathan1

When are the college scholarships announced? How much do they tend to be and are they relatively easy or really difficult to get? I said in my application that my choice of college could be overridden on the basis of college funding.

I'm particulary interested to know when these college scholarships are announced because my decision to take up the offer or decline it and go elsewhere depend on it.

I got word of my college scholarship in my offer letter, which was probably about a month or so ago. This might have been because it is jointly funded by the faculty and Trinity. I'd think it varies from college to college, but mine, probably because it is joint, covers full costs (the equivalent of an AHRC grant, though I'm not a home student).

I hope you get through with funding. I'd recommend you contact your faculty and ask if you've been allocated a college yet. That will at least let you know (roughly) how much longer it should be. Good luck!

Reply 1419

leviathan1

2

fleur1

I got word of my college scholarship in my offer letter, which was probably about a month or so ago. This might have been because it is jointly funded by the faculty and Trinity. I'd think it varies from college to college, but mine, probably because it is joint, covers full costs (the equivalent of an AHRC grant, though I'm not a home student).

I hope you get through with funding. I'd recommend you contact your faculty and ask if you've been allocated a college yet. That will at least let you know (roughly) how much longer it should be. Good luck!

Wow, Fleur, that's great! Congratulations, I'm really happy for you. To get the equivalent of an AHRC grant is as good as it gets. Also, it's good that your heard back from them so quickly. What programme did you get accepted to, if you don't mind my asking?

Anyway, I sent an email to the Politics and International Relations department asking if the ERSC scholarship has already been allocated (although it's a virtual impossibility for me to get it). I also asked if the department has any scholarships.

I didn't ask whether a college had been assigned to me yet, but now that you mention it I should have asked. :mad:

I may do it straight away tomorrow if I hear from them.

If I don't get some fairly substantial amount from Oxford I will be very unlikely to be able to take the offer, and will have to go to the LSE instead! So... it's all to play for! :eek3:

Thanks for the info Hobnob and Fleur! :cool:

Oxford graduate applicants 2009/2010

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