Take a gap year and reapply to Oxbridge?

[tyngedyriaith]

DD has been rejected from Cambridge. People with far worse grades have gotten in. She's disappointed. She mentioned retrying next year if she exceeds the standard offer?

Is it worth it considering Welsh fees are going up next year?

Needmoresleep -

From an Oxford perspective:

If you are accepted by the department (university) then you will definitely get a place at some college. This is quite unlike the undergraduate system where the colleges make the admissions decisions. If you first choice college is full then the application will be passed on until it finds a home.

College choice is generally less important for graduates than for undergraduates. Teaching/research is all university based (no college tutorials) and life is generally less focused on the college, though this does vary (arts students generally spend more time in college than sciences for example). However it is not completely irrelevant. Some colleges do have better housing and more resources generally available to graduate students. Also there a big difference in atmosphere between a graduate college and a mixed undergrad/grad college. And between a college that specializes in a few subjects and one that is completely general. In that respect graduate college experiences vary more than undergraduate college experiences.

Funding is a minefield. There is some funding that is college specific. But it should generally be the case (I think) that if you are offered funding that is college specific you will move to that college, rather than the college decision coming first. Talk to the department about funding if there are questions.

Did he get a funded place Bobo or wasn't that a consideration?

Cross post.

need, some MPhils are even shorter - 9 months. It's a big step up from undergrad.

To those of you with admissions experience, is there any way of finding out the colleges which are best for students with specific learning difficulties? Are any colleges more keen to take on these students than others?

Thanks.

Yes, DSS1 also preferred to not go to a postgrad only college. I know he also paid a lot of attention to people he met while doing internships and to the colleges they had attended - he didn't take any direct advice but observed a perceived pecking order and factored that into his decision.

goodbyestranger - no, he's self-funded.

Perceived pecking order? That puts me very much in mind of the Black Mirror episode where everybody had a 'rating'. Scary stuff!

Is the yes to funding Bobo?

Obviously the choice is narrowed if postgrad is funding dependant and a fair bit does seem to be college specific.

Sorry - cross post again Bobo.

LRD, yes his other option is a 9 month masters in London. The belief is that students register, head for the library and are not seen again for nine months. It is a big course and a hard slog, though not as bad for DS as he would be following on from a UG degree, and so will already know his way around and, more importantly, know staff.

If he gets offered both he will have an interesting choice. Knowing him he may end up with a large spreadsheet in order to score variables. Fees for the one year course are effectively double the annual cost of the two year, but then he would have college fees on top. I personally like the idea that he leave London for a couple of years, and that her has a bit more time to explore his subject. But on another level you can over think it, as you can at every step on the education path. Both courses are very well regarded and will open the doors he wants opened, which is the important thing. Hopefully he will get one, and then if the other rejects him, he can be happy the decision is made for him.

Essentially what he did when he did not get Oxbridge first time round.

Glad to know though that his casualness in college choice won't matter. I'm not sure he is a rich and comfortable sort of boy. Poor and obscure would probably suit him better.

I expect he'll be offered both, NeedMoreSleep. Lots of our friends' DCs (and DSS1) have applied for Econ Masters degrees at both Cambridge and LSE and they all seem to get both.

And thank you irregularegular, that is really useful. It is absolutely his decision, but he is likely to discuss the academics with his dad, and the practicalities with me.

I can't imagine college choice would matter much. He'll socialise with other people on the course, from different colleges.

Can he get funding for either? I'd always go for the funded one - it's not just about the money, it's about how it looks. Postgrad funding is usually seen as a scholarship and therefore a good thing to have on your CV. It's not so unusual to do an unfunded short Masters, but it's certainly iffy for longer postgrads. Mentioning this not to be snooty (my Masters was unfunded), but because it's something people often don't realise, and it can be especially difficult at PhD level.

Bob, I didn't say C...or is it c

No, but I'm just saying that our experience at that level is that when apply, you get of offers at several high ranking institutions/all your applications result in offers. It's such a self-selecting process and the students' personal tutors are pretty clued up about the sort of reference and application that secures an offer.

LRD, unfortunately funding is hard to get, as it is the the sort of Masters that is effectively a pre-requisite for certain careers. And the sort of Masters that attracts overseas students in droves, keen to add an international, English speaking, qualification to a good degree from a home University. That said Oxbridge tends to have more funding on offer than his current University who seem to use the popularity of the degree as a way of making money

Yes LRD. DD2 couldn't have possibly done a PhD without it being funded but she also said she wouldn't do it without funding because she felt it would lead nowhere without it.

At Masters level very many of her peers appeared to be self-funded - very different.

need - funding's difficult to get everywhere. But if it's a professional masters it won't matter about self-funding (I think?). So I am probably introducing an unnecessary worry.

good - yes, exactly. Though, I do know that having a scholarship at MA/MPhil level isn't irrelevant to PhD selection.

I agree, stranger. DS does not expect to do a PhD without funding, but could well have to self-fund at Masters level.

He is expecting the Masters to be a step up from UG, and therefore a useful way of finding out whether he is good enough for the step after that. (And indeed whether that is the route he wants to take.)

Cowgirls Ds has a SPLD (Dyslexia) and he found that the Oxford admissions people were extremely helpful to him sorting out what he had to do to send in the extra form & things the SFO requires. He did it himself so am not sure whether that was his specific college admissions dept or central. I can ask him next time I speak and PM with his experience if that helps, and also ask him if anecdotally, he knows whether any help he gets is any different from other colleges and to let you know what they did and whether it was all from the university rather than the college. My guess for this is the former. He was offered some sessions to discuss the help available. Not sure if his would be a little letter asterisked or not but it is a little college. Off the top of my head, if at an open day it would (if relevant) be a good thing to ask about e.g. college printing facilities. I think at his college they are good although he did end up taking one of his own. He is doing fine and my impression is that the college / university has been very helpful.

Aaah SFE not SFO - that would be taking this thread to new levels of bonkers

That's incredibly helpful Basilisk Thank you very much.

Bob, I am not sure you are correct.

First my understanding is that the graduate jobs market is stuttering, as employers try to gauge the impact of various events in the past year. So third year UGs, who would normally have expected to get jobs are now applying to stay on for a further year. It looks as if it could be quite a scramble to get onto good courses, and a falling £ won't help, though to some extent this might be countered by a post-Brexit dip in EU applicants

Second, different Masters programmes inevitably have different selection criteria, and thus set different bars for quantitative and writing skills. You are right that academic referees can advise on who might get a place where, but it is not true to suggest that everyone gets everything.