whatshewrote Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Ok - I applied for a Master of Studies (aka taught MA) at Oxford by the January deadline. According to their website, decisions are supposed to be made by this Friday, the 18th. And that's at the latest! But I STILL haven't heard anything, and, as time ticks away, I'm going more and more nuts. Especially because I don't know if they notify by e-mail or snail mail. Looking at the Results board, most Oxford notifications seem to have come by e-mail, which makes me happy, because I don't want to have to wait who knows how much longer in limbo while my decision travels UK to US by post at some indefinite, post-18th time. Argh! Has anyone applying for a taught program at Oxford heard who applied by the January deadline? Or, for anyone with prior experience, do they always wait til the last minute? The website also said they don't want people e-mailing them about their status, so that's ruled out... Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a fragrant plant Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I applied by the November deadline and I didn't hear the result till the end of Jan - two weeks after the decision deadline. Departments don't stick to the guided deadline, apparently. Hope you'll hear soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ0911 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Ok - I applied for a Master of Studies (aka taught MA) at Oxford by the January deadline. According to their website, decisions are supposed to be made by this Friday, the 18th. And that's at the latest! But I STILL haven't heard anything, and, as time ticks away, I'm going more and more nuts. The 18th is the deadline they ask departments to aim for. It's not a final decision date. I applied in November and got held back for re-evaluation against the January pool of applicants, and when they notified me the letter was dated for the day after the deadline, but I got the email with the letter scan about a week after that. So give it until the 26th or 27th before freaking out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt57 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I am still waiting for an MPhil, but the department itself said that they usually mail them out in early April.. so yeah, don't pay too much attention to the March deadline. I also know someone who got rejected from the Diplomacy MA through email about a week ago. So perhaps not hearing from them is a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatshewrote Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks for all the words of wisdom...although, of course, I'm not thrilled by how much more waiting it sounds as if I should be prepared for. The wait continues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lymrance Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I'm in the same boat! I just went back through my emails and the confirmation one stated: "The date by which departments are expected to make decisions on applications submitted in this cycle is 18 March 2011. You can therefore expect to hear the result of your application from the department, in writing, after this date." I think the key phrase here is "after that date" -- in other words, in who knows how many days or weeks after this date... In the meantime, I'm being pushed to accept an offer from another great school and don't know what to do. So frustrating! Why oh why can't there be some consistency between the schools in terms of an acceptable time line in which to respond within...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ0911 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I'm in the same boat! I just went back through my emails and the confirmation one stated: "The date by which departments are expected to make decisions on applications submitted in this cycle is 18 March 2011. You can therefore expect to hear the result of your application from the department, in writing, after this date." I think the key phrase here is "after that date" -- in other words, in who knows how many days or weeks after this date... In the meantime, I'm being pushed to accept an offer from another great school and don't know what to do. So frustrating! Why oh why can't there be some consistency between the schools in terms of an acceptable time line in which to respond within...? Rejected from the DPhil Development Studies yesterday. By email but it was a scanned letter, so people in the UK/Europe might be getting it by post rather than email. That's just the dev. st. department though... Good luck to you all still waiting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphonus Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Ok - I applied for a Master of Studies (aka taught MA) at Oxford by the January deadline. According to their website, decisions are supposed to be made by this Friday, the 18th. And that's at the latest! But I STILL haven't heard anything, and, as time ticks away, I'm going more and more nuts. Especially because I don't know if they notify by e-mail or snail mail. Looking at the Results board, most Oxford notifications seem to have come by e-mail, which makes me happy, because I don't want to have to wait who knows how much longer in limbo while my decision travels UK to US by post at some indefinite, post-18th time. Argh! Has anyone applying for a taught program at Oxford heard who applied by the January deadline? Or, for anyone with prior experience, do they always wait til the last minute? The website also said they don't want people e-mailing them about their status, so that's ruled out... Sigh. I'm the MSt offer holder on the results board. I received an email yesterday, with a scanned letter of acceptance attached. I was also informed in the letter that my Clarendon application was unsuccessful (still VERY happy though). Although I can't verify this, a poster on The Student Room boards indicated more emailed and snail-mailed acceptances would go out on Monday. Best of luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abraxas Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I'm the MSt offer holder on the results board. I received an email yesterday, with a scanned letter of acceptance attached. I was also informed in the letter that my Clarendon application was unsuccessful (still VERY happy though). Although I can't verify this, a poster on The Student Room boards indicated more emailed and snail-mailed acceptances would go out on Monday. Best of luck to you! I applied for the MPhil in IR in late December and I still haven't heard back from them. I live in the US, so I'm a little peeved because University of Denver's deadline is April 15th. I assume the decision is in writing via snail mail? Is there any way to find out online or via email? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feminist21 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm the MSt offer holder on the results board. I received an email yesterday, with a scanned letter of acceptance attached. I was also informed in the letter that my Clarendon application was unsuccessful (still VERY happy though). Although I can't verify this, a poster on The Student Room boards indicated more emailed and snail-mailed acceptances would go out on Monday. Best of luck to you! That is interesting to know that your department was courteous enough to let you know about the Clarendon result. The Clarendon page states that they only notify successful applicants. Did you apply for any other kind of funding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ0911 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I applied for the MPhil in IR in late December and I still haven't heard back from them. I live in the US, so I'm a little peeved because University of Denver's deadline is April 15th. I assume the decision is in writing via snail mail? Is there any way to find out online or via email? Call them explaining you have a deadline to keep - I have done this with LSE, since one of my other options said that I had 6 weeks to respond and it's getting a bit close. The admissions office put a note on my file letting the department know. I would expect if you are in the US they should email too, at least that's what happened to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownbear Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 You can find out your application outcome at Oxford by emailing the department. I emailed mine on the 18th and they replied a few hours later.. with an offer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLS Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Thank you for sharing that brownbear...i need to know whether i am accepted to give an answer to other schools awaiting my reply. I am afraid to e-mail them in case it is a rejection, but i am praying that is not the case, its my number one choice. also, what department did you contact specifically? and congrats on the acceptance!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lymrance Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 You can find out your application outcome at Oxford by emailing the department. I emailed mine on the 18th and they replied a few hours later.. with an offer! Yeah, thanks for sharing, Brownbear! I've heard such varying opinions on the subject of whether to contact or not to contact. On the one hand, I hate harassing the department and secondly, it's Oxford so I am just plain nervous to contact them, period. But I've now heard back from everywhere else and I need to make a decision. Even if they've rejected me, at this point, it's not going to be the blow it would have been if they were the first school to get back to me -- thank goodness. Oh, and I should mention that when I contacted Edinburgh with my little 'form letter' request for an update last week, they got back to me within 24 hours with an offer and a very nice email. So, right now I am a proponent of making contact rather than sitting idly by and waiting and panicking. Good luck to the rest of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLS Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Yeah, thanks for sharing, Brownbear! I've heard such varying opinions on the subject of whether to contact or not to contact. On the one hand, I hate harassing the department and secondly, it's Oxford so I am just plain nervous to contact them, period. But I've now heard back from everywhere else and I need to make a decision. Even if they've rejected me, at this point, it's not going to be the blow it would have been if they were the first school to get back to me -- thank goodness. Oh, and I should mention that when I contacted Edinburgh with my little 'form letter' request for an update last week, they got back to me within 24 hours with an offer and a very nice email. So, right now I am a proponent of making contact rather than sitting idly by and waiting and panicking. Good luck to the rest of you! Thanks Lymrance for your comment, i think i will go ahead and contact them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCantervilleGhost Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I agree, make contact. I dropped my department a short, polite e-mail on Monday, and half an hour later they replied that they were going to make me an offer (with funding) and send out the letters soon. Don't know the conditions yet though, so still very excited for the actual offer letter. If you just send a short and nice e-mail, I don't think they will mind too much, they can just ignore it if they don't have time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatshewrote Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 I agree, make contact. I dropped my department a short, polite e-mail on Monday, and half an hour later they replied that they were going to make me an offer (with funding) and send out the letters soon. Don't know the conditions yet though, so still very excited for the actual offer letter. If you just send a short and nice e-mail, I don't think they will mind too much, they can just ignore it if they don't have time. I, too, am now going to throw in my vote in favor of emailing. Thanks to everyone's encouraging words here, I emailed my department and rapidly got a polite response saying letters should be going out via email in the coming days, and they were happy to say they'd be making me an offer. (Yay!!) No further details on funding, college, etc, but it's such a relief just to know finally. Thanks again to everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indconservative Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hey guys with offers, which departments did you hear from? I applied for my course in the department of history, but I am yet to hear from them (even after mailing them twice). A bit worried! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatshewrote Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Hey guys with offers, which departments did you hear from? I applied for my course in the department of history, but I am yet to hear from them (even after mailing them twice). A bit worried! I was also an applicant to the department of History! (For the MSt Medieval Studies.) I emailed the department yesterday afternoon (at graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk) and heard back this morning. The woman who wrote me, Susanne Heinrich, said, " We expect to send the letters out in the coming days. This will be done by email." I hope this means you'll be hearing soon! Although "coming days" is pretty annoyingly vague. You could try emailing once more, maybe, since that's pretty odd that you never heard anything back. What specific program did you apply to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indconservative Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) I was also an applicant to the department of History! (For the MSt Medieval Studies.) I emailed the department yesterday afternoon (at graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk) and heard back this morning. The woman who wrote me, Susanne Heinrich, said, " We expect to send the letters out in the coming days. This will be done by email." I hope this means you'll be hearing soon! Although "coming days" is pretty annoyingly vague. You could try emailing once more, maybe, since that's pretty odd that you never heard anything back. What specific program did you apply to? Oh Mrs. Susanne? She was the one who replied me a number of times after the Jan 14th hearing date. Strangely she hasn't been replying me this time. I mailed Mr. Hubert Stadler (head of admissions, kind of, in the department) too, but no reply from him either. I applied for the MSc economic and social history programme for the november deadline, and got waitlisted in the first hearing. So I have already waited for more than 6 months from the time I applied (september) May be they are in the process of despatching letters and probably I am right at the last? Do you think something disastrous is on the way? everyone i know who has mailed their respective departments has got a reply giving them the result (either acceptance or rejection) of their application, but not me. Edited March 24, 2011 by indconservative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lymrance Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I checked my email this morning. There was an email from Oxford. I assumed it was a rejection as I've been expecting the worst. But it was an acceptance!!! They also stated the results of the Clarendon, AHRC (which I don't qualify for anyways), and the department studentships -- I didn't get any of them, but my advisor had already well-prepared me not to expect departmental funding as it is supposedly really scarce. Plus, he says lots of people are successful in getting other types I'm still waiting to find out which college I got into and whether the college is able to offer funding. Plus there's still the SSHRC competition (that's the Canadian equivalent of the AHRCs) results -- which won't be out until the end of May. Remember, I did email the department about 8 days ago to ask for an update. I don't know if this made any difference whatsoever to how fast they responded to me, but perhaps it did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatshewrote Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 I received my official letter this morning as well. Mine had no word on funding, though - it seemed to imply I had to wait for the college decision to receive any final info. Based on what I've heard, I'm not holding out too much hope for funding. I wish they'd let me know sooner though, since the letter said I had to notify them of my decision by May 1st, while I presumably won't hear about funding til after that date...which seems like kind of an unfair situation. Ah well. I'm still just thrilled to have been accepted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lymrance Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I received my official letter this morning as well. Mine had no word on funding, though - it seemed to imply I had to wait for the college decision to receive any final info. Based on what I've heard, I'm not holding out too much hope for funding. I wish they'd let me know sooner though, since the letter said I had to notify them of my decision by May 1st, while I presumably won't hear about funding til after that date...which seems like kind of an unfair situation. Ah well. I'm still just thrilled to have been accepted! Whatshewrote, Same here. My letter gives me until June 1, though! Which is great, as our SSHRC results won't be in until then. I am actually really crossing my fingers for college funding. I'm going to ask my prof how hopeful I should be (he attended Oxford for his PhD). We're going to be studying the same periods, btw! I'm doing Medieval & Early-Modern. Oh, and I also considered Leeds. I'm going to be there in July for the Medieval Congress. Don't suppose you are going...? I'd like to try to make some contacts before I go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatshewrote Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Whatshewrote, Same here. My letter gives me until June 1, though! Which is great, as our SSHRC results won't be in until then. I am actually really crossing my fingers for college funding. I'm going to ask my prof how hopeful I should be (he attended Oxford for his PhD). We're going to be studying the same periods, btw! I'm doing Medieval & Early-Modern. Oh, and I also considered Leeds. I'm going to be there in July for the Medieval Congress. Don't suppose you are going...? I'd like to try to make some contacts before I go! Another person with a medieval interest - how cool! What is your focus? I also wonder if funding is more abundant for PhD students... I guess I'll just have to wait and see, although I have no idea how I'm going to go about making a decision. Unfortunately, I won't be in Leeds for the Congress this July. I hope you have a great time! Are you attending or presenting? I certainly hope to make it there in the future, whether or not I wind up at Leeds or elsewhere in the UK. Lymrance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kar3n Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Too bad I learned about this site just now, it wouldn't have been nice to have someone to talk to during the excruciating months of application. I too have applied for Oxford last January. Then 2 weeks after I got an email that my application will be re-evaluated this March. I sent an email last Monday to follow-up and I got a response today that March applications will be sent out next week... So here I am still waiting what the results will be. @Lymrance and @whatshewrote: CONGRATS TO BOTH OF YOU for getting accepted!!! Lymrance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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