actuallyatree

I went with five, because I heard that profs don't like writing more than five reference letters. Little did I know they just copy and paste the same one over and over again.

I certainly felt that way when I got accepted by one of my reach schools. They accepted me, so clearly they cannot be that big of a deal.

How big of a difference does it make having a Masters from a world renown institution, as opposed to a school that is well known nationally, with a good reputation, but is not globally known? I ask this because I was accepted to Oxford this morning for an MSc in Comparative Social Policy. Leaving aside the higher cost of going to Oxford for a year versus staying in Canada, how much of a difference would an Oxford degree make, compared to a similar degree from Simon Fraser or UBC? Would there be additional doors opened for me, and would I have an easier time getting into a top doctoral program with an Oxford degree? Would it be advantageous if applying for work or a PhD in Europe or the UK to have a degree from a European school? So, thoughts on how big a deal going to a top ranked school is?

Got an acceptance email for Comparative Social Policy MSc. Way earlier than I thought I would hear from them. Seems like a lot of programs are processing quickly this year.

My only acceptance so far simply listed an average I had to maintain, but if they don't list a specific grade, I would imagine keeping your GPA in the same ballpark as it was when you applied is what they're looking for. You could contact admissions and see if they have guidelines for this.

"What the shit!? Double major in EE and Physics, 3.99 U-GPA, Masters in EE, 4.0 GPA. 1 Patent, 1 publication in high impact journal, 1 other submitted, 2.5 years of professional experience at fortune 500 company, 4 strong LOR, several professional certifications, bunch of awards...WTF does this school want!?!?!? The corrupt nature of American universities...All about connections and money...typical" Another person listing all the qualifications they can think of. Always amusing.

Also waiting it out. MSc in Comparative Social Policy. Website says mid to late March, which seems to be the case for everyone else I haven't heard from yet, so I've got a few more weeks on tenterhooks.

@Argo360. I haven't picked SOAS, they're just the first university to get back to me. I'm currently in the UK, to check out Oxford, the LSE and SOAS, and I live in Vancouver and go to UBC, so if you've got any questions PM me and I can answer them, or we can meet on campus somewhere.

My experience at a grad open house involved a brief talk from the Dean of Research (I believe that was his position), another brief presentation by one of the program professors, a long Q&A with that professor, and the chance to meet one on one with a few other professors from the department. We also got a tour of the campus, but the tours we being run by undergraduate students, who weren't sure where some graduate student specific resources were located, but I did get a sense of what the school is like. The one on one talks with the professor was quite useful, particularly in terms of issues like course content, methodologies, and possible research topics. You don't get a complete sense of what everyone you could we working with is like, I met two out of 20+ professors within the department, but I think it is worth going if it isn't too much hastle for you. In terms of preparing, I didn't do much, aside from looking up a few profs who had similar interests to me beforehand. Meeting the prof was nothing like an interview, but more of a conversation about the school and the program, and the prof selling me on the program, and answering my questions about the program. I don't think there is much you can do at an open house in terms of improving your chances of being acceptancel; depending on how admissions is organized, it's quite possible that no one with any say in your admittance will even be there. That said, it never hurts to make a good impression, without overdoing it too much.

TA/RA positions for Poli Sci masters students seems to be the norm in Canada, whereas it does not seem to be the case in the UK. At least one, and possibly both, of the Canadian schools I have applied to guarantee TA funding, so it doesn't look like it would set me apart from any other Canadian graduate students.

Does having TA or RA experience during a masters degree make a difference when looking for work, or applying to a PhD? Three of the programs I have applied for reserve all their TA and RA positions for their PhD students, and so leaving aside the financial advantages of having such a position, will not being a TA during my masters hurt me down the road?

Could also be a matter of the quality of statements, writing samples, etc. If a lower ranked program has an earlier deadline, you could easily submit documents that are just not as polished as those submitted to higher ranked programs with later deadlines.

I imagine if they've sent out PhD acceptances, they'll be notifying MA applicants soon?

Have you visited the schools? Even if you aren't able to meet with someone from the department, you could certainly meet someone from recruitment and admissions, which could be of some use, and you could get a sense of what the campus, the culture and the cities are like. If you're looking at the same deal in terms of funding (or as a Canadian student in the UK, the lack thereof), program quality, resources and reputation, it's the locale of the school itself that can help you decide. London you get an absolutely fantastic world class city, with everything that goes with that. Oxford you get a city that is largely connected to post-secondary education, and seem much more able to immerse yourself in that atmosphere. I personally liked Oxford a little bit more, but it was also cold, rainy and yesterday, so the tourists that turned people I know off Oxford weren't really around.

There is still the "I can not believe they did not except me" response to being rejected after applying for a PhD in English.