musicdegree4me

For context I am finishing up at a top 5 PhD program. I absolutely crush some readings and am utterly confused by others and most of the time basically get it but need to do a second read through to gather all the fine points. Talking about it with someone else after makes a huge positive difference as well. At first I thought any confusion must be due to my own shortcomings. Initially that was probably almost always true. However, as time has gone on I've realized that a decent chunk of published material just isn't very well written.

DM me.

Hello! I am looking for feedback on the reputation/prestige of the following three Neuroscience PhD programs (listed in alphabetical order) from others involved in neuroscience: 1. Cambridge 2. Oxford 3. University College London The specific area is cognitive/behavioral neuroscience. Please feel free to tailor your feedback to that particular niche, or comment on the reputation/prestige of the three programs writ large, as you are able/desire. I am especially interested in the perception of these programs in the USA but am open to everyone's thoughts, so please also provide your general location (i.e. Europe, North America, Asia, etc.) in your feedback. To be clear: I already understand the importance of research fit and PI reputation/demeanor as it relates to the current and future success of a PhD candidate and that has been duly emphasized so no need to delve into that. Thanks in advance!

I believe that Cambridge, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews all have 1 year masters programmes. I'd advise you to check LSE, KCL, and UCL as well.

What discipline is your undergraduate degree in and what are your grades? How prestigious is the undergrad and how prestigious is the MA?

I suggest applying to funded masters programs for a chance to improve your GPA.

Nothing reported yet on grad cafe, but I am told that final round acceptances went out today.

https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/ethicsinai

One caveat: If you’re hoping for funding you‘re giving away what little leverage you have left for what essentially amounts to very little gained given your last email. If, however, funding isn’t on the table then a succint email touching base isn’t a bad idea - though I’d personally wait until Friday, April 2nd since the optics will look better given it’s a friday.

I know how it feels to be anxiously waiting day after day friend. It’s very helpful to have at least some reasonable expectation around timing, though of course there’s never any certainty. Good Luck!

Quick Update: I was able to confirm 2019 and get info for 2020. 2019 acceptances went out April 4th. 2020 acceptances went out April 8th. Hope that helps everyone manage the process.

I am a DPhil offer holder. There is no breakout scheduled for the MSt Practical Ethics during the open day session, which implies that offers will not go out before the open day. Remember, this programme is offered in conjunction with the Department for Continuing Studies so it's not wholly owned by philosophy. Here is the relevant text from the pdf: Course-specific Information Sessions DPhil: Dr Luca Castagnoli, Director for Graduate Studies (remain on main link) BPhil: Dr Andreas Mogensen and Prof Volker Halbach, Course Coordinators (join this session here) MSt in Ancient Philosophy: Prof Dominic Scott, Course Coordinator (join this session here) MSt in Philosophy of Physics: Dr Adam Caulton, Course Coordinator (join this session here) -- I did some digging for you guys because I know how it feels to be waiting in limbo and while I couldn't get anything solid, so take this with a huge grain of salt, the expectation is offers will go out early - mid April. In 2019 acceptances came out (at least for the person I spoke with) on April 4th.

Just checking in on you to see how it’s going.

I know of five people who did this programme: Two are now at Oxford, two went on to the PhD at Edinburgh, and one is at Ohio State. I am however certain that this is not a representative sample (it wouldn’t be for any program). That Edinburgh is a top 30 global department and accepts from this program into it’s own PhD tells you everything you need to know about its quality. As far as I know this is the only distance masters in philosophy at a tip tier university that exists, so they surely get their pick of students looking for this type of content delivery.

I know this programme very well. Happy to answer any questions privately.

Unless you are in an underrepresented group - those GPA marks are a bit low. Are they being converted (your location is listed as Moscow) or are those US marks? If US marks, the best choice (for your application - but maybe not your wallet) is to do a masters in philosophy and get a 4.0.

Take the top 10 PhD. It's free, gives you way more options, and not that much longer than the BPhil if you hustle.

You either pursue what you love wholeheartedly or you think tactically to gain admission to a program that could at least reasonably accommodate your needs and then pursue what you love wholeheartedly. Either approach is valid.

You should still be able to apply to LSE, KCL, St. Andrews/Stirling, Edinburgh, and UCL. Bascially, only Oxbridge is out. I know people at many of these departments. PM me and we can chat.

My standard for vouching for someone to a personal friend is higher than my standard for vouching for them to a stranger and I don't think that's unusual. If you earned their recommendation then you did so on your merits.

Last year I got rejected everywhere. This year I was admitted to my top choice (Oxford) and I am under consideration for funding. My philosophical abilities didn't change. I just did some things to better position myself and make my application look better. There is a huge difference between your acumen and your application.

I spoke to a professor at Princeton. Those results are real.

USA/UK designations don't quite play perfectly well together. For instance, a UK student can earn a first class degree (roughly equivalent to a 4.0) without earning an A equivalent (a mark of 70) in all of their courses. So, a UK student might earn marks of 65,65,65,75,75,75 and average a 70 and therefore earn a first class degree. This is because the UK system goes to 100 but a 70 is an A, so in effect you get credit for A+'s in a way that you don't in the US college system. Because of this, sometimes a program considers a 3.8 equivalent to a first class degree and sometimes they want to see a 4.0. A 2.1 is roughly equivalent to a 3.3 - 3.79, but there is variance from program to program. As a general rule, for the better programs a 3.6 is the threshold and 3.7 starts to be pretty competitive, but I wouldn't take any of this as hard and fast (e.g. someone with a 3.3 or 3.4 might still be admitted, though of course the odds are much lower), as is always the case with competitive admissions.

What is your undergrad and graduate GPA?

I think a 3.6 from NYU gives you a shot at any of the listed programmes and it's worth applying to see where things shake out.