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snowballed

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  1. Thanks for the replies. I will be doing a MSC Environment and Development at the Uni of East Anglia this fall and writing my dissertation next spring/summer. I will be actively seeking an internship or hopefully, some paid work, while writing. Of course the job must be applicable to my career. However, if I can't do that, I think I'd like to get a cabin on a lake in Croatia or something for the summer to write .
  2. Hi, I'm off to UEA, Exeter, or Cardiff for PG this fall. Doing a program in sustainable dev. or int dev and environ. The dissertation period begins in Spring 2012. I was just wondering if it was possible to work, travel, and/or do the dissertation in a different country? Seems like a lot of reading and writing that could be done anywhere. Thanks
  3. I'm a Canadian, most likely going to UEA in Norwich to pursue a post-grad program. The program starts in late September. I'm not positive I will take UEA residence accommodation because I do not want to sign a contract. Would I be crazy to show up in mid-September without accommodation locked down? AKA: hoping to find it in the two weeks leading up to school - will I be out of luck or forced to live in a crack den? Thanks
  4. I don't know how cross-nation grades transfer, or what the equivalencies are, but it is worth your while to investigate. I've got a ~69% average in school and was worried about being accepted anywhere in the UK/IE. No one could tell me what my grade equivelant was, but I would say it could be a 2.2. Now I emailed about 20 schools I was interested in and asked about admission average and work experience. Most of them replied back and took it pretty easy on the marks. Since then I applied and got into 2 of 4 (and counting). US schools are probably harder on marks than UK school - but just email the admin dept and tell your story. Find out what you need to do to be competitive, and perhaps most of all - apply. Spend a lot of time on your app. Research the shit out of it, make sure you want to go. You could get lucky.
  5. Hi, I applied to a MSC at an UK university as an international student. My progress monitor online shows nothing, but the director of the program just emailed me something like this: "Hi Snowballed, I am the director of the program and just received your application. I am very impressed by your application, range of experience and achievements. You will really like our program blah blah and benefit from interacting with our students... blah blah. I have passed your application to the admissions team and hope to meet you next september!" Great news, but.... wouldn't the director only know about me if the committee/team rubber stamped my application? I'm trying to not get my hopes up here. I applied on 30November. How does the admissions maze work in England? Does the director give initial approvals and in gets tougher when the application goes to committee? Thx
  6. I am applying to Trinity College, Cardiff, East Anglia, and Exeter in the UK (I am from Canada). All of the programs surround sustainable or international development and are 1 year taught MSC's. I am putting the finishing touches on my applications and I have a question about my application. Obviously these are practical programs, and I am applying to them because I have been out of academia for a while and without a strong undergrad resume to support me. According to many websites, I should use a SOP to tie my backgound with future goals, and how the grad program fits in. My question is: How general or specific should I be with my immediate and future goals? Currently i have 4-5 placement and internship opportunities listed that I would like to pursue. After which, I say I would like to entertain a career with (and then I go on to list 4-6 NGOs and government departments). With this level of flexibility, am I hurting myself by not being specific? To be honest, I am flexible with my future career and see a number of paths. I have thoroughly researched a variety of post-MSC internships and placements, as well as future career destinations. Will I be more successful if I am less honest and list one path that tightly corresponds to the degree? Another thing: I literally scoured 40+ university websites searching for the four programs I am applying to. It took me 3 months to narrow down my selections from 50 programs down to four (with a series of matrices and much research). Should I talk about how rigourous I was and 'pump the tires' of the school I am applying to? I have strong professional experience and my drive/work ethic is off the charts. I feel that my competitive advantage is how bad I want this and how hard I have been working to it (went back to school for two classes and got an A+B while working full time). Thanks! PS: One more thing. I have not mentioned my dissertation (other than a dissertation sized business plan I wrote once as proof that I can do it). For practical-orientated 1year dissertation schools, should I talk about what I would like to write about? I have not given it much thought yet.
  7. Thanks for the hints, I agree - does not warrant an education entry. However, taking classes on top of working full time as a way of prepping me for Grad school should help my case. "I am passionate about undertaking a graduate degree and have selected these classes to prepare me, blah blah"
  8. Hi, I am applying to four post-grad programs in the UK and Ireland this month. Currently I am in the process of updating my CV and Personal Statement - Statement of Intent. Last year I had applied to two programs and was unsuccessful, so I have gone through this process somewhat. In the last 6 months, I have taken two upper-level undergraduate courses at a new University (I live in a different city than where I got my other two undergrad degrees). Why did I take these new classes... well I wanted to test my ambition to go back to school, get my mind back in shape (4 years out of school), and also to raise my mark and prove that I am serious about getting into a MSC program. I am still in the process of completing one class, and will be applying before I actually finish this class. The class I took in summer is on my transcript with an A. My questions: 1. How would I go about listing this new university on my CV.... I have not graduated, so I was thinking about slotting it into Other Academic. 2. Should I reference this school in my personal statement.... Say how I wanted to back to school and have done so and am achieving good marks in my two classes. My professional experience is great, but my undergrad marks are not so hot - that would be the only thing holding me back. (On this keyboard I cannot use question marks, sorry about the lack of them in this post)
  9. The SOAS Distance Education Msc in Sustainable Development does not require any LORs.
  10. Hi Canadian citizen applying to UK graduate programs soon. It sounds like you guys do things much differently. We require referers to send a paper copy of the letter (signed and sealed) to the applicable uni. Is it a standard practice in the UK for the form to be filled out electronically? Or are the referers prompted to upload a PDF/Doc? thx
  11. Hi, Last winter I applied to MPA and MA programmes here in Canada. I messed up on calculating my average and failed to reach the minimum threshold by 0.07% (doh!). Both programs emphasized professional experience over marks, so I feel if my app made it to the selection committee I would have been gold. Since then, I took a Political Science course in the summer and achieved an "A", which brings my average up over the minimum threshold. They keep all my stuff on file for one year, so all I need to do is re-submit payment and new abstracts and I can be considered again. My plan was to re-apply to both of these programs in the next 3 months, however I see about 5 good international Msc programs in the UK that I am very keen to apply for and to take. That means NEW applications and I have to harass my employers again. I graduated 4 years ago and have lost all of my academic contacts, so used my previous and current employer to write a letter of recommendation for me. The questions 1. Both employers sent me the text in an email, after sending their signed/sealed/delivered/official copies to the Canadian university. Would UK uni's be open to me sending these emails as part of my application on a conditional basis? I don't want to have to harass my employers to send 4-7 copies of the same letter to a whole swack of universities (especially with my current employer, as they would in essence be helping me quit my job). Then if I get accepted, I could just get my employers to call or to send in a signed copy? 2. The one class I took in summer and worked my butt off to get an 'A', my first class in 4 years - would you use it as part of a reference? I don't know the prof other than this class, but I was very vocal and hard working and she told me I did really well in the class. I feel it could be a pretty weak letter since the prof only knows me for one class. By the way, on the last day of class - the prof. said that she would be available to write letters of recommendation, so I feel good about asking ;-). Would you take this LOR? Or should I go the dual-employer route? Thanks so much! Keane
  12. I would really like a Masters degree in something along the lines of development, sustainability, political science, international/globalization themes. I am a Canadian and have been looking into programmes in Britain, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scandinavia. Studying in those areas appeals to me for a number of reasons: - I love travelling and would value the perspective of a new education system - It seems like academic entry requirements for intl. students are lower (twice the fees) - I don't have an outstanding academic background - It seems like a number of programs are 1 year, opposed to 2 year programs in Canada My preference is to study in the U.K. since I feel the credentials would have more weight (in Canada), and there is a huge selection of programs available. However, I am intrigued by the offerings in Scandinavia. They offer Msc programs with a number of different graduating options (60, 90, and 120 credits or 1 to 2 years). Does anyone know how that would work in terms of credentials in North America? It seems to me like a 60 credit or one-year Swedish program would not have a lot of credibility. But I could be mistaken as most British Msc's are only one year. Tuition costs seem lower in Northern Ireland - does this scale with the quality of education? It seems like Irish graduate studies follow a system similar to Britain - can anyone comment on that? Any general guidance as to how to select (other than individual programs), and how well regarded different education systems may be? Thanks!
  13. It's a great place to live: http://www.internationalgraduate.net/country/canada.htm One of the highest ranked countries in the world in terms of good places to live. Clean, safe, with abundant nature and most importantly - a diverse, multicultural, and compassionate population. As an American, you probably won't have any trouble finding work here. Although times are tougher with the recession, we are the least affected of any Western nation. Vancouver and Toronto are huge cities with tonnes of opportunities, and most likely you can match up previous experience to something comparable here. We are dying for trades, health, engineering, IT, etc. Post if you have any questions.
  14. Good evening, Wow. Thank you for this information. Truly another world of potential opportunities has been opened up to me. I am interested in studying in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, and potentially Spain or Italy. However I do believe that my preference would be to study in the U.K., being that Canada is a commonwealth country. That is to say we have close ties with the U.K. and (more) similiar education and political systems, and I would imagine any U.K. (reputable) graduate degree would be instantly recognized in Canada. I now have to narrow my choices, with some preference given to options without the necessity for academic references (4 years out of school). I will keep the forum updated, and would also always appreciate feedback, suggestions and tips. Despite being initially alarmed at a less than stellar average, responses here (and from admissions officers) have been positive. The fact that I have good professional experience, international student status, and am likely to apply early - should give me some measure of success. S.
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