seriousmeasure

Thank you for your help and I apologise for my late reply...i was on holiday. You have been very helpful, but I am still confused about the apparent 7 year length of the PHD at Harvard.. is this usual for US? Also, would you be paid, because otherwise surely no one would do it. I would be 30 by the time I finished that course, and I would hope to have achieved some sort of income by then. Also, and I know I may be shooting in the dark asking this, but I have literally no idea what kind of candidate will get accepted into Harvard. What could I do to prepare and improve my chances? Pure intellect, wide knowledge, extra curricular, work experience, good grades... I am expecting I will get nowhere without a First for my BA so that is my number one aim.

hi brownbear, im from the uk doing my BA and looking to where to go for my MA. obviously I would love to get in to either Oxford or Courthauld, have you got any advice as someone who has gone through the application process and been successful? I know that's a pretty general question but i still have a 4th year left on my BA so am only at the beginning of research. I hope to get a first in my BA but I am (only!) at Reading and wondering if I have any chance at all at such prestigious schools.

Hi there, I have a similar query, although I am in a somewhat different position. I am from the UK and actually still doing my BA at a UK university but have to start sorting out my Postgraduate course now. In the UK it is standard to do an MA after BA then PHD, and I am pretty sure unless you're exceptional you won't get accepted to do a PHD without an MA. I want to go to a really top school to do my Postgraduate studies so obviously I'm looking at Oxbridge and Courthauld. However, I would love to move to the US and want to look at Ivy League too, but have no idea where to start. The whole US system seems alien to me. I looked on Harvard and they don't do an MA, and the PHD seems to be 7 years? I know I am being really ignorant, but I don't really know much about the US education system. Could anyone sum it up in a nutshell for me?