ekim12

belated, but antecedent: Edinburgh Uni Memes as for cellphones, if you walk along princes street all the major cellphone carriers are lined up there. Orange is good and pretty popular as is O2. I had a friend get a Blackberry knockoff from Vodafone which was nicer than mine and she liked it. I used Sprint (familiar carrier) during my semester abroad and got a dinky but functional 10 pound pay as you go cellphone and I got some plan where I'd top up 10 pounds at the start (or end?) of each month at a Tescos for unlimited texting. Skype is the best for international calls these days so didn't care so much about international rates. Antecedent, how exactly do you unlock your smart phone? Have been trying to figure this out.

Uber helpful. Thanks, Stately Plump & truckbasket!! Just finished The Iliad so The Odyssey is naturally next.

Ulysses by James Joyce. Anyone have advice on approaching/ reading/ tackling/ wrestling with Ulysses?

Not sure if you'll receive many responses from current grad students of KCL on gradcafe, but you may want to check out thestudentroom. Unless you perform miserably that year for the Masters, I can't see how the degree at KCL will hurt your doctoral prospects! KCL has a strong English department and the profs seem to publish frequently. You can use your year there to cultivate a terrific writing sample and narrow your scholarly interests. And definitely try to achieve masters with distinction (70%+). Because the relationship between British and American profs, esp. in English Lit, is so fluid, I think American profs in whatever Ph.D. programs you apply to probably will recognize so-and-so KCL prof. I suppose one negative thing is that the MAs are often viewed as cash cows for the UK unis because they charge us overseas students significantly more than EU/UK students... and we're often willing to pay b/c the MA can make us more competitive candidates for a Ph.D. in the US. Hope this helps!

Thanks, grog! Housing application finally submitted. I lived in Ramsay Hall (catered) the first time I visited London and the location's really convenient. I applied for a self-catered shared flat as I'd prefer a homier (as opposed to dormier) place. There doesn't seem to be a guarantee of uni housing however, and I've submitted fairly late, so I'm searching on gumtree for private accommodations. Ugh, the city's so new and sprawling!

I've accepted both Edinburgh and UCL, but I'm still awaiting the decision of the English department at UCL for an unconditional offer. I don't see how the British MA will hinder a PhD application. It'll bolster it, I think. In terms of teaching, don't most North American programs require doctoral candidates to teach starting year 3? I guess it depends on the program. Anyway, I know some profs in the Wellesley English department who used their M.Phil. at Oxbridge to start at year 0 with the rest of the Ph.D. candidates (at top-notch US unis). Sometimes the M.A. transfers over and you're treated like a Ph.D. student in year 3... sometimes that doesn't happen. As for other opportunities, it seems that they're available but you've just got to take the initiative. I'm a little nervous about that, given that we've only got ONE year to do that in the U.K. I'm curious about the percentage of Masters students who continue onto a D. Phil. at the uni. Do you think that obtaining a masters at the uni increases the chances that you'll receive funding for a doctoral degree later?

Anybody have advice on housing? Go the university accommodation or the private accommodation route? I've found the page on applying for uni housing, but I can't even seem to find the 'apply for housing' button. This is a problem. > Here's the page: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/accommodation/applications/application-process

I realize this is an older thread but I wanted to revive it for the sake of gathering more information about housing & UCL. Has anyone had experience with applying for postgrad university accommodation? Is it worth it? I know I'm late in applying, so I'm going to search for shared flats on gumtree as well. (The search for private accommodation is a bit overwhelming given my ignorance of the city...)

I'm still on the fence about accepting the offer. But if I were to go, I'd share a flat with my former flatmate from study abroad. She found it through gumtree! Best of luck, antecedent! Also, does anyone know how firm an acceptance to a conditional offer is? I get the sense it's not quite as binding as US uni offers?

Yes. Got my Edinburgh offer a few days ago. THE CHOCOLATE TREE HERE I COME (maybe)

not sure how helpful this'll be esp. compared to citylets or gumtree, but for what it's worth, some international students post notices on the isc fb group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/isced/

Just to chime in-- am so jealous you know you're going to Edinburgh, antecedent. I lived in the student flats off of Cowgate in Old Town, which was really centrally located and about a 10-15 minute walk max. to Georges Square or Buccleauch (sp?). Most people get around the city by foot although there are a few cyclers. There are also buses and taxis. As for weather, there were a few days when I arrived at the student center completely drenched but usually the rain's more of an oozy mist. It can get very windy. Like Wizard of Oz windy. I can only speak from 5-months experience as an American undergrad, but I loved the city and the uni. Edinburgh reminds me how America is a wee little tyke nation especially with all the history everywhere and cobbles in Old Town. Much more affordable and friendly than London, just based off of hearsay from other study-abroad friends. The International Student Centre's a great resource since you can meet fellow internationals, and they subsidize lots of weekend trips to go to a castle, loch, or brewery. I love the city so much. As for health food, http://www.yelp.co.uk/search?find_desc=health+food&find_loc=edinburgh&ns=1

to a Black Mirror convert. Misfits is an awesome combination of Skins and Heroes. Try http://watchseries.eu/serie/misfits ? Has ads and not sure how many links still work since the FBI crackdown, but you can potentially watch Misfits starting from season 1 (with Nathan) this way

Season 1 of Downton Abbey was deliciously good. Season 2 was meh. It's getting all too British soap opera-y. Sherlock is wonderful. For other British stuff, try Black Books or Black Mirror. The first is hilarious sit-com. The second is creepily plausible sci-fi.

Or, more likely, a Ph.D. to a nonacademic job. But yes, my thoughts and anxieties exactly. It's been established again and again that most people here prefer studying in grad school to working in the service industry. But given the (hypothetical) worst-case McDonalds scenario, there's got to be more incentive to the pursuit of a Ph.D than that. We're also foregoing other professional degrees that could potentially be more lucrative and/or less risky... Not that we enter academia because we expect to get rich or die trying. But at least I hope to be comfortable. Ditto. Hm, maybe a few years outside the ivory tower, I'll figure out how comfortable I am with the whole reentry thing. As for now, I plan to do lots of life stuff after my MA degree.