tirralirra

I don't think I can defer, unfortunately! The program is structured so you can work for something like a nonprofit or NGO, but my particular nonprofit is a support-raised opportunity, so the fundraising aspect of the job is the reason that I would only want to work there temporarily while getting the Oxford degree to broaden my experience and open the door to future opportunities that are based on a traditional salary rather than support raising. I could definitely take the job and go to Oxford, and I'm thinking about doing just that, but the fundraising aspect of the job makes it time-consuming, and the exceptionally low pay makes it more of a risk for doing an expensive degree. Thanks for the input! Thanks so much for the input! I can't decide if I think my current position would help my CV...I would be writing and running an internship program for a nonprofit focused on orphans, so it's at least in the field, although the work isn't law practice. Obviously the ideal would be having an NGO job and doing the degree, but I haven't been able to find any directly related legal work. Also, the legal market is so bad I've had trouble finding ANY legal job, hence the nonprofit (and it's a cause that means a lot to me, so it's not just the only thing I could find!). If my job was traditionally funded, I think doing both would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately the support-raising aspect of my job adds that wrinkle! If I don't end up taking the nonprofit position, I'm not sure what I should do in the meantime. Since it's part-time, I could and would have to work, but I do feel it would be the most beneficial if I was doing work that could at least be somewhat relevant to the human rights field, although maybe doing any kind of legal work would be sufficient. No idea, really! Agh, so hard to decide!

So after agonizing for weeks over whether or not I was going to get admitted to Oxford (for a part-time MSt in international human rights law), I was so excited to find out I was being admitted! However, I also got a job this week! The nature of my program means it's MEANT for people who work, but my work is with a nonprofit, so it will not pay much but will be somewhat relevant to my degree. I'm already a lawyer but have found that human rights work is hard to crack into and wanted to improve my chances by enhancing my critical skills in the field. I'll be doing human rights work with the nonprofit, though I will not be practicing law. My hope is that I could work for the nonprofit for several years, and when I was ready to move on, I'd be finished with the MSt and have both practical experience and a focused degree in human rights that would allow me to find far more jobs than I have been able to with my current credientials...but of course, there are no guarantees! I have student loans from law school, and Oxford would be another $30k. I can't decide if it's worth the financial risk without being able to predict whether I'll find a higher paying job in the future! I really, really want to go to Oxford, but I don't want to sentence myself to a life in debt! Any thoughts? I'm desperate!

Perfect We should just make this the thread for confusing and unhelpful e-mails! We'll fill it up in no time... I think it sounds like he recommended you to the program, but I agree that it's a confusing way to word it! I think it sounds promising, though. It sounds to me like he passed on his approval to the next step, and it's a good thing you should have a definitive answer soon!! Keep your hopes up and hang in there! Thanks to everyone who responded to this...feeling a bit better now. I think they did mean that they hadn't finalized decisions and couldn't admit/reject anyone until all decisions were made. But to add to my confusion, I got an e-mail from housing yesterday introducing me to the options even for those of us who haven't heard from our departments. But it looks like other graduate applicants had gotten previous e-mails from the housing office, so I'm not sure I understand sending them out in shifts.

Haha, that's how I felt! They definitely typed it up in a hurry. Sigh. Oh well! I guess more of the same is better than rejection, but I really wish schools put a few minutes of thought into how agonizing the process is!!

I am waiting on a UK program (Oxford), and it's part-time distance learning except 2 summer terms, so there isn't a whole lot out there! I haven't been able to find anyone online who has applied...it's designed for working people, so most probably aren't as obsessive as I am! Anyway, there were 3 deadlines for application, the final one on March 9th. Previous years it looks like people were admitted in early April, so I was hoping to hear something despite the official mid-May deadline. Due to the conflicting information, I e-mailed the department just to clarify when they hoped to have decisions made. This is what they said...word for word, and it's a bit confusing... "The response time is meant to be approximately 6 to 8 weeks and there are still decisions to be made on applications so around mid-May is about the time that we hope that to be able to tell everyone. As we are not able to tell realise any information until all decisions have been finalised." My first thought was that they have made some offers and I am essentially waitlisted (the part about there are still decisions to be made). But the last sentence really confuses me! Obviously someone wrote it up in a hurry, so any guesses as to what it means?? I'm a little hopeful in that perhaps they're saying they don't notify anyone until ALL decisions are made and there are still applications to sort through.

I'm still waiting as well, but I've been through it all before for law school apps, which took forever and felt like the longest process of my life. It definitely makes you a little crazy, but it will end soon. Maybe not as soon as you hope, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a brief part of your life that will, in all likelihood, work out for good! It's hard to know when you'll get into schools, and in my experience, predicting which ones are good chances sets you up for disappointment! I'm no good at the "whatever happens, happens" attitude myself, but having as few expectations as possible certainly helps. I think the hardest part is knowing that we have no control and we don't know when exactly the letter might come. Be gentle with yourself and don't feel bad for being miserable! It's not a fun time, but try to do some things you really enjoy, even if it feels like a chore at first! I don't know if this will be of any help for you, but when I was taking the bar exam, one of the instructors said to visualize yourself checking results and finding out you passed. Sometimes I feel like imagining success can set us up for more hurt, but at this point, you might as well assume that it is going to happen, and I have found that imagining the result I want helps me through the day. Hang in there and vent when you need to! You are not the only one being driven mad by all of this!

I'm waiting to hear about a job and about school. And no real deadline for the school! The site says "mid-May," but from what I've seen online, most people in previous years have heard in the first or second weeks of April. And people are meeting today about giving me a job but I haven't heard anything, and it's inching towards quitting time on the East Coast...WAITING SUCKS. Hang in there everyone!

So sorry to hear this, but you are for sure doing the right thing trying your best to keep calm. In my experience, most schools are pretty understanding and will come around after they get all the silly bureaucracy out of the way. That sounds like what they're doing...getting input from everyone involved, and then they'll take a hard look at it and see that they should overlook the minor problem. Be polite, but don't give up...the more persistent you are, the more they will see how dedicated you are while keeping calm and polite and reasonable. Hopefully they will see that this was a minor error that could have and would have been easily fixed if it was ever pointed out! Good luck...I know how stressful it is when something goes wrong!

I'm applying for the MSt at Oxford in international human rights law. I have an international law certificate from law school, but it hasn't been of great help to my job search. The MSt is just part-time and online except for in the summer, so it's sort of perfect for working on the side. What are you trying for?

Joining in on the waiting fun...gotta have something to keep me from losing my mind while I wait. I'm waiting on a part-time program so it's probably less stressful than a lot of you! But I've been there - I've already been to law school and must be a glutton for punishment wanting more! I just hate hate hate not knowing! I wish there was a definite deadline to hear so I could stop checking my e-mail!

Just wondering if there's anyone else out there waiting for decisions from Oxford for the part-time MSt in human rights. I feel like I've searched the whole internet looking for others! It seems to be a small program, and it's part-time and mostly online, so maybe no one else obsessing as much as I am?