Kleene Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Hi all, anyone applying to Oxford this year? Let's freak out together here. What course and deadline did you apply for? Any results so far? I applied to stay on for a DPhil in Computer Science, as a current MSc student in Maths&CS. Had an interview today, and am now keeping my fingers crossed.
grad_wannabe Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I applied to the DPhil at the Oxford Internet Institute. No response yet. I have a BA and an MS from US schools. I originally submitted at the Nov deadline, but due to a paperwork snafu got pushed back to the Jan deadline. Interviews are in March, but again I don't know yet if I've received one. May I ask after your funding options?
Kleene Posted February 2, 2015 Author Posted February 2, 2015 Nice! The OII seems to be doing pretty interesting research. What college did you apply to? My funding options are those available to everyone: departmental, university, college, external bodies, or any combination of those, which will be allocated through the department. Indeed, funding is far from a sure thing, although I hope I am in a fairly good position as a continuing EU student. I am also looking at scholarships from my home country (I have a partial one for the MSc), but it seems like those are virtually non-existent.
grad_wannabe Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Applied to Balliol! Very excited about the OII, it's unique in the whole world and I love their emphasis on pure research. Plus I would LOVE to move to the UK. Worried about funding though.
Kleene Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Balliol is seriously a very good choice. We have a very open, active graduate community in the Holywell Manor annex about five minutes walking from the main site. Actually, we just had the first snow of the year so some of us went outside in the garden to have a snowball fight. Is Oxford your top choice? I am not sure how the funding situation is in the OII. I would say that it is a highly dynamic and relevant field, so I hope that it is not that bad? Edited February 3, 2015 by Kleene
mathrocks Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Hi there. I also apply to Oxford right before the January deadline. I am just curious about the interview. I am currently studying in a US college, so I am not sure how the interview process works. What kind of questions did they ask you and is the interview serious or laid-back? I am preparing for mine also. If you would rather keep it confidential, it is okay too. Thanks and best of luck.
Kleene Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) I am not sure whether my experience is of much help, because it may be slightly different for a continuing student. They asked about last term's courses and which results I found interesting. Most of the interview was centered around my proposal. Not in too much detail, but about the general topic and what in particular excites me about it. Also, the inevitable question is 'why Oxford, why this project'. I was told to be prepared for questions on my previous research, although it was not brought up during the interview. It was rather laid-back, but I tend to freak out in interviews nonetheless. Best of luck to you too! As an international student, you might get a Skype interview. (I had one last year, although other CS people had phone interviews too.) Edited February 3, 2015 by Kleene
Shiji E. Moji Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Japanese Studies (MSt), Jan 23rd deadline. Spoke to my POI within the department, who encouraged me to apply based on my research. I think this goes without saying, but I'm nervous as heck. Most (all?) on this thread are applying for their DPhil -- is a skype interview likely for a MSt applicant?
Kleene Posted February 4, 2015 Author Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) Japanese Studies (MSt), Jan 23rd deadline. Spoke to my POI within the department, who encouraged me to apply based on my research. I think this goes without saying, but I'm nervous as heck. Most (all?) on this thread are applying for their DPhil -- is a skype interview likely for a MSt applicant? That depends on whether your department interviews, and if so what is their interview method for international students. I had one last year for my MSc. Best of luck! Edited February 4, 2015 by Kleene
serenadingdarsh Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Hello! MSc international applicant here. Applied for the Jan 23rd deadline and although it's only been 2 weeks in, I'm already refreshing my email every 20 seconds. I have waking nightmares and sleepless nights. I'm assuming I'm not the only one. Glad to find this thread. At least it's another page to refresh every 20 seconds. Nail-biting, commence!
Katla Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) Japanese Studies (MSt), Jan 23rd deadline. Spoke to my POI within the department, who encouraged me to apply based on my research. I think this goes without saying, but I'm nervous as heck. Most (all?) on this thread are applying for their DPhil -- is a skype interview likely for a MSt applicant?I did an MSt there a couple of years ago and I didn't have an interview... But yes, it varies from programme to programme as Kleene says... I do think many of the one year masters, at least in humanities, are less likely to have an interview Edited February 4, 2015 by Katla
Shiji E. Moji Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) I did an MSt there a couple of years ago and I didn't have an interview... But yes, it varies from programme to programme as Kleene says... I do think many of the one year masters, at least in humanities, are less likely to have an interview Thanks for the feedback! I researched the program extensively (or what I thought was extensively), but didn't see anything about interviews. If they ask for one, I'll make sure to post that information here. Edited February 4, 2015 by Shiji E. Moji
zzsteven Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Hello, I'm an applicant before November deadline, applying for DPhil in materials.A skype interview was held on 12/18 and I got my offer on 1/8. I think the result will come out soon once you have notified for an interview. Good luck everyone !
SirLuke Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I applied to Global health no college choice and Im really excited can not wait to get the answer. :-)
jgan Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I applied for DPhil in CS. Now have an interview scheduled in next week. Very anxious about this because of my poor spoken English (being Chinese)
Feanor Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Got an offer for an MSc, having applied in October (had an interview in January 7 and received the offer in January 22). Now waiting for the college offer and any new information while freaking out about what I'll do in case I also get an offer from Cambridge.
Kleene Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 I applied for DPhil in CS. Now have an interview scheduled in next week. Very anxious about this because of my poor spoken English (being Chinese) Did you pass the IELTS or TOEFL already? Who is your prospective supervisor? (I am also applying for a DPhil in CS.)
LadyMede Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I've applied for the Mphil in Medieval English
beaniebaby Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Got an offer for an MSc, having applied in October (had an interview in January 7 and received the offer in January 22). Now waiting for the college offer and any new information while freaking out about what I'll do in case I also get an offer from Cambridge. Head's up (from a current student in another program) that it will likely take several months to get a college placement. So now that you're in, don't stress too much about hearing back on that because it'll be ages and it's needless worry
Feanor Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 I'll try to forget about it, but I'm very, very curious Did you guys get other tempting offers as well when you first applied to Oxford? Was it hard to decide?
rgwen Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) It's funny how these boards work. When I was applying to become an Army Officer, I was GLUED to a similar forum for that and I honestly think all I learned through utilizing it helped me to be successful. I'm hoping the same is true here with my Oxford applications. I applied to two English Masters programs (also college preference of Balliol) and if I'm accepted hope to continue on to a UK PhD program. Like most here, I'm fairly concerned about funding...well ALMOST as concerned about it as just getting in. My CV is pretty well rounded and I think interesting, but my undergraduate grades are pretty bad (in fact much lower than their 3.7 'requirement'). I do have some funding from my service which will cover a foreign rate of 20K tuition and 1.4k/month living for 3 years (USD). I'm hoping I can pick up the gap through the various funding options they have, but I know it's unrealistic that if I'm even accepted I'll be competitive enough for scholarship. Also, by mentioning my funding on their application I may have essentially ruined my chances of receiving their funding even though getting it would greatly set me up for success in funding the PhD. My biggest concern is getting it by year 4 where I would be completely on my own and I really can't afford using any loans on top of what I have from my last 3 degrees... Anyway, I wish everyone the best of luck (especially me) and hopefully we will all end up just where we want to be. Edited February 7, 2015 by rgwen
Kleene Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) Good luck rgwen and others. So many potential Balliolites, btw! Last year I did have a competitive offer from ETH Zürich, another world top 10 institution in my field, a lot cheaper as well. I eventually decided against it based on the social experience that Oxford could offer, but most importantly because I felt like Oxford would challenge and stretch me more. I had more to learn in Oxford than in Zürich, even though I figured lower grades might hurt my future PhD application (turned out that my grades are not lower, though). Edited February 7, 2015 by Kleene
beaniebaby Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 I'll try to forget about it, but I'm very, very curious Did you guys get other tempting offers as well when you first applied to Oxford? Was it hard to decide? Hahahaha I was actually having too much fun goofing off on a project in Brazil during application season and I forgot to turn in my applications anywhere else on time. Had already made plans to stay on in Brazil, and needless to say was pretty shocked with the Oxford acceptance. Love it here though! Anyway, best of luck to you all!
grad_wannabe Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Nope, no news here. I've been told that I should hear... 1) At the end of February if I get an interview, which would be held in ... 2) the first week of March. But funding decisions are not made until... 3) April.
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