Hey chaps and chapettes.

I just graduated from Aberystwyth university with 66%. If possible I'd like to do International Relations MPhil at Oxford, but I'm under the impression the qualifying margin for a Masters there is 67%. If I get my application in early (e.g, the next two weeks), is it realistic to think that I could possibly get a place, with only a 1% fallback?

Well at the moment I'm only expecting a 2:1, and I can't help but wonder if competition for EU funding will be just as great for national funding, mainly as I'm looking at doing International Politics, which seems to have very high competition.

I'm thinking very heavily about studying for my Masters degree in continental Europe, namely Denmark, the Netherlands, or Germany. I'm wondering though, can I still get a Career Developement Loan to help funding an EU masters course?

I suppose this is comming from the Undergrads point of view * (up) *, but I've found the topics I tend to find myself getting more involved in are those which involve less direct facts and more idealogical debate.

The problem I've found as a second year within my seminars is that there are certain students who know an astonishingly commendable amount of facts on a subject, and when the Seminar tutor tries to prop up an advanced question these people tend to dominate. I have no desire to say something in a seminar only to have my argument shot down (even worse when its infront of 15 silent people) humilatingly by somebody else who's studied a topic far more indepth than me. Broader questions tend to pick up the most interest in my seminars, certainly those where people can bring there own experiences into the debate. As an example we had a Seminar on the European Unions relationship with Russia, queue one far-right chappy who made a quick jibe about how he's so far right he doesn't believe in fairtrade, and then queue his tirade about how Russia should be crippled - suddenly 14 quiet people (many of them international students from Eastern Europe or states that have benefited from fairtrade) explode into a massive debate. Great stuff.

What I don't recommend, only from my own personal experience in one of my Political Philosophy seminars, is to force people to speak. I could never get my head around Political Philisophy in the first few months of my course, and when forced to speak I absolutely made a fool of myself in a seminar - I don't particularly enjoy being publically humiliated and it certainly made me feel very uncomfortable about talking in any seminars within the following weeks.

Personally if I ever make it onto a Phd I'm going to be humiliating every cowaring student in the room - take that, Karma!

Well I've just been to all the major banks (Abbey, HSBC, Natwest, Barclays) - none of them provide loans for postgraduate funding. Looks like its the CDL route!

Right, thanks a lot! That sounds like a great plan.

I've noticed HSBC provide graduate loans specifically for postgraduate studies, so I'll look in to that also - but the CDL/Manchester idea sounds a lot better.

I take it if I finish my Masters with a CDL, and then take up a funded Phd - I'd have to pay off the CDL whilst I study? Is it possible to defer the payments until after I've finished a Phd?

Actually, bugger it. What am I complaining about. If my thinking is correct, all I need to do is get a £15000 graduate loan from Natwest, and then find a part-time job stacking shelves (thats hardly pressure)... I'd only have to earn £50 a week to cover the payments over seven years. Heck, I might even stand a chance of getting a place on a decent Masters course with a 2:1 degree at a top university, surely my odds of getting a place are better than my odds of getting funding...

Hell yeah.

*waits for the current economic climate to shit all over my cunning plan*

Anybody who says wine isn't good for thinking is a fool.

======= Date Modified 09 Nov 2008 11:52:50 =======
But as I understand it, a Masters course is going to set me back about £10,000. At the moment I have a non-registered disability called Hyperhidrosis, so a job isn't exactly something I can step right in to - how the hell I'm going to find £10,000 is beyond me.

Bugger.


Time to start working on a cunning plan.

Ah, I think theres been a bit of a misunderstanding, its a Masters I was after in the first place! Though I am considering doing a Phd in the future.

With that in mind, do you think I'd have much chance of getting funding for a Masters programme in a top tier university? I'm not too concerned now, as the more I think about it the more Manchester is looking like a more suitable choice for my Masters - its close to home etc.

======= Date Modified 08 Nov 2008 21:22:20 =======
Alright, cheers for the responses.

Heres my thinking... if I do a Masters at Manchester University I can live at home, this means I'll be able to cover the costs of the actual tuition fees with a career developement loan.

I could do a Masters in Contemporary Chinese studies, which was something I'd considered earlier, and then go for a PHD after that.

Just a thought.

-edit- Just a quick quiry, am I right in thinking that if I had a 2:i and a Masters, I'd still have a decent chance of getting funding for a PHD (depending on the cours etc)

Well thats quite pleasing to know. Do you remember what particular form of funding you applied for?

Hello folks. I'm only in my second year at the moment, but I'm looking into the postgrad business early. I'll be honest, I don't expect to get a 1st, but I do expect to get a 2:1 in International Politics from Aberystwyth.

I've been looking into doing a Middle Eastern Studies postgrad course, or something with significant international merit, but everywhere I look the Scholarships require 1st class honours degrees...

Aside from the Career Development Loan, is it actually possible for somebody with a 2:1 to get any decent form of funding within a well established university? I mean at the moment I was looking into St Andrews, Sheffield, Kings, Warwick, Edinburgh... and Oxford for a laugh, but I just cant seem to find any decent form of funding!