Nice people thread 2 - now even nicer

LydiaJ

GDB2222 wrote: »

There are 29 colleges that purport to take students doing that combination. Yet, there are only 45 or so students each year. So, presumably some of that 29 never take any. Now, how to find out which?

Probably all 29 are happy to take Hist/Pol students, but whether they do or not each year will depend on the applicants.

For example, my Oxford college took 8 students each year to read Physics. They were open to applications from students wanting to read Physics with Philosophy. Some years they didn't give any places for Phys/Phil. Other years they gave one or more Phys/Phil places, giving fewer pure Phys places so the total number of students reading Phys (with or without Phil) was always 8. Then the Phys/Phil students did some of their Phil with the college tutors who normally taught Phil to PPE students, and I think had their special Philosophy of Science tutorials at some other college.

I imagine the same sort of thing happens where colleges that always have places for History, and places for Politics, are happy to use some of them for History and Politics students as and when they get good candidates applying.

fc123

sss555s wrote: »

Congrats to all those with kids doing well. You must be very proud.


What i don't get is why some of you "mature" students do it.

Is it to give you promotion or you want a better job than your doing right now?

Is it something you felt you always wanted to do and now have the chance?

Or is it a fashion type of thing?


Though i do training and attend exhibitions relating to my work i'd never fancy going back to do "school" work unless for some good reason i really needed to.

I have to try to answer this one.......

....me?........could be a nearly 50 something life crisis whastit......seeing the life of the young people I know that I secretly covet as my youth was cut short quite abruptly at one month into aged 24 with birth of son and I ended up in Nil By Mouth land and every hour was a consumed with struggle and angst and exhaustion....house prices were crazy back in 88 too:D.....or maybe....

...just to see if you could? Like...... could I actually create beautiful things that no-one has to wear, that no-one has to buy and don't have all the production/costing hassles (the public do like their garments at certain price points whatever the market)??....so one is always compromising to the price point and costing, therefore diluting at every step ones original 'vision'.

I wrote it in a late night mo....not going to happen for me but it's quite odd that the work I do is now very youth targetted and I do believe it's due to me going back to aged 23 in my head.

Not in real life mind....as if......:cool:

fc123

Davesnave wrote: »

Not sure how DD2 is going to get on when she hits uni.

She has a job lined up, a decent pad, and even somewhere to keep her ferret, but she is used to doing work on a grand scale. Her course is in Fine Art, and her pieces tend to be at the upper end of what is practicable for two fit persons to carry and/or squeeze through a double doorway. How is she going to manage without a 3.5 tonne van?

I realise now that we have been over-indulgent:o, but I figure the government will probably close down or seriously alter 'airy fairy' courses like hers by 2012 anyway, so the sort of 'installation' she'll be producing by then will be more in tune with a BA in Fine Plumbing.

I can just see it now:

Me: "OK, it's nicely executed and I like the way you've avoided Polyplumb, but why is there a pork pie in the pan and three piranhas in the plexi-glass cistern?"

Her: " Oh...Dad! You just don't get this at all, do you?" :rotfl:

There are a lot more jobs for Fine art grads than people realise...as long as she will compromise in a few years time (she doesn't need to now so no matter).
Greetings cards, wrapping paper and so on...massive market and all needing to employ those in tune to trends and able to communicate them in a flat piece of art.

lemonjelly

sss555s wrote: »

Congrats to all those with kids doing well. You must be very proud.


What i don't get is why some of you "mature" students do it.

Is it to give you promotion or you want a better job than your doing right now?

Is it something you felt you always wanted to do and now have the chance?

Or is it a fashion type of thing?


Though i do training and attend exhibitions relating to my work i'd never fancy going back to do "school" work unless for some good reason i really needed to.

For me, it would be because of a love/interest of the subject, and a desire to improve personally.

I did return to college a year or so ago for a qualification through 1 of my jobs. I have to say, getting back into learning something was a relatively pleasant experience.

carolt

LydiaJ wrote: »

Probably all 29 are happy to take Hist/Pol students, but whether they do or not each year will depend on the applicants.

For example, my Oxford college took 8 students each year to read Physics. They were open to applications from students wanting to read Physics with Philosophy. Some years they didn't give any places for Phys/Phil. Other years they gave one or more Phys/Phil places, giving fewer pure Phys places so the total number of students reading Phys (with or without Phil) was always 8. Then the Phys/Phil students did some of their Phil with the college tutors who normally taught Phil to PPE students, and I think had their special Philosophy of Science tutorials at some other college.

I imagine the same sort of thing happens where colleges that always have places for History, and places for Politics, are happy to use some of them for History and Politics students as and when they get good candidates applying.

That's absolutely true, but I should add that in practice some colleges never take any of a particular 'joint' course, whilst others always do - it depends on the preferences of the individual tutors. Some colleges, like Lydia's, obviously did on occasion but not always.

When I went, I remember studying a helpful 'Alternative Guide to Oxford Entrance' or some such title in book form - probably bought in Oxford? - don't recall.

I daresay this kind of stuff is available on the internet these days. It basically listed all Oxford colleges and all subjects in table form and showed you how many places had been given in each one the previous year. IIRC, it gave the figures for something like the 3 previous years, so you could build up a picture of where always seemed to take people for your subject, where occasionally and where never. Didn't give percentages of applicants v places by college, only in the university as a whole, like the official figures I linked to before, so you couldn't then plan any more carefully than that - it's possible that these days that might be on the internet too.

Google is your friend, I think!

carolt

Davesnave wrote: »

Not sure how DD2 is going to get on when she hits uni.

She has a job lined up, a decent pad, and even somewhere to keep her ferret,

Love this bit. Sounds a v cool young lady.

carolt

Just googled and found this:

http://www.headington.org.uk/businesses/tutors/oxbridge_entrance/applying_for_oxbridge.pdf

No idea how old it is, but if this is the case, then A Level grades may not matter as much as feared?

"3. Preparation for the tests
These tests are administered by the various faculties concurrently with the interview. Up to the mid-1990s, the structure, as opposed to the questions, was uniform and straightforward. Oxbridge set their own Entrance Examinations whose essence was a subject paper (in Chemistry, History, and so on) rather more challenging than its A-level equivalent, plus a General Paper. Then, to broaden access, the two universities abolished these and announced that they would rely solely on A-level grades and interview.

For Oxbridge, however, this was an unnatural act. And soon tests came first creeping and then gushing back – but piecemeal. The result is a hotchpotch: some faculties use an informal version of the old subject tests (e.g. Classics at both universities); others have frankly reinstated what are essentially the old entrance examinations (e.g. the BMAT for Medicine applications); others again use a general examination designed to test intelligence rather than subject knowledge (e.g. History at Oxford). And a few faculties genuinely do stick with the interview alone. In certain subjects, especially at Cambridge, the use of the relevant tests is left to the colleges themselves – which further bedevils applications."



And now just found this, confirming the above:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6561399/Oxford-and-Cambridge-introduce-new-entrance-tests.html

SingleSue

sss555s wrote: »

Congrats to all those with kids doing well. You must be very proud.


What i don't get is why some of you "mature" students do it.

Is it to give you promotion or you want a better job than your doing right now?

Is it something you felt you always wanted to do and now have the chance?

Or is it a fashion type of thing?


Though i do training and attend exhibitions relating to my work i'd never fancy going back to do "school" work unless for some good reason i really needed to.

Well for me, I have always wanted to further my education for career purposes but my ex husband never supported me in this endeavour....so I couldn't.

Of course, once he left and I was well enough after my breakdown, I was free to do what the hell I liked again...so I did.

My main purpose for the degree is for career progression, even though after being out of the job market for a while, it means I will have to start at the bottom again but at least I will be better placed to compete with the younger ones who have all the up to date qualifications.

misskool

GDB2222 wrote: »

There are 29 colleges that purport to take students doing that combination. Yet, there are only 45 or so students each year. So, presumably some of that 29 never take any. Now, how to find out which?

Colleges offering History & Politics
Balliol, Brasenose, Christ Church, Corpus Christi, Harris Manchester, Hertford, Jesus College, Keble, Lady Margaret Hall, Lincoln, Magdalen, Mansfield, Merton, New College, Pembroke, Queen’s, Regent's Park, St Anne’s, St Benet's, St Catherine’s, St Edmund Hall, St Hilda’s, St Hugh’s, St John’s, St Peter’s, Trinity, University College, Wadham, Worcester

Admissions criteria for next academic year
you have to write an essay and sit an exam. If you're shortlisted then worry about the interviews and the colleges.
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/history_and_politics/history_and_politi_2.html

And on another note about tutors, many colleges now farm tutoring out to postgraduate students so chatting to your admissions tutor may give you an indication of how good the course is going to be but it will be more than likely that you'll be getting the same tutors across different colleges. I tutored students from 2-3 different colleges on my specialist subject. So as long as the department has a good breadth of research going on you should be able to request for a specialist tutor.

Davesnave

fc123 wrote: »

There are a lot more jobs for Fine art grads than people realise...as long as she will compromise in a few years time (she doesn't need to now so no matter).
Greetings cards, wrapping paper and so on...massive market and all needing to employ those in tune to trends and able to communicate them in a flat piece of art.

She's chosen the college not only for its reputation, but also because of its track record for steering graduates towards appropriate employment.

While opportunities are there like those you mention, many employers have become aware that successful art students have qualities they look for. Clearly they have a skill set & creativity, but to do well, they have to be self-starters, show initiative and possess networking & hustling abilities somewhat above the average.

She has retail experience, so she sees that and the art coming together somehow.