Writing an admission application.

So I want to apply for a masters degree in the UK, and for the past weeks I haven't gotten through the purpose of study part of the application, I am unsure of what tone should I take in it, whether extremely formal, or more casual or a good mix of both, I'm struggling hard to not include my personal divagation and ramblings on the subject but i keep thinking that they may look for a more personal statement on the subject than a very formalized (i will do this, i would hope to achieve that, etc) one. At the same time I fear being too personal might make me sound very naive and unprepared. So help me out watmm, what are your experiences, what do you think is the best approach?

what subject? you're in mathematics IIRC?

Yep. But this would be a bit of a change of subject, I'm trying to get into complex systems.

i got into my MA program by being brutally honest...im not sure if id necessarily recommend that...

and you are in the UK, I have no idea how the selection process works there.

I can tell you that its a racket over here..they look at your GPA, GRE scores, and your school...and usually toss it based on that.

Im paranoid lately about getting into a funded PhD program because my GRE scores are horrible. (FUCK STANDARDIZED TESTING, SERIOUSLY)

I'm not in the UK but the programme is (actually, it's joint programme from a number different universities across europe but the HQ, so to speak, is in the UK).

  On 10/31/2011 at 7:27 PM, GORDO said:

I'm not in the UK but the programme is (actually, it's joint programme from a number different universities across europe but the HQ, so to speak, is in the UK).

ahh ok...in that case they might look at GRE scores. is it a PhD track program? in that case you definitely need to score as high as you can on the GREs...i heard theyve revamped them to not be as retarded as the previous editions, so you should probably apply right away to ensure your scores get delivered in time.

Last I was told anything below a 1350 isn't even considered for funding (which means im SOL)

oh GORDO, you're such an eager beaver. would you look at that shining face of yours in the mirror! atta beaver!

you're absolutely shining and you have to believe in your shine, my little beaver. you're radiating eager positivity and that's the most important thing ANYONE could ask of ANYBODY!

PS. pls don't GORDO this up :(

???

flol iep.

An no, i don't think they will ask for GRE stuff. I'm just very undecided about what/how to write in as my motivation for wanting to get in.

automatic writing is the way to go.

lol

Firstly, these things are 95% BS. If it's anything like my experience (I'm American, went to Trinity College Dublin for my MSc) all they'll care about is your undergrad performance and to a lesser extent your references. Just write a simple, concise essay in a confident (but not arrogant) tone, much like you would in a cover letter if you're applying for a job. So if you want to study X, you could write about...

How you first heard / came to be interested in X

Why you think X is important / why you want to study X

What you see yourself doing after you complete your studies in X

etc.

Good luck & easy listening

yeah I've heard from a few professors - best way to get accepted - find a prof whose work interests you, and build a connection with that prof before you even apply. Just e-mail saying why the work that prof is doing interests you and so on.

I mean obviously they're still gonna look at how you did in your undergrad work (mostly upper level classes is what they care about,) but yeah if you build that connection and sell yourself to a prof, then you're gonna make life much easier for yourself.

Say something like you have always enjoyed learning maths and want to begin a career where you'll apply mathematical tools to real world issues. You therefore believe studying MSc Complex Systems is the natural route to take to help you develop your applied mathematical techniques and further understand how maths can be used to understand and predict complex systems and problems, and solve complex issues.

I work at a uni in a slightly related area (health economics and decision modelling) and teach on several masters courses. Happy to take a closer look if you want

What uni are you applying to?

I believe the Pod can help you out, in fact I recommend copying the opening lines of his novel verbatim

  On 11/1/2011 at 6:09 AM, xxx said:

  On 11/1/2011 at 5:08 AM, chenGOD said:

yeah I've heard from a few professors - best way to get accepted - find a prof whose work interests you, and build a connection with that prof before you even apply. Just e-mail saying why the work that prof is doing interests you and so on.

I mean obviously they're still gonna look at how you did in your undergrad work (mostly upper level classes is what they care about,) but yeah if you build that connection and sell yourself to a prof, then you're gonna make life much easier for yourself.

This is the truth. Graduate school is more like a business proposition unless you're doing something very general like an MBA or summat. Target the faculty who have research interests similar to what you want to do and get to work. We live in a great age where any faculty web page will tell you everything you need to know. Be persistent. My friend is at FU Berlin (it's Freie Universität, not an insult to Germany) getting a Ph.D in sociology and he targeted faculty in his area. Some of them were rude and dismissive but he kept at them, they softened and finally warmed to his ideas and now he's very successful for his first year.

It tends not to be like that in the UK, at least for many universities and many graduate courses, however you're right if you're looking to do a PhD (in fact, the normal route is to speak to a Professor or academic first to get them as a supervisor, which you'll need when you apply.

For a Master's course you could find out who the course director is, and email them. Believe me, they'll be more than happy to have a 10min phone chat and you can ensure that it's the right course for you. That's all we want, is the students who want to be on that course. If you do that then when your application drops into their inbox it's likely they'll remember you (no reason why in your application you can't say "I spoke to the course director informally and felt reassured by this that MSc XX is the right course to help begin my career").

It's the course director who holds the power, because they approve the applicants.

Other advice is as usual, big up your academic abilities because they need to know you're good enough to pass the course. They'll have your overall grades but it's good to break these down into key modules (if true, say about how you never re-sat an exam or failed a module, what stats packages you can use, etc).

The main point is to say where you are now, where you want to be in the future, and therefore why you need to do this MSc to achieve that (it's a simple equation).

all good advise and funny jokes, thanks watmm.

  On 11/1/2011 at 5:50 PM, GORDO said:

good advise

lol, get a spellchecker for the final application <3

a spell checker wouldn't help with that word.

yo if you want to do a MSc Complex Systems you should know bout context-sensitive spell checking algorithms, damn beaver, you really GORDO'd this up :/

  On 11/1/2011 at 9:52 PM, GORDO said:

a spell checker wouldn't help with that word.

Hire me as a proof reader.

Qualifications - Grade A asshole, long-time moderator of popular IDM board.

im offering this service bono fide just hit up my PM box

LOL fresh as always!