Not Newnham either...!

[compilerbitch]

Hmm...

I just got back from a gruelling trip to Mallorca and back (I'll probably post about that separately later), so I phoned the Board of Graduate Studies again to check on progress with my college application. It seems that my papers are with St. John's now. It's therefore the case that Newnham must have rejected my application.

Extended rant follows. Apologies in advance...


This is a bit of a shock, after what I'd been led to believe. I've not had anything back from Newnham to this end, I just discovered it by phoning the BOGS graduate admissions people and asking them to check the status of my application. I don't know why I was turned down.

I'm getting a bit nervous about this trend. Trinity said no, but that was not terribly unusual since they are so oversubscribed anyway. From what I've heard, St. John's are pretty similar to Trinity in the kind of people they take, so it seems very unlikely that they will say yes either. As for Corpus, my 4th choice, I probably have to assume a no also, since as a slightly richer college that can offer 3 years of accommodation they are also doubtless very popular.

The prospectus says that BOGS will keep circulating my papers until they find a college that will take me. But, what happens if none of them do? The rules say that I have to have a college. The prospectus says that BOGS guarantees to find me one. But, again, what if they don't? What if all the colleges say no? Do BOGS force one to take me?

And in any case, if it takes Johns another month, then Corpus another month after that, it only leaves six weeks before the beginning of October. Not much time, and probably zero chance that I'd get accommodation. My funding is bare-bones minimum -- I'm going to find it really quite hard financially if I have to live out.

Waaah. What the hell is so wrong with me??? I know I have a nonstandard background, but I was good enough that the department offered me three separate PhD places! So why is my experience with the colleges so different? I mean, Newnham are supposedly desperate to recruit compsci graduates to cover their supervision needs, and I was told they normally only turn someone down if there is doubt about the provenance of the evidence of their past academic career, or if there are funding problems. Neither of those things could possibly have been a problem (although Teesside, in their infinite lack of wisdom, did manage to lose my M.Sc transcript, but that should have been more than adequately covered by written statements I got from my lecturers at the time).

I do remember that in rare cases Oxford graduate students did end up collegeless, in which case their default membership of Halifax House (a pseudo-college somewhat analogous to Cambridge's Grad Pad) did suffice as regards University admission rules, although they were undoubtedly seriously disadvantaged in comparison with someone with a 'real' college place. From what I've read of the Cambridge rules though, this doesn't seem to be an option at Cam.

I think what I'm probably going to do is just start to look for private rented accommodation in Cam and then figure out how I'm going to manage to pay for it. Any improvement on that will be a bonus, but I'm not expecting much now.

Comments

[yvesilena.livejournal.com]

Eeeargh! No! Newnham stupid! What's going on?!

I'm sure SOMEBODY will take you... but I have to say I'm really surprised about this... ouch *hugshugshugshugshugshugshugshugshusghugs*

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :-|

I'm planning on phoning BOGS again to talk through various 'what would happen if' scenarios.

I suppose I'm having a bit of a self doubt crash right now, with thoughts like 'what happens if *no* college will take me?'

It just confuses me that the department *really* wanted me, but it seems the colleges *really* don't. I just wonder if I've screwed up my application somehow. But I put *so much* work into it (like a couple of solid months, back before I started work on my current contract job), I just don't know what I can have done so badly.

OK, yes, I've got a very nonstandard academic background. That *could* be it, I suppose, but it would be infinitely preferable to actually *know* why I've been turned down.

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

To add my voice as a partner in surprise: from what I know of your academic background I would have thought Newnham would have snapped you up as quick as anything. Goodness knows what's happening there. :(

With regards to nonstandard academic backgrounds, I get the impression that these are much less of a problem for the graduate/mature student colleges (Darwin/Wolfon/Lucy Cav etc.) -- so even if the undergrad colleges find it for some reason an insurmountable problem, sooner or later your application will get to one of the grad ones.

*puzzled*

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I just don't know. They seem desperate for compsci graduates in order to meet their supervision requirements -- I have a year's experience as a full university lecturer in compsci (at Sunderland a few years ago), so I'd have thought that this might be at least a little bit tempting.

I don't suppose I'll find out why they dropped me. It is usually not policy to give out that kind of information, for fear of legal retribution. I have asked, but I very much doubt I'd get a reply.

There could be an age thing going on, I suppose -- at 35 I'm a fair bit older than most graduate students, but I'd have thought that this might be a plus (i.e. more stability, less likely to flip out under stress, etc.) rather than a minus. Certainly, when I was an admissions tutor at Sunderland, good mature students were a prized commodity in that a few good ones amongst a predominantly younger course typically helped hold things together much better, taking the load off the tutorial system. This is partly why I'm 99% certain I won't find out why I was dropped -- I remember Sunderland having extremely strict policies on that kind of thing.

We shall see how things go with Johns, but I'm not hopeful at this point. I suppose the thing I'm most worried about is BOGS not finding me a college place by October, and/or not getting accommodation as a consequence of getting a place very late. Either of these outcomes would be a major pain, if not terminally serious in themselves.

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

Lack of college accommodation is less of a problem than it used to be -- ISTR there are quite a lot of private places available for rent (the house prices in Cambridge encouraging people to do the buy-to-rent thing) and the colleges have been putting their rents up fairly substantially over recent years. I had the choice of living in college accommodation during my doctorate and chose not to. A lot of college housing for most colleges is in fact nowhere near the main building, so socially living privately is not too much of a problem either. And you get to choose your preferred environment as opposed to having a broom cupboard thrust upon you.

Having said that, it is a hassle. I hope it all turns out well in the end.

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[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

That's good to know. What would, if you don't mind my asking, the typical cost be for a room in a shared house, ideally in the Maddingley Road area (i.e. near the computer lab)?

(Thanks, by the way)

[gnimmel.livejournal.com]

It depends on whether it's a room with a group of people who are renting a house and have a spare room, or a house which is broken up into rooms by a landlord and each rented separately (the latter being more expensive). At the old fluffhouse we paid around L200 a month each, which is probably on the low end. Currently we pay around L300 a month each, which is for two people sharing a house. The West Cambridge site is largely surrounded by fields and colleges, however, so finding housing near it might be a problem.

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

That's not too bad. Leo & Gemma have already expressed an interest in getting somewhere jointly, so it may well be a very sortable problem. I'm not that bothered about proximity to the computer lab -- it would be nice, but anywhere with parking would make life relatively simple for me.

Thanks -- you have succeeded in cheering me up quite a bit!

[liv]

Shame! Much sympathy for being messed around. Not knowing how things will work out practically must be killing, apart from anything else.

Deeply unhelpful of Newnham not to inform you they'd rejected you though. I should think they wouldn't bother passing your papers on to Johns if the latter had already filled all their places?

St. John's are pretty similar to Trinity in the kind of people they take
Don't say that in the hearing of anyone from either college! They're similar in that they're both big and rich and can afford to be picky, but beyond that they tend to be picky in different ways, I think. In my completely uninformed opinion, Johns is much more your sort of place than any of the other three you mentioned.

Anyway, the best of luck. May I join the ranks of people waiting expectantly for you to hear some better news soon?

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- your support is very much appreciated.

As I see it, there are two major problems with my background. One is obvious, so I'll not mention it further here. The other is that I didn't go the A-levels or undergraduate degree route, so I can't say (for example) that I have 5 grade A A-levels and a first. I can say that I have an advanced M.Sc, and that I effectively founded the research area of my PhD during my M.Sc thesis research, though. However, it would take a compsci to understand that stuff (and probably only a small percentage thereof would *really* understand, since compsci is such a large subject area these days). I don't think Newnham have any compsci fellows at all, so my application would probably be completely incomprehensible to whoever happened to read it. As a consequence, their not being able to fall back on counting A grades could well have been what did for me.

But, this is all supposition.

Being realistic, I need to find out from BOGS what the worst case outcomes are, and do whatever I can to make contingency plans for these eventualities.

As regards my papers going to Johns, I don't know if they would have gone there if they were full or not. Undoubtedly though, I think I probably have less chance now than if my papers had got there a couple of months ago. On reading the Johns web site, it does seem that they like applications to be in early (I'm already well past the cutoff date for studentships, although that isn't a problem now anyway after I arranged my own finance).

It's funny, really, in an ironic way. While I've been seen to be incredibly paranoid over every last detail of my application, and been seen to go to very extreme lengths to arrange my own funding (several people thought I was nuts in doing this, because -- surely -- my department should be able to sort all this out for me), it does look like my fears have been well founded. For whatever reason, I've found that people *don't* give me the benefit of the doubt. I *don't* normally get the breaks that other people take for granted. Almost certainly this is related to prejudice of some kind or other, it's certainly not just paranoia on my part. I'm used to having to fight for everything, usually tooth and nail, and I fully intend to continue to do so.

I'm not that easily beaten!

[ixwin.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

That's a nasty surprise.

Hoping it all turns out well in the end...

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I'm sure all will be ultimately well. I'm just being overpanicky I think, really.

[ixwin.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're being overpanicky at all I'd be feeling exactly the same in that situation.

[fluffymark]

EEEEEEEEEEP! *shocked*

No idea what is going on. I'd seriously expected Newnham to take you, and now you're just being messed around again with no explanation. No faun at all. Thats awful.

Still, given my experience with the applying to cambridge for a PhD thing giving me a nasty shock, you've passed the main hurdle.

Good luck with the other colleges. Good news will wing its way towards you soon.

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[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I called BOGS about an hour ago and asked in detail what the worst-case scenario is:

1. I shouldn't get panicky, because it isn't at all unusual to be taken by a 3rd or 4th choice college

2. There can't be anything wrong with my application, or I'd not have been given a place. (Yeah right, but that's what she said word for word)

3. If I fall through all 4, they will choose a 5th based on the criteria any remaining colleges have set.

4. If that college says no, I will go into the pool. Apparently, I am guaranteed a place, and they guarantee that this won't overrun October 1st.

5. College accommodation does indeed get less likely as time goes on. However, at this point in time, no colleges are full up, so I shouldn't worry unless I fall out into a 5th choice or pool.

So, I resolve not to worry from now on. It seems I *am* guaranteed a college place in time. I'm *not* guaranteed accommodation, but from what I've just learned in this thread, that isn't a disaster by any means.

I'm now a bit happier, although I must admit to being miffed that Newnham turned me down still.

Anyway, must go catch a train!

(Thank again all who replied - it means a lot)