Behind the scenes at BSG admissions
Estimated reading time: 2 Minutes
Hi my name is Casper and like the rest of the school I am now back after a restful holiday, recharged and full of energy. I know that many of you are currently busy finishing your applications but I hope that you have also had some time off over the New Year. This entry is the first from me on the Blavatnik School’s new blog and through it I aim to give you some behind the scenes insight into the admissions process for the MPP programme.
I am originally from Denmark but have been at Oxford studying for a MPhil in Ecclesiastical history for the past two years. I am now part of the school’s programmes team with primary responsibility for admissions and am thoroughly enjoying seeing an admissions process from the other side. Apart from the purely administrative tasks, I have also had the opportunity to answer many of the enquiries concerning the course that you have submitted and it has been very exciting seeing the interest that there has been in the school this year.
The 18th of January is fast approaching however and not much time is left before it is over for this year. A small plea from us on that topic is to please submit early. When I applied for my degrees I, just like the majority, submitted very close to deadline but if it is possible please submit as early as possible. It will give us more time to process your applications and will help us in sending out answers quicker.
It is also very important to keep in mind that we do not require originals at the initial stage of the application process; scanned copies submitted through the online application system are sufficient. Another important point to keep in mind is that the initial application collation is not handled by the school but by the central Graduate Admissions Office of the University so if you do send anything initially by mail please send it to Graduate Admissions Office and not to the school.
Since we opened for the 2013/14 cycle on September 1 we have seen a steady increase in application numbers. This has given us the opportunity to fine tune our administrative processes so that we are ready for the big influx we expect in January. So, although we would like you all to apply as early as possible, it is by no means too late. No final decisions are made before the deadline has passed.
All applications will be assessed twice and thanks to those of you who submitted early we are very confident in our current system. Our aim is to get you answers as quickly as possible but, at the same time, it's important we do our best to ensure that equal care is taken with every application.
It will certainly be a very busy time for us, but also one that we very much look forward to. The school is still very small and the interaction between students and staff is very close, so it is very exciting to see who we will be with us next year. I am very excited about the quality we have seen so far and cannot wait to see what is yet to come. It looks like we will have another very talented cohort with us in 2013/14.
I am originally from Denmark but have been at Oxford studying for a MPhil in Ecclesiastical history for the past two years. I am now part of the school’s programmes team with primary responsibility for admissions and am thoroughly enjoying seeing an admissions process from the other side. Apart from the purely administrative tasks, I have also had the opportunity to answer many of the enquiries concerning the course that you have submitted and it has been very exciting seeing the interest that there has been in the school this year.
The 18th of January is fast approaching however and not much time is left before it is over for this year. A small plea from us on that topic is to please submit early. When I applied for my degrees I, just like the majority, submitted very close to deadline but if it is possible please submit as early as possible. It will give us more time to process your applications and will help us in sending out answers quicker.
It is also very important to keep in mind that we do not require originals at the initial stage of the application process; scanned copies submitted through the online application system are sufficient. Another important point to keep in mind is that the initial application collation is not handled by the school but by the central Graduate Admissions Office of the University so if you do send anything initially by mail please send it to Graduate Admissions Office and not to the school.
Since we opened for the 2013/14 cycle on September 1 we have seen a steady increase in application numbers. This has given us the opportunity to fine tune our administrative processes so that we are ready for the big influx we expect in January. So, although we would like you all to apply as early as possible, it is by no means too late. No final decisions are made before the deadline has passed.
All applications will be assessed twice and thanks to those of you who submitted early we are very confident in our current system. Our aim is to get you answers as quickly as possible but, at the same time, it's important we do our best to ensure that equal care is taken with every application.
It will certainly be a very busy time for us, but also one that we very much look forward to. The school is still very small and the interaction between students and staff is very close, so it is very exciting to see who we will be with us next year. I am very excited about the quality we have seen so far and cannot wait to see what is yet to come. It looks like we will have another very talented cohort with us in 2013/14.