Would I do it all over again?

This is probably the toughest question people ask me.

Short answer: ask me in ten years

Long answer: don't really know; it was all so uneven

When I think of GGD, I think of all the cool speakers I got to meet in Diplomatic Practice. Field trips. Some interesting concepts. And, well, getting to be a student at Oxford.

But I also think of how frustrating and depressing the whole thing was. Having to spend most of my time having to deal with shit and issues that shouldn't have had to come up if the programme had been managed better.

I never really learned what global governance was exactly. As for the diplomacy part, it scared me out of wanting to be a potential diplomat for at least the next several years.

Many other things frustrated me:
-- GGD was way too small. Too few resources. Would have liked more class options. And a larger number of students would have been nice too. Oftentimes it got way too claustrophobic for me.
-- My main experience in the university-world was with my honestly middling undergrad university. Relatively small school where most of the students were apathetic about politics and learning in general but overwhelmingly nice people. The people that ran the place genuinely cared about the students and no one was screwed over, even if that meant sacking one of the teachers who for whatever reason hadn't worked out. One thing I really enjoyed was the open debate allowed in class, where you could look at an issue from all angles. Whereas at Oxford it was difficult to impossible to question the party line of the 'liberal-left' without consequences. Heaven forbid if you read a newspaper other than The Guardian. I certainly will never call myself a liberal again after that experience.
-- It was next to impossible to meet people outside your immediate programme at Oxford. Talk about silos and structural barriers. This probably would have been different for me if I had been at a different Oxford college.

Well, I do have a Master's degree from Oxford. Nothing can take that away from me. And who knows what value dropping the 'O-bomb' will have in my future. Lord knows now it is more of a liability than an asset.

Now that I have the Oxford degree to put up on the wall, I do want to do more grad school in a couple years.

Knowing what I know now, what kind of school will I look for next time?
-- One with more political diversity, with people both to the left and right of the 'liberal-left'
-- One with a greater sense of community not broken in into dozens of colleges and a frustrating bureaucracy that limits and divides accountability
-- It doesn't need to be one of the top five schools in the world, just a place where I want to be everyday and get something out of every day.
-- A greater link to my research interests

But then again I might get into Cambridge and find it hard to say no to them too!

Not too late to apply

For those that didn't hit the January deadline, there is still one more application cycle. Many people my year applied in March so don't think all the slots have been filled up.

You have till 13 March... good luck

Congrats to everyone who got their application in yesterday

It takes a lot of work to apply and write the frustrating statement of purpose. But you can't get in if you don't apply.

Based on my experience, should get a answer back by the end of February.

Hitting 1,000

This blog started in November, and we've just passed 1,000 hits!

More on the statement of purpose

I'm starting to get asked this question a lot, even by non-GGD applicants to Oxford. It looks like my earlier post on the statement of purpose has been picked up by Google and is driving new traffic to the site. I'll try and go more in depth into this one page super pain in the ass.

Try to keep your statement under a page and 4 paragraphs or less.

Oxford says:

A statement of purpose: you should give an account of your motivation for study at Oxford. You may wish to consider a number of issues: what relevant academic, research or practical experience do you have? Why are you applying to this particular programme of study? What areas of study in the subject interest you? The statement of purpose should be one page long and should be submitted as a separate sheet enclosed at the end of your application

For the first paragraph:
--sentence on what degree you are applying for
then --> how your academic / working experiences have brought you to the point of wanting to get a master in whatever (I'd limit this to six sentences max, should also serve to forecast what the next 2-3 paragraphs will be on).

for the second paragraph:
-- why exactly are you interested in GGD degree? Why the development studies department? What would like to accomplish or study while at grad school? Why is this the programme for you? good chance to link your interests to what the programme offers... this is also where you could mention what you could uniquely bring to the programme too

for the third paragraph:
-- what options are you interested in studying? possible dissertation topics? why is GGD/QEH/Oxford the place for this?

maybe a forth paragraph?
-- if so, keep it brief... three sentences max just closing things out and thanking them for their time and consideration

I'd really try and treat it like a job cover letter. Try and keep it practical. Eliminate unnecessary adverbs and adjectives or flowing description. But make sure it still flows well point to point. And read it ALOUD to people you trust to give you their first immediate impressions.

Good luck!

A quick note for those applying for this week's band deadline

Don't trust DHL to deliver your application on time! They have a very high failure rate. Google "Fuck DHL" or "DHL lost my package" for more!

More posts next week

Have moved and finally got full access to the internet again. I'll try and have some more posts ready next week after I get everything unpacked.

If I could, would I do it over again?

coming next... probably the toughest question I get