Signup date: 24 Aug 2009 at 12:44am
Last login: 06 Mar 2010 at 11:31pm
Post count: 412
I was wondering about the same thing. I think if you are studying for a research based postgrad degree in a uk university then you are allowed free access to it, but there is an annual fee if you want to take the books out. If you're doing a taught masters then I think you have to get the yearly membership but I'm not too sure...
I suppose it all depends on what you're looking to get out of it. You definitely won't be bored in the city of London, and you will have better access to resources (library, museums, etc...) for your research, which will be particularly useful for when you get round to doing your dissertation. Also, when you feel the need to just get away from it all and have a break, at least you know that there are loads of places to go, great places to grab a coffee or have something to eat. What do you hope to do at the end of it all? Maybe you could make the choice based on what you want to achieve at the end of it; you could choose the uni that offers the most interesting modules? Or modules that might help you get the experience you need to progress onto a phd?
Hi Jordann,
I would suggest that you go back and visit both of them and see which one out of the two you feel the most comfortable in. Also, take a look at the university league tables for your subject and see which one has the best score for research, teaching, and student satisfaction.
I know a few people who have been to Royal Holloway and absolutely loved it, but one person couldn't stand it because she said there wasn't much to do there because it's in the middle of nowhere. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for; are you looking for a quite place to get on with your studies, or are you doing a masters to continue the student life for another year? If it is the latter then the city would be great fun and you would still come out with a masters at the end of it. But if like me you procrastinate over the work, then you might be better off going where you won't get many tempting distractions!
I hope that's helped - Good luck
Just a thought....is it really the phd that is troubling you? I had similar feelings a couple of months ago. I spent some more time with family and friends and expressed my worries with them, and they really helped motivate me and made me realise why I wanted to do postgrad research in the first place. I realised that I just needed a bit of space from my boyfriend and some space from the problems WE were having.
I could be completely wrong here but maybe you just need a bit of space and 'you' time. Sorry to sound so cheesy but it's worth a thought...
But then again, I can completely understand how pressured you might have felt to accept the one with funding. However, it's always tempting to picture the grass being greener on the other side.
Hi Tester,
Thank you so much for your reply - you've put my mind at ease! I've got a couple of ideas so I guess that would propably be enough at this stage. The only problem is that they are JUST ideas at the moment. I haven't developed them enough yet to confidently have a full blown conversation about them, but I suppose that's what the research masters year is for. The thing that is very daunting is the fact that my tutor is a very reputable scholar and seems to know everything there is to know about the subject, which makes me wonder whether or not it is actually possible to come up with anything original!
Out of curiosity, were you applying to do a masters or a phd? How did it go?
Thanks again
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has any last minute tips on what to prepare for my first meeting with my new supervisor (Well, hopefully he will be my new supervisor). I'm basically going to meet up to have a chat about pursuing a research masters degree this year but I'm not too sure how far I should go with proposal preparation - whether or not it will be expected of me to turn up with a detailed proposal, or if it is ok to just turn up to initially discuss my interests. Do we even have to do a research proposal for an MRes?
Also, although I am quite familiar with the topic, I don't have a wide knowledge on the subject - is this normal at this stage? Once I am registered on the course I know that I will be fine and get stuck in to the research, but I am so nervous and worried that my tutor will ask me lots of questions that I won't know the answer to.
I would really appreciate any advice that you could give me - even about things that I haven't mentioned. I am completely new to all this stuff! It took quite a lot of courage for me to make first contact with the tutor in the beginning, just because I had such lack of confidence and fear of rejection - so I need all the help I can get!
Many thanks.
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