Hi Everyone,

I am doing an MA. I have applied for an MSc because I couldn't get on the PhD I applied for this year. This MSc would normally lead to the PhD I applied for (but got rejected for)as it is a conversion masters.

I got a rejection letter for the MSc today and am absolutely devastated. I phoned up the course leader to ask why I had not been accepted.

They said the following: limited places, need to safeguard standards. We needed a reference from you from someone who recently has known you in an academic capacity. Your first degree wasn't without difficulties (I had a chronic illness). You haven't successfully completed your masters.

Could someone translate this for me please? I am still in shock and my head is swimming.

To give you some background information...my course officially finished on 15th September. However, I have had an extension on my dissertation to to financial crisis. if my dissertation was marked I would have the results back in January.

I didn't tell the masters course leader that I had an extension or the reasons why.

The academic reference for the PhD was from my masters course, however to the best of m knowledge, they only received a ref from my undergrad course and my previous job (as masters referee was on holiday).

The referee for the MSc I applied for was from my undergrad degree and my previous job.

I asked what I had to do to get on the course for 2008 and the course leader said to 'work as diligently, efficiently and as effectively on my masters as I can.'

The deadline for my MA dissertation is 15th October and my MSc course would have started on 1st October.

I applied for this course in 2005 and was told to go away and do some modules with the OU to show my academic ability and reapply. I now fee really cheated as I have gone away and done a masters and yet still that isn't good enough!!!

Do you think he course leader knows I have an extension? Do you think I had a bad reference? Do you think I can reason with them and persuade them to take me??? Am really distraught. Any advice welcome.

Hi Hattie, so sorry that you;re feeling so disappointed right now.
Before I or anyone else can answer your questions, could you please provide some more details as it sounds like quite a complex story.

1: why are you applying for a masters course whan you already have/are in the process of completing one? Are you changing academic disciplines
2: you say the MSc is a "conversion" masters for a PhD - do you mean an ESRC 1+3 studentship? IF so , these are VERY competitive. (Or am I barking up the wrong tree?)
3: Who did your references? do you have any inkling that they might not have been favourable? Can you fond out?
4:What was your undergrad history? I know you mention difficulties with chronic illness, but if you specified those circumstances, course selectors should not discriminate on those grounds.....

Thank you for answering!
1) Yes I am in the process of changing disciplines.
2) The MSc is funded.It is intended that the best students who don't want to go into industry will be selected for a PhD. (It is not an ESRC 1+3 studentship).
3) The reference for my undergraduate degree is favourable. I don't know about my masters. I am a bit worried that my supervisor might give me a poor reference because I asked for an extension. Although I guess they shouldn't do because my reasons were very valid... I applied to the Access Fund and the messed up my application leaving me with not enough money to live on. I had my phone cut off, I had no money to buy food and was nearly evicted.
4) I am better from my illness. I know lecturers shouldn't discriminate, but I'm sure in reality they do.

Lots of people get rejected and never really know why. It's happened to me. It's not nice but it's one of those things.

i am very sorry.
there isnt much i can give you as advise on the technical side
but i have faced rejection and i can absolutely understand what you might be going under

i can just say look at the bigger picture, may be u were made for bigger things
and finally this too shall pass...!!

hold on