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Exams and applying for Master’s courses

This presentation covers the importance of exams and the requirements for applying to Master's courses. It also provides information on how to handle different scenarios and offers tips for preparing and performing well in exams.

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Exams and applying for Master’s courses

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  1. Exams and applying for Master’s courses John Aldrich These slides will be emailed to students afterwards

  2. Topics for today • Examinations—relevant to everybody • Applying for a Master’s—for students applying for admission in 2015

  3. Good marks and bad marks The usual requirement for admission to a Master’s course is a first (average of 70+) or upper second (average of 60+) A fail is a mark <40. (Visiting students get no credit for modules they fail) A bad fail is a mark <25. (If you fail a module this badly you have to re-sit the exam in August in order to obtain DipHE or to pass the year for 2+2)

  4. Passing the DipHE or passing the year (2+2 students): more details 40% in every module gives a pass overall A mark <40 in one or two modules may be compensated for by good performance elsewhere. More than 2 failures cannot be compensated for and have to be taken again. A mark <25 cannot be compensated for by good performance elsewhere. For the precise rules see Progression, Determination & Classification of Results on http://www.southampton.ac.uk/socscinet/ug/forms.html

  5. Examinations The exam is the most important form of assessment—accounting for 80-90% of the mark for the module. There are university procedures for everything connected with exams. You will receive information on these procedures.

  6. Exams—when? The first semester exams are held in a two week period at the end of the semester between the 12th and 24th of January (including Saturday 17th.) You should receive your timetable about now. You also receive information about exam procedures. Study the rules carefully.

  7. Exams—what can go wrong You are ill or something happens that is not your fault to prevent you from taking the exam. You may ask for special considerations. You are not well prepared. This is your fault.

  8. Illness & Special Considerations If you are absent from an examination you must contact the Student Office on the day of the missed examination or at the very first opportunity after the illness to discuss the reasons for missing the examination. If you have grounds for believing that your performance in examinations or coursework merits special consideration, you must ensure that this information, with supporting documentation, is submitted to the Student Office. For details see Special consideration form at http://www.soton.ac.uk/socscinet/ug/forms.html and University student medical guidelines at http://www.soton.ac.uk/socscinet/ug/forms.html

  9. Preparing • You should go to the exam knowing the subject AND • knowing what you will be expected to do

  10. What is expected • Ask the lecturer • The exam rubric • on the module’s Blackboard site • Past Examination Papers • Accessible through SUSSED • The lecturers’ feedback on past exams • http://www.soton.ac.uk/socscinet/ug/examfeedback/index.htm

  11. In the exam—the rubric • The rubric is the set of instructions printed at the top of the exam paper. • Follow the instructions • Thus if you are told to do FOUR questions, then answers to 3 can give no more than 75% and answers to 5 will include one wasted effort. • If questions are unequally weighted, then pay attention to the weights when organising your time during the exam.

  12. Calculators In some exams you need to use a calculator. Check whether this is so for your exams • The calculator must be a University-approved calculator. (These are sold in the University Union shop.) • Any other kind of calculator will be confiscated and you will have to do calculations in your head.

  13. Your answers • Read the questions carefully and try to answer the questions asked rather than ones you wish had been asked. • Show your reasoning: the examiner is interested in your reasoning and can only give marks for what is on the page. • If a question should take 40 minutes and you write your answer in 20, then most likely you are not including enough detail.

  14. The results—in February • If you have failed any modules you will receive a letter from the Student Office. • You should consult your tutor about resits. • You cannot resit a paper you have passed. Resit marks are capped at 40%. So there is no point in failing deliberately!

  15. Making sense of your results Read the Exam feedback for the units you have taken. It may be worth seeing your script. If you wish to, you should contact your tutor NOT the module lecturer. Note that Marks are not negotiable. Scripts are not re-marked.

  16. Looking ahead for 2+2s: applying for Master’s courses For a Master’s course in 2016/17 you apply in semester 1 of 2015/16. This year there is nothing to do except • get the best marks you can in your courses • talk to third years about their experience in applying for Master’s courses.

  17. Applying for a Master’s 2015 • Choosing courses/universities • Writing a Personal Statement • Getting references • Timetable

  18. Choosing • Myadviceis apply for the subject you are most interested in at the best institution that will take you. • Entry requirements vary across universities and within universities across courses, so check that you’re being realistic.

  19. Which course/university ? • Get advice from your lecturers and other local academics. Talk to other students—especially ones doing Masters. • Look online. • This information is free and easy to collect—you should not need to pay an intermediary to get this information.

  20. ‘Good’ institutions—where they are • There are many international comparisons of universities—see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_and_university_rankings • UK newspapers produce rankings of universities—see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_of_universities_in_the_United_Kingdom These rankings are to help 18 year olds decide where to go for their first degree.

  21. ‘Good’ departments • The Economic and Social Research Council is a major funder of research in the UK. • It has a list of departments it judges good and a map of where they are http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/postgraduates/prospective-students/where-can-i-study/index.aspx

  22. ‘Good’ research—the REF Every 5 years the research performance of UK universities is reviewed—the REF or RAE (old name). The results for 2014 are due out in 2 weeks. The most recent review is RAE 2008. For Accounting & Finance see http://www.rae.ac.uk/results/qualityProfile.aspx?id=35&type=uoa For Economics & Econometrics see http://www.rae.ac.uk/results/qualityProfile.aspx?id=34&type=uoa

  23. Looking at course online: examples • Southampton Finance & Economics http://www.southampton.ac.uk/economics/postgraduate/taught_courses/msc_finance_and_economics.page?#entry • LSE Finance http://www.lse.ac.uk/finance/prospectiveStudents/mscFinanceFT/Home.aspx • Warwick Finance & Economics • http://www.wbs.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/finance-and-economics/

  24. How many courses to apply for • If you buy 2 lottery tickets you double your chance of winning. • If you apply for 2 courses, you double the cost but you do not double the chance of being accepted. • In the selection process academic achievement/promise counts for almost everything with only a small random element. • Making lots of applications wastes money and time.

  25. Personal statement • When you apply the university will ask you about yourself. • This is called a personal statement. • Universities vary in what they expect.

  26. PS interpretation 1 Under PS the Southampton form says • Please give details of any other relevant information, e.g. publications, prizes, awards etc. A list is enough!

  27. PS interpretation 2 For some institutions the PS is your account of why you want to study the subject there. • Your account should be short, well-focussed and written in good English. The PS is the only piece of your work the university sees and you want to make a good impression.

  28. References • Most universities ask for 2 academic references. • The core of the reference is an assessment of your academic ability based on your marks. • Make sure that your referee knows about any special considerations (e.g. illness) that have affected your exam results.

  29. Choosing referees • The ideal referee knows that you are good from personal experience but all lecturers have access to your academic record. • Natural choices: a lecturer who has taught you and your personal tutor. • If you are applying to a UK university you should choose at least one Southampton academic—the university will want to know how well you can perform in English. Academics expect to act as referees but it is always polite to ask them before giving their names.

  30. The process • When you apply online you give your referees’ contact details including email address. • The University will email your referees. • The referee writes the reference and uploads it on to the University’s applications website. (There is no printed paper reference.) • Be patient with your referees—they may have a lot to do. • You can usually track the process of your application

  31. Timetable—applying • Apply when you need to: universities have different deadlines (some have none) and you should check their arrangements on-line. • The application season opens in October and many students apply in November/December. • However it is better to apply when you have some Southampton results to report. You will not have results until February.

  32. Timetable—the outcome • If you are successful, you will receive a conditional offer: the university will take you for the specified course provided your degree is of a certain class. • When your degree class is known in summer 2015, the university will take you if you meet the condition. • Sometimes it will accept you if you have just missed the target.

  33. Summary • In choosing a course/university get advice. • Entry requirements vary, so check that you’re being realistic. • Success depends on youracademic performance.

  34. Next semester’s modules At the start of next semester you have the opportunity to revise your choice of modules. You may want to do this because you want to change pathway You should check the rules to establish that what you’re proposing makes sense

  35. Not overloading Student Office At certain times the Student Office is very busy writing letters on behalf of students. You can speed the flow for yourself and other students by • making sure that all your details are correct • by not returning to ask for the same letter to be rewritten.

  36. Any Questions?????

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