Graduation in Cambridge

[Guest]

[Roz]

I just thought some of our foreign friends might like to see this pic I took last week - this is the graduands of Trinity College parading through the town to go to Senate House to graduate

[savage727]

Hey Roz:

Cool photo!  Did they have a Piper in the procession?

[Roz]

Hee hee - no there are 30 of these processions that take place (one for each college) and it would drive the residents mad.

The whole of cambridge's traffic ceases up as proud parents fly in from all over the world and watch their children parade around in robes, bonnets and Urmin.

LOL

Ahh wel - I missed all this last year as I was in the Misty Mountains of Italy with my family so I was glad to see it this year!

It was quite amusing as in March Trinity College had a new Master. - which is another excuse for some robe wearing shenanigans. Anyway the huge wooden doors to the College are ALWAYS open - except perhaps very late at night or when we fear an invasion from the Americans   * Anyway the door was closed so that the Master would have to knock 3 times to be let in.

All good fun



* - there's a double meaning to the American invasion as we get thousands of American school children who come here each year for "summer schools" I have no idea what they learn because they are not taught by University staff  

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Is that you in the front there?
 
When are you having yours? Not so we can point and wolf-whistle, dear me, no

[Roz]

Hmmm let me see - best case scenario....

in 18 months finish writing up

4 months later - have a viva

then eventually graduate (fingers crossed).

You think they look silly? I am a postgraduate - I get a bonnet instead of a mortar board... you can be sure that it will take some considerable bribery to get a picture of the event on the web!

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Oh come on Roz... tis an honour to wear thy bonnet - it signifies that you have spent the last 20 years of your life in the education system! Scary thought, huh?

In the middle of my 16th year now - I'll get my mortar board next year and possibly my bonnet 2 years after that, depending whether I do a masters or PhD degree

[Roz]

2 years after first graduation you can get a PhD?  

It's 4 years here (if you want to get funding as opposed to paying for yourself then you can get lucky and do it in 3 (i.e. missing the masters degree!)

In America I think it's 6 years but apparently American undergraduates don't do a thesis for undergraduate work   (sounds easy huh) so I get the impression from that that undergraduate work is much easier in the States (hee hee) but that's not the opinion I got from one flatmate who's from America. I am not sure its easy to make generalisations about American education... there are some pretty rubbish Universities in the UK if you look hard so there are probably similarly useless ones in the US and Oz.... you just have to get into the best that you can huh?

I had a long chat with a guy from New Hampshire (not Ed/Savage 727 here) who had come to Cambrudge to do an M Stud (Master of Studies, like an MPhil but over  2 years). He seemed to think despite the fact that it took a lot less time to do a PhD in Cambridge (UK) it would be equally respected at Harvard as one of their own... but in truth I think he was the sort of person who would have told you that a Harvard PhD was far superior to a Cambridge one if you had a Cambridge one and he had a Harvard one

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Sorry, it's 3 years for a PhD here, my mistake And 4 years for a PhD/Masters combined . The university I go to is a pretty well respected one in this country and internationally (teaching and research-wise)... about half of the population is from overseas. But I wager that  it does not sound as good as an Oxford or Cambridge one, which is a pity as its a very good university. No offence to the 'established unis in the UK and US, but is the reputation overrated? I asked a friend of mine from the US why he did not go to Yale or Harvard and he said while they were very good universities, the quality of the education was not significantly better than other less well known universities. I guess that is just one opinion though!

[savage727]

Roz you are correct - there are good and not so good Colleges and Universities everywhere.  The Ivy League schools here in the United States - Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton, ect. are great schools but their are many that equal them that are not as well known.  Allot of what you are paying for when you go to these schools is name recognition, not necessarily a better education.  

[Roz]

I asked a friend of mine from the US why he did not go to Yale or Harvard and he said while they were very good universities, the quality of the education was not significantly better than other less well known universities. I guess that is just one opinion though!

Well, the sticking point is that in America you pay more to go to a more highly respected University! Whereas in the UK it's all state funded and you just pay a small contribution. The "small contribution" is the same price for all the Universities in the land at the moment. So if you get the chance to go to one of the best, you might as well go!

I've been to 2 other Universities along the way, Queen Mary in the University of London (BSc) and Southampton University (MSc). Whilst the departments I was at for my previous 2 degrees were unparallelled (Southampton is home to one of the world's 3 greatest Oceanographic research schools - and that's where I was based, I'd say the greatest but I haven't been to the Japanese one so I can't comment  ). I must admit that the general standard of all departments in Cambridge is higher, but as a student in the geography deparment it makes no difference to me what the English Literature department is like - at my previous 2 Universities my departments were great so Cambridge has not been a step up for me, although there is (as I say) a more consitantly high standard between deparments here.

Right - you all asleep?

Good!

 

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Zzzz... errrr sorry, what was that you were saying?

What I find puzzling is the overseas students (alot from the US) come to my university to do their degrees, wouldn't it be more expensive coming out to a foreign country and having to pay full fees (we have 2 types of university payment in Australia, full-fee paying which is exactly what it means and a government subsidised payment type - these places are in high demand and require higher entrance scores)? Overseas students aren't eligible for the latter and have to pay full fees - up to 10 times more sometimes. Factor in living expenses, travelling and flights home and you would probably be better off staying at home and doing it there!

Most US (and alot of other nationalities) students that I have talked to tell me that they have always wanted to do uni exchange in Australia and that the exchange program spaces for this country are one of the, if not THE hardest to get into of all countries. I wonder why? The mysterious wonder of down under? Europe is so passe I have been told... but if my degree allowed me to do it, I would go and do it in Switzerland or somewhere like that.

[savage727]

Interesting discussion you two!    I wonder how much of the "I want to get as far away from home and Mommy & Daddy as possible" syndrome comes into play here as FTY is so right - why pay so much money when you can do it for far less in your own land.  I doubt the overseas students who go to your schools pay for it themselves as where would they get that kind of money?  Most likely from their parents who may want their kids as far away from them as well!  

[ferdinand_the_yak]

Alot of the exchange kids here are bankrolled by their parents - usually supplied with 2-3 credit cards which they max out for all its worth. Insanity on the part of the parent - unless they are filthy rich I guess For example, I have a friend who works part time in a video store and she tells me how these people go into her store and try to pay for a $3 video with a credit card.

Crazy

[mcgonagall]

pity there is not a real hogwarts where we could all graduate from and go flying away on our brooms .

[savage727]

Now how cool would that be - a real Hogwarts!!  

Roz doesn't Cambridge offer Broom Flying lessons or is that Oxford?  

[mcgonagall]

I would settle for hogwarts online as long as i can graduate and become a wizard and I already have my robes.

[ferdinand_the_yak]

mcgonagall, whos that in your avatar? He looks familiar and i know as soon as you tell me I will feel very stupid. BUt I can't for the life of me figure out who he is!

[savage727]

FTY isn't that Charlie Sheen's brother?

[ferdinand_the_yak]

No idea! I did not even know he had one. maybe i don't recognise him after all

we will have to wait for mcgonagall to enlighten us!

[savage727]

Yea I think it is - something Estevez is his name.  Same father different mothers.