Question. MSc or BSc

Former Member

Should I apply for a masters or just go for a batchelors. I'm scared if I can get in for a batchelors but not a masters. And I might not do the masters degree anyway. What would you guys say?

Former Member

I'm a bit confused by your question, you have to get a degree before you can do a masters, so you have to get your Bsc before your Msc! If you have already got a degree then you can do your masters. If you want to do a degree and are worried about whether or you'll be able to get a masters after then as long as you get a 2.1 or higher you wont have any problems getting onto a masters course. a Bsc takes about 3-4 yrs to achieve whereas a Msc takes a further yr.

Former Member

Some universities let you apply for an Msc where you apply to do the Bsc then the Msc straight after without having to apply for the Msc separately afterwards.

Personally I would say go for the Bsc if you aren't sure about if you want to do the Masters anyway. You can always apply to do it afterwards if you want to do it then.

Former Member

Yeah I agree with MoonArcanum, go for the BSc now, then you can always apply to do the final year or whatever it will be to make it an MSc... I think it's better that way round than applying now to do the MSc and then deciding not to do it after all...

Former Member

If you're not tied in to doing the masters then apply for it.

However, if it is a tied in thing and you would not get BSc credit if you left early, then don't - the majority of people at uni are unhappy with their chosen course, and a fair few choose to change course or leave.

Former Member

Thing is, I think if you apply to do a masters you need a higher grade. I'm not sure

Former Member

Will a MSc help you to gain a job in your chosen profession? If it wont then there is no point in bothering.

Former Member

gorgeoushoney1980 wrote:

Will a MSc help you to gain a job in your chosen profession? If it wont then there is no point in bothering.

why? what's wrong with expanding the mind?

Former Member

Don't know if it will help get a job. Probably not because in maths you do the maths anyway, doing a masters leads onto research based careers wheeras i want to go into applied maths careers, where I can use the stuff rather than discover it.

But a masters looks better . Lol. My brother said do BSc then do an mba in business or something

Former Member

lucifer devil wrote:

why? what's wrong with expanding the mind?

:yes:

I know I'm thinking about doing a Masters in War Studies next year purely because it interests me and I've got the chance to

Former Member

Why don't you go for teh degree course. If you get on - see how that goes for three years to begin with - you may not like your course/be that intersted by the end etc. If you then get a good degree (2:1 above) you can then apply for the Masters, which you should get on to easily if you have a 2:1 or above. If you have a 2:2 they will still probably let you on, but may ask you where you 'fell down' etc. Just see how you go! Going for a higher grade combination would mean putting yourself under more pressure.

Former Member

apply for masters easier to sort out with SLC

and your a levels wont decide if youre able to do 3 or 4 years in the course duration, your course progression will so talk to the university

Former Member

if you do well during your first year of uni... you could switch over to the masters course then. the advantage of doing a masters from the start is wrt funding - you get funding for an undergrad degree that you won't for doing a postgrad. masters. (- so you'll have to find the money to pay for tuition fees at a later date.)
my advice would be go for the bachelors... see how well you are doing with your grades at the end of the first year... then consider switching over to inc. the masters as part of your undergrad. degree. you'll also have a much better understanding at the end of your first year as to what you want to do, how good you are, and how much you are enjoying yourself to know whether you want to do it or not?!

Former Member

lucifer devil wrote:

why? what's wrong with expanding the mind?

because in our wonderful society an extra year at university is rather costly, and unless you or your parents are loaded, means that you end up in more debt. i therefore feel that unless a course will help you gain employment theres no point doing it - unless you can afford to....

Former Member

Go for the masters.

Gorgeous Honey, I'm glad I'm not you. What a sad and narrow view of the world you must have.

Cost of everything, value of nothing.

Former Member

gorgeoushoney1980 wrote:

Will a MSc help you to gain a job in your chosen profession? If it wont then there is no point in bothering.

Thats just bordering on moronic. Name me a MSc that doesn't help you get a job or a MEng.

Former Member

Kermit wrote:

Go for the masters.

Gorgeous Honey, I'm glad I'm not you. What a sad and narrow view of the world you must have.

Cost of everything, value of nothing.

I don't relaly know if I want to do a research based career though... and I'm pretty sure I heard/read somewhere that they ask for a little bit more if you apply for a masters.

Former Member

Just a note, before any more people start questioning why Shyboy is thinking about masters before he's even started his bachelors...I think I'm right in saying it's not a 'normal' apply after the first degree masters but a 'Masters in Science' (extension of BSc to MSc level - that's how it works in Bristol anyway), and if he doesn't apply for it on the offset, he might not be able to swap later.

Why not apply anyway, Shyboy? Especially if you really like the course content for the MSc bit. I think it would work out cheaper than doing a separate postgrad, because it would still count as an undergrad degree with undergrad support/fees (not 100% sure about that one - best to check out on the website). Now's probably the time to find out if what you've 'read/heard' about the grades they acceppts is correct so you know what you need to work towards.

Good luck!

Former Member

gorgeoushoney1980 wrote:

because in our wonderful society an extra year at university is rather costly, and unless you or your parents are loaded, means that you end up in more debt. i therefore feel that unless a course will help you gain employment theres no point doing it - unless you can afford to....

i'd rather be more knowledgeable and a bit more in debt thanks!

Former Member

TheShyBoyInTheCorner wrote:

I'm pretty sure I heard/read somewhere that they ask for a little bit more if you apply for a masters.

They do ask for a bit more, but if you don't ever go for anything then you will never get anywhere.

If you think you have the ability to get a place then go for it. If its touch-and-go then have a stab anyway. What will you lose?

Former Member

.

Former Member

girl with sharp teeth wrote:

You're obsessed with employment.

Have you never gone out and read something, or studied something purely because it interested you, or you wanted to find out more about it, or you really enjoyed it? There is every reason for bothering with further study if any of my above points stand. Studying improves your mind, teaches you how to think for yourself, equips you with knowledge that you can use and shows employers that you can be dedicated and work hard. The more you study, the more of these benefits you gain.

With an attitude like yours, you will end up being a liability to your kid's education and development.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Also I agree with Kermit. I am studying a Masters degree but I can change down to a BEng I think by the end of Year 2 if I choose to.

Former Member

TheShyBoyInTheCorner wrote:

I don't relaly know if I want to do a research based career though... and I'm pretty sure I heard/read somewhere that they ask for a little bit more if you apply for a masters.

thats what you need to ask yourself, apply for master you can normally revert back to BSc by end of 2nd year anyway

im at end of 2nd year and i dont know what i want still

but as im thinknig RAF or teaching i may do 3 years instead

Former Member

Kermit wrote:

They do ask for a bit more, but if you don't ever go for anything then you will never get anywhere.

If you think you have the ability to get a place then go for it. If its touch-and-go then have a stab anyway. What will you lose?

and if you dont get the place by a grade or so, talk to the univeristy, you may be able to do the BSc there still

Former Member

girl with sharp teeth wrote:

You're obsessed with employment.

Have you never gone out and read something, or studied something purely because it interested you, or you wanted to find out more about it, or you really enjoyed it? There is every reason for bothering with further study if any of my above points stand. Studying improves your mind, teaches you how to think for yourself, equips you with knowledge that you can use and shows employers that you can be dedicated and work hard. The more you study, the more of these benefits you gain.

With an attitude like yours, you will end up being a liability to your kid's education and development.

I just get really irritated with the number of people that enter into further education without thinking about their future.

And as i've said before, jobs are rather important because they enable you to support yourself financially.

And, my son is doing fine thanks for your concern.

Former Member

I thought thats what people were doing when entering into higher education? Thinking of the future?

Former Member

gorgeoushoney1980 wrote:

I just get really irritated with the number of people that enter into further education without thinking about their future.

And as i've said before, jobs are rather important because they enable you to support yourself financially.

And, my son is doing fine thanks for your concern.

Surely that is a skill in itself willing to learn because you want to expand your knowledge and skills and oen that any employer would be glad to have in an employee?

or maybe we should all just go and do GNVQ's that relate to a direct job?

Former Member

Thing is, I think I might struggle getting on the batchelors anyway. I wish there was some way to apply after we knew our results, because I could get anything from AAAA to ACCD (+ c in AS physics). It all depends!

I could just apply for the masters and the batchelors, but then if i get conditional offers I'll have to think which one I'm more likely to be able to get.

Former Member

MoonArcanum wrote:

I thought thats what people were doing when entering into higher education? Thinking of the future?

not necessarily. i finished college and didn't know what to do so went to uni. will decide what i want to do when i'm finished!

Former Member

gorgeoushoney1980 wrote:

Will a MSc help you to gain a job in your chosen profession? If it wont then there is no point in bothering.

In many cases even a Masters isn't enough. And as Lucifer Devil said, what's wrong with gaining further knowledge if that's what he wants?

Former Member

Dear Wendy wrote:

In many cases even a Masters isn't enough. And as Lucifer Devil said, what's wrong with gaining further knowledge if that's what he wants?

a masters is more than just another year, its actually doing some real research, okay not the full whack what a phd is, but youll be doing a large amount of reading, logically analysing and writing up - surely one of the most difficult skills there is out there

off the politics, if you want to do a masters, and really learn something, apply for it, if you change your mind later on, you can do so, normally by the begiining of 3rd year (which im approaching and unsure still)

shyboy, apply for what you want to do, and work your socks off for it! ALevels as a whle are a measure of effort and training, so you can do it