This is not Kansas

[nmg]

Today is another UCAS day, so in order to give myself a treat before that starts, I'm looking at postgraduate applications. I'm currently assessing an application from a Chinese student who has provided a full transcript of his degrees. This transcript includes such wonderfully named courses as:

• Dialectics of Nature
• Theory and Practice of Scientific Socialism
• Review of Chinese Traditional Culture
• Military Theory

Comments

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

Entirely off the record, my experience with Chinese students would suggest that you should under-rate their qualifications. A student with an M.A., for instance, may only be up to what we would consider B.A. standard.

It may work differently in the sciences, of course.

[nmg.livejournal.com]

I've got the material from NARIC concerning equivalence, who reckon that his masters is equivalent to a UK masters. The candidate has a good track record in industrial R&D, and a good publication record, which helps.

But yes, I've had similar warnings before, and I've seen that promising Chinese candidates on paper can turn out to be very different in person.

UCAS days

[autopaginator.livejournal.com]

Do you know if spare enthusiastic studenty people are needed on these days? If I wouldn't scare people off, I'd love to help, the ucas day was crucial for me to pick here.

Re: UCAS days

[nmg.livejournal.com]

I'll ask around and get back to you.

bizarrely enough

[autopaginator.livejournal.com]

my other influences were
. a chap on a linux audio mailing list had a soton.ac.uk address
. totl.net (found through the urban sports (bus-tipping) page)

Re: bizarrely enough

[nmg.livejournal.com]

Er. You do realise that the chap on the linux audio mailing list is almost certainly also a member of TotL (it's either Steve or Nick)?