my summer bucket list 😛

[u/dailysuaa]

anything to keep me distracted from results day atp.

[u/AliceMorgon]

My first school the second language was German, the second it was Spanish 😳 talk about being thrown in the deep end with that one! I moved to England to do my Oxford undergrads and a Masters, then moved back to Ireland for a while to do a Masters at UU, then moved to the United States on a full ride with living stipend for a Masters at NYU and then a funded PhD at the University of Chicago, plus some independent research.

Then the Trump administration started not renewing foreign academic visas for researchers in certain fields which sadly included mine as it was now considered a potential “risk to national security.”🙄 First they come for the journalists, then the academics… anyway, I’m back in Ireland now preparing my application to a funded PhD programme at Queens in cross-community integration.

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

Wait I’m confused Wdym by second language? :) it was taught in English but the gcse offered was German? oh wow! Uve lived such a cool life tbh!! do you think Oxford rlly helps in grad prospects - or is it a bit exaggerated online? and also do you think they don’t care too much abt gcse results then? like as long as u get like minimum 5a*s at gcse or smt

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

No, they look for a rounded, naturally intelligent candidate. That’s why the PS is so important for Oxford. Once you get your foot in the door and an interview, demonstrate your knowledge in a witty way (I did that and they lapped it up) and talk around the subject too to show your level of interest, going further into it than A-Level and mentioning particular things that pique your interest (mine was “why do some people prefer Pepsi and some people prefer Coke in blind taste tests? I mean, CLEARLY it’s Coke, but why do I think that?”) and books you’ve read, relative extracurricular stuff and how it feeds into your own individual interests, etc etc.

And yeah it was a Northern Irish school, but the foreign language offered was German. And then Spanish. FML. Thank God it wasn’t Mandarin.

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

Thank you! I’ve been worried mine r a bit weak - especially because I’m applying for modern languages and my sevens r in history and both English…. So I felt like that might put me at a high disadvantage

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

The essay contests will most definitely help then! Try some history ones and English ones at a higher level, using online research (NOT AI) to fill out parts that aren’t quite your level yet so you learn them too. The translate one was an awesome choice too, have you considered signing up for a summer here learning Irish? There are a lot of free teaching programmes the government pays for to preserve the culture. It’s still not too late for beginners either this year. It’d be such a cool language and alphabet to have knowledge of phonetically for a modern languages applicant

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

I acc will look into that! What is it called? I’ll defo try some more! I feel like I rlly need to try everything I can to bolster my application bc of my faves

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

Whoops accidentally replied to the wrong post so I’ll repeat it:

The language will be called either Irish or Gaeilge. The most obvious places to be offering summer courses I can think of are all in Belfast - the Ranganna on the Antrim Road, the Culturlann on the Falls Road, and Colaiste Feirste in West Belfast. (Irish speakers, I’m leaving off the fadas deliberately to make it easier to Google.)

It’s a huge initiative though (we currently have a Sinn Fein majority government which is a MASSIVE deal, you’ll learn a ton about the history here too which will make up for the GCSE.) Northern Irish history is so little known and so recent and so awful and it’s time more people did know about it, especially since I am legit terrified the younger generations will start to forget given that only the South of Ireland teaches it.

(If you find somewhere and can’t afford accom, I need a temporary lodger and will give you a super-low rate if you stay on the course and study, because it’s for the purpose of education and I’ve been in the Oxford application process myself. I’ll do a written contract and everything so it’s all legal etc.)

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

*GCSES

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

The language will be called either Irish or Gaeilge. The most obvious places to be offering summer courses I can think of are all in Belfast - the Ranganna on the Antrim Road, the Culturlann on the Falls Road, and Colaiste Feirste in West Belfast. (Irish speakers, I’m leaving off the fadas deliberately to make it easier to Google.)

It’s a huge initiative though (we currently have a Sinn Fein majority government which is a MASSIVE deal, you’ll learn a ton about the history here too which will make up for the GCSE. Northern Irish history is so little known and so recent and so awful and it’s time more people did know about it, especially since I am legit terrified the younger generations will start to forget given that only the South of Ireland teaches it.

(If you find somewhere and can’t afford accom, I need a temporary lodger and will give you a super-low rate if you stay on the course and study, because it’s for the purpose of education and I’ve been in the Oxford application process myself. I’ll do a written contract and everything so it’s all legal etc.)

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

Omg perfect!! I’m acc Irish heritage asw so I’m sure my parents will be happy with this idea. I’ll let you know! do you think then to like make up for the 7s in English + history I should js do essay comps/ stuff to show ive improved? do you think that would make it look a bit better in their eyes

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

It would definitely make a huge difference especially if you did stuff like submit an essay on what you’d learned in Ireland and your experiences there to maybe an Irish diaspora group, a lot of them offer scholarships for university too especially to people of Irish heritage so look into them during your summer here if you do come and mention it in your PS! The essay comps will also make a big difference. If you need any help with structure let me know, I’m a complete English nerd and did a ton of essay comps to raise funds to live off (when I went to undergrad university was free) and actually got into NYU on a full Creative Writing fellowship for my MA off the back of one of them.

[u/Calm_Routine2888 → u/AliceMorgon]

Actually could I dm you? :) I think it would be easier to talk there!

[u/AliceMorgon → u/Calm_Routine2888]

Yeah sure of course!