Applying for masters, NEED URGENT HELP!

TomCo

Hi, I just got my final results from DCU today and want to apply for a masters in
Interactive Entertainment Technology.

I was under the impression that the closing date for applications was 31st July, as stated on the TCD website

http://www.tcd.ie/Graduate_Studies/prospectivestudents/courses/taught/coursepg.php?course_id=164

But on the course page which I was checking out today the date is stated to be the 30th of JUNE!

http://isg.cs.tcd.ie/IET/

In a panic now, filling out the online application and I've come across a section on references.

References  *: 
 Please provide the names of two referees who may be contacted confidentially.
 Both of these must be academic referees unless the course documentation explicitly states otherwise.
 Please download the reference form here.

http://www.pac.ie/pgrad/downloads/TCD_Reference_Form.pdf

There's a link to a pdf, I have to find two academic people and get them to write some waffle about me and then send it to the applications office, apparently. Whats the point of filling it out online when I also have to post it anyway.

How the hell am I going to get this done by Monday, everyone in DCU seems to have taken a holiday and I dont have a lecturer who'll known who the hell I am.

Stargal

Very bad form of Trin - the closing date on the Graduate Studies website is July 31st but on the actual application form, which is far more likely to be write, it says June 30th. Boo.

Right, so you have to submit your application online and have two academic references sent in, is that right? So the first thing you have to do is tomorrow morning you have to ring PAC. They're the people who deal with postgrad applications aren't they? Basically, tell them that you have all of your stuff together for the application and you're about to submit it online but you're a bit worried because you think that the references from your lecturers could be a bit late cos they're up to their eyes with college work or something and may not have sent them in, blah blah blah.

There's the chance that they'll give you a bit of leeway, as long as you get the online application in on time and everything else is in order except the references. Explain your case to them.

The next thing to do is a) figure out who you want your referees to be and b) get in touch with them asap. Did you have a lecturer who supervised your dissertation/project? Or a tutor? Or if you were in a small class for any subject in final year, the lecturer is bound to at least remember what you look like. Figure out who you want and ring them in the morning time.

Basically don't worry too much. Lecturers always get requests for references and as long as you can get a hold of them then they'll hopefully oblige. Explain to them how urgent it is. Forget about dignity. Beg. Emphasise what a great Masters it is and how much you want to do it.

Congrats on getting your results and good luck getting all the stuff in.

TomCo

Thanks, I was thinking of asking the supervisor for my final year project and the supervisor for my 3rd year project (who was also one of the examiners of my final year project).

Hopefully I can get a hold of them tomorrow.

Are there any other nasty surprises waiting on the next page of the application form?

I have to fill out the references bit before it'll let me see the next page. Do you think it would be too foward to just fill in the details for these two people (name, position, address, phone, email) without giving them the paper form, I intend to do it first thing tomorrow morning and they're approachable people.

TomCo

Even though I'm filling out the online form, does the following have to be posted somewhere, Galway for PAC or Trinity? And do I have to print out the online form too?

I've very confused by this process, some of this stuff seems impossible to get.

Checklist of Items (to be sent with application form)

    * Application fee (form included in general application form)
    * Curriculum Vitae
    * Transcript of Academic Results to date*
    * Copies of Degree Certificates
    * 2 academic references contained in separate envelopes sealed and signed by the referee
    * If applying for research, a research proposal
    * Documents in support of your EU status (see section for International Students)

Right, application fee, assume that is paid online.

CV, got that.

Academic Results, ok, I've found my results from 1st and 3rd year. The 4th year results could arrive any time between now and november (yes november) and I cant find the 2nd year ones. I dont think those even arrived because I've searched EVERYWHERE, including the attic.

Degree Certificates, no way in hell I'll have those. Assuming its some parchment thing.

Not applying for research, dont need that

EU Status, photocopy of passport should do for that.


Edit: Has anyone actually done this before, can someone just explain the process plainly, I dont have time to read conflicting instructions on multiple websites.

Stargal

Listen, take a deep breath or something, it's not that conflicting. You seem to have it pretty clear in your head already. I had to do the same thing for my Masters application and although it looks a bit daunting it's actually ok.

You seem to have most of the documentation sorted - although technically you should have an official college transcript showing your results, rather than just a copy of each year's results but it can take a while to get that. Ring up the Registry in DCU tomorrow morning and ask them to send you a copy and then forward it to PAC asap. You have to pay a fee of about €37 online. Now you just need to get cracking on the academic references. As soon as you get your referees, email them or even drop the forms in to them. Asking your two supervisors sounds like a really good idea, just be really persistent in ringing and emailing them tomorrow.

Anything you're sending should be posted to PAC. Don't print out the online form, just send in the relevant documentation. From the PAC info page for anyone applying to do a taught postgrad in TCD:

All documentation must be posted to the Postgraduate Applications Centre, First Floor, Tower House, Eglinton Street, Galway, Ireland.

You don't have to fill in the references bit before you can move on to the next page with the online form, as you suggest. You can save each page of the application and return to it and make whatever changes you want before you finally submit it, so it doesn't really matter too much what names you put in. Might as well put in the two referees you're hoping to get, I suppose. Then proceed to the next page and you can go back and edit it tomorrow and put in the actual names of the referees that you get.

The PAC info page which I linked to above is the single best page for what you have to do.

TomCo

Phew, alright.

Tried to get in contact with my two references, but they werent there, nobody seems to be in the building. Rang the registry, they weren't that helpful.

Rang PAC, they seemed alright about it so long as there was a note explaining that the results and references were missing. They siad to ring TCD to ask what exactly had to be sent along.

Rang TCD, couldnt get through to the admissions office. The number seems to be inactive. Rang head of the computing department. She siad so long as the application was in the rest could wait.

So I completed the online application, which was submitted online (The FAQ lead me to believe it would have to be printed and posted). Made a copy of my passport, birthcert, CV, results from 1st and 3rd year and included a cover letter explaining that I was awaiting the complete results transcript and the references. Addressed it to PAC in Galway and sent it via swiftpost.

Going to leave voice mail on the two reference guys phones and ring the registry again and insist on a result transcript (I dont think they knew what it was when I rang them earlier).

So hopefully thats enough.