Exchange Diaries  

Nikita Kishore | Humanities and Social Sciences

Cambridge University, England

What motivated you for MPhil? From where did you get the motivation? How did you handle your preparation with your academics?

I was highly motivated due to the Summer School I attended at the London School of Economics during my summer vacations after the second year. Doing a one-year MPhil course after graduation in Economics is a good option personally compared to a job or a direct Ph.D. after graduation. PhDs in the US generally seem to be quite stretchy and tedious, which is why they offer an option to drop out of a Ph.D. in the middle with an M.Sc. degree. However, since I will have completed my graduation already, I reconsidered going for a Ph.D. at this stage. This is why I chose to apply for MPhil. Also, I would add that it is likely that I will not take it up due to the pandemic situation.

What is the process of application?

The application procedure was online. We had to submit
1. Two academic references
2. A document of all the courses taken so far in each academic semester, including details of the microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, and mathematical courses.
3. A transcript of the GPA in each academic year with supporting information of your performance within each academic year.
4. Curriculum Vitae(CV)
5. Statement of purpose-1000-word limit (This is extremely important). Cambridge did not ask for a Statement of purpose, LSE did.
6. Recent GRE results
7. Evidence of proficiency in the English language

Did you apply to multiple universities? If yes, can you please elaborate on the differences in the selection process of the universities? In universities in which you were not selected can you please share what you felt you lacked, what could you have done better?

I applied to only UK universities. The nature of economics courses is very different in the UK and the USA. In the USA, it is more quantitative, whereas in the UK, it is generally more qualitative, and more emphasis is given to the philosophy behind it rather than mathematics. Of course, it also differs from university to university. I applied to Cambridge University and the London School of Economics. Negligible emphasis is given to internships. More focus on academic record since they are taught Master degrees. The selection process isn’t very different.

How are you planning to manage your finances?

If I plan to go, I would take an education loan since the tuition fee and the cost of the lodging facilities would be high. However, it is less than it would have been in the USA. However, since the pandemic doesn’t seem to be ending quite soon, most probably the entire course will be online, but the tuition fee has not been changed. They are still going to charge as much as it would have been offline. In that case, it would only affect the lodging and food. Additionally, at the time of applying, Cambridge helps out a lot regarding financial management. There are scholarships available as well.

Role of your CGPA?

CGPA is one of the factors which contribute quite a lot to Cambridge and LSE. My CGPA was high, so I didn’t face an issue there. However, it is certainly not the only factor that matters. They ask you to include supporting information on your performance within each academic year. Having experience in summer schools and research internships is considered very good, especially abroad, and these projects would be sufficient to make up for a lower CGPA.

How is your university going to manage everything in this confusion of Covid-19?

The offer letter was pretty optimistic about having the students back on campus as soon as possible, but that is quite unlikely due to the rise in cases. Going abroad to study comes with living independently and physical interaction with a vast pool of people. This is a significant factor due to which I am considering dropping this. I tend to feel like it is not worth it to pay so much and study the course online, even though it is one of the best in the world.

How did IIT Kharagpur benefit you in your journey?

For the MPhil course, a contributing factor to why I stood out among the applicants was the diverse math courses I had taken. For this, IIT Kharagpur has helped me, as there were options of minors in other departments, and I took a minor in Mathematics and Computing along with a micro-specialization in Optimization Theory and Applications, both from the Mathematics department. Both my letters of recommendation were from the professors of my department. Also, there is a particular brand value of IIT abroad. People recognize that it is tough to get into an IIT and hence value us more, which helps. Though this may not be the case with social sciences.

What difficulties do you think the pandemic will bring (or has brought already) in the process?

Since I had given my GRE in December in my pre-final year before the pandemic started, I did not face difficulty there, but I had to provide TOEFL during the pandemic by going to the center. Other than this, procuring the letters of recommendation is slightly trickier than it would have been offline. Here, we are contacting professors virtually through emails, and on campus, we could have just gone to their respective offices and approached them. Other than this, the process usually is the same.

What are the opportunities after the MPhil course?

There is an option of continuing to get a Ph.D. after the one-year course for select students, or you can always choose to apply for a Ph.D. elsewhere. There are a lot of good companies based abroad who need economists in consultancy. You can also be a professional economist or go for a private firm.

What message do you want to give the juniors today who are interested in pursuing similar courses?

Take minors and choose projects according to what the University considers as necessary at the time of application; in my case, it was Mathematics. Take your time to write your statement of purpose, so start early. Start giving the exams as soon as possible; It will just be one less thing to worry about. Some exams have a rule saying you cannot appear for the same exam again for a particular duration after the previous attempt. So, in case anything goes wrong, you will have hardly any time if you give the exam at the end. Plan according to your interests and end goals, and keep all possibilities in mind while doing so. Getting into a great university is undoubtedly a bit more challenging, but not impossible, so try to stand out in your area or field and apply despite whether you think you will get selected or not.