MA interviews at Lancaster in April 2010

HI

I have an upcoming interview for MA at Lancaster in April, i was wondering if anyone else has an interview or is looking at Lancaster as an option? or if you have had an interview and can give any pointers.

look forward to hearing from you

Becs x x

Hi, I am currently on the MA at Lancaster (just on here browsing for dissertation ideas!). Its definitely a great place to do the course and from my experience they're great with placements and quick turnaround on essay marking. Have you applied to any other unis? For me the interview seemed pretty easy, they ask a bunch of questions which are relatively simple. If I remember rightly they ask what I would do in several scenarios. Any other questions just let me know.

Hanna

xxx

Hello there,

I am due to start my MA in october at Lancaster and cant wait, I have heard great things about the course and the department, There are a few of us on CC forum who are going to Lancaster this year, I went to lancaster for my undegrad degree and loved it, More generally, the campus is really lovely, nice community feel, good facilities, lancaster as a city is quite small but got most amenities in and has good transport links to bigger cities

 

I had my interview with Ian Paylor-the head of the dept and he was really nice, really put me at ease and just had more of a chat and discussion around topics, they asked me why i wanted to pursue a career as a SW, 

 

Hello there Hannamac,

Im trying to do some reading around the subject and get up to speeed with legal issues and policy issues within SW, can you reccomend some good textbooks that you have used throughout your MA.

 

I hope you dont mind me asking, How have you found the placement process, I hear that some students at other unis end up in really bad placements that dont satisfy their key learning outcomes and have a had a hard time with their uni getting problems sorted out.

 

Alexandra

Ian Paylor is a TOTAL legend, he does mostly Criminology but teaches a few SW modules- he's my Diss tutor and is a great guy, you're lucky to have had him for your interview! I don't start placement until next week but in terms of assigning them they've been pretty good- I found our mine last month but a few people still haven't been placed although we;ve been assured this is down to staff sickness and is by no means normal. I have (what I think will be) an AMAZING placement, its a new one and the department have been SO supportive and I got to have a pre-placement pre-placement meeting to reassure me! In terms of reading i'd say any general social work text is great- I didnt do ANYTHING before I started and felt like I got dropped in at the deep end. From the first (drugs) assignment in Nov its pretty non-stop until you go on placement in April. I particularly like Wilson et al's (2008) social work for general reading or if you want something specifically geared towards legal matters Alison Brammer's Social Work Law is great (and if you buy a copy will come in really handy for your law exams in March!). Are you planning on living on campus? i can't wait to move off next year- its not worth the extra money especially as you're only in 2 days a week. Anything else- just ask!

Hi there hannamac,

Thanks for ur speedy reply!   I was really nervous at first when I found out that Ian was interviewing me but 2 mins in it was fine! Bet your excited about starting your new placement, what placement did you do in first year and what is your new placement? It is reassuring to know that the uni are looking after you .

I have been away from uni for 2 years now and the thought of having to write lots of essays is quite scary, How big of a step up did u find it from undergrad type essays?

Thanks for the tips re textbooks, ive heard that the alison brammer books are good, might see if i can get a cheap book on amazon!

Im going to be stayin in grad college, is that where you are staying atm? I wish the standard rooms run for 51 weeks of the year as I think they only run for 40 and that means having to stump up more money for ensuite rooms

Thanks for replying back

alexandra

Hi! 

My Placements with a family Intervention Programme in Preston- sounds really good. Do you drive? thats the one thing that I think definitely influences if you get a great placement or not. I'd also been away from uni for 2 years and to be honest it was pretty easy getting back into it esp as the first essay is really interesting. I don't think theres a conscious step up from undergrad to postgrad writing- some people find it harder than others but I think the key its LOTS of reading and perfecting your referencing. 

In terms of living in grad college i'd say go for a 40 week let because you can extend it around april if you still want to- you CANNOT shorten a 51 week one if you want to. Most accom in town starts from July and if you plan on moving there you'll be paying two sets of rent over summer. I live in a grad college house (only a few so you need to apply early) its 4 people sharing a bathroom and a downstairs toilet- I think its nicer than the big corridors cause its less people to use the bathroom! The only issue is that its pot luck who you end up living with (as with all accom) the people I live with are super quiet and never here which is great for getting work done but not so great for the social life! Luckily, the  social work course is really friendly and we're always going out for nights out! We went on one last week and it ended in one girl breaking her arm and another breaking her toe- pretty fun!

Hope that helps

Hi there

Your placement sounds like it will give you a good grounding, I do drive but I dont have my own car- I use my dads and dont think he will be too happy if i take that to uni lol, So i guess Im stuck with relying on public transport, but lancaster does seem to have good links into surrounding towns like preston, blackburn etc , what  sort of placements have your friends that dont drive been allocated?

Thats good to know that its not a huge step up from undergrad, I did psychology at lancaster and some of their essays i felt were quite tough -getting to grips with some very scientific type theories. I will take your advice and do lots of reading around the area.

Im pleased that you can extend the length of the 40 week  contract, do  the town houses have like a living room area? I  was sort of swaying to the old ensuite type room as i think you share that with only 6 people, ahh all these choices!!! Do the university send you infomration regarding applying for accomodation, as i havent received anything about accomodation yet.

Its nice to hear that your course group are a sociable bunch, thts what i really enjoyed about my psych degree as we all made an effort to go out after exam time etc, Wow sounds like you all had a pretty wild night if it ended in broken bones !! Hope the girls are ok!

cheers

 

Alexandra