Degrees and Prestige

[Mook]

well maybe I'm really not finnish but I'd rather admit someone with a 2:1 from U of St Andrews than a 1st from Luton Uni...

I thought they'd long stopped teaching anything useful in St Andrews. Still Scotland has 4 year honours courses as opposed to 3 years in Ingerland. The reality is that the grades are on the same level wherever you go in the UK. Just take a look at some of the professional bodies that accredit course.

[DraculcuCoarne]

Examine your previous degree and description of studies, whether it matches their master's program. For example if you studied forestry but you apply for computer science, definately out of the question.

i would really like to convice one of my friends about that!! he has his bachelor degree in humanities but he wants to apply for the master's degree programme in environmental biology. i tried to explain him that it is impossible since his studies are not appropriate for applying to that master programme. no way...he is stubborn! but let's just consider the absurd...does he have any chance?

[Pursuivant]

well if he reads the small print in the admissions criteria it usually states what the prerequisites are

say helsinki university has masters degree in Master's Degree Programme in Atmosphere-Biosphere Studies
Qualifying Bachelor's degrees should include studies in either the natural sciences, bio- and environmental science, or technology.
which gives quite a wide spectrum of possibilities really what would be accepted...
thesis on mite warts = OK
thesis on reflection of light= OK (well its a long stretch)
thesis on cuneiform tablets = well there might be the line then

so it kind of depends in what kind of humanities...

[Pursuivant]

well then again in finland there is quite the similar pecking order between the finnish schools. theres a huge pissing contest between the M.Sc. diploma-engineers and regular B.Sc engineers. and you want to see a flame war go see any of the uni vs. polytech debates... serious killzones

- however like that one survey just came out said - anything foreign is about as prestigious as speedos with streaks. of course they do recognize the big names and such and of course they have the international pecking order lists and such, but as you get even here advertisement on online degrees and whatnot it isn't as easy to figure out things as it is with the local schools you know something about. so its like you say... they still want a degree from the good old boys in HUT and maybe then someone from EVTEK and then they might look at funny papers from StAndrews or Luton or Napier or did that say Kellogs Rice Crispies in that certificate...

traditionally and were talking of say even as late as the 80's and early 90's it was if you were not good enough to get into the finnish uni and pappa had money*** you would get to sweden to study economics and to estonia to study medicine or if you were a commie bastard to russia to study engineering... of course if you were bright and took a semester in the UK or Germany that was then a different thing... but the weight of a foreign degree was a bit of a sword of damokles. of course with the eu and the bolognese process and all that things have changed hugely the past 10-20 years. problem is it still takes 10-20 years for the "old guard" and "old ways" to filter out...

***and if pappa didnt have money there was a few side entrances. you could get into some department that was easy to get in and then try the kitchen door approach, or study enough in the open university to get in which then again was financially burdening...

the finnish system with the entrance examinations means someplaces like to law or medical school your average applicant takes the test 2-3 times to get in - some places you have no chance of getting in without a prep course - and some places like TAIK they take maybe 2-3% of the applicants in... so the competition is fierce to enter even . here they don't have that system where you take everybody in and then weed them out as you go along... they do weed out these days, but the admittance numbers are quite small to start with.

so to your original question, if you have a degree from a prestigious = finnish university....

[Mook]

An ex-flatmate went to napier for a BEng course and in first year covered school-level maths.

Well, what would you expect. As I said, Scotland has 4 year honours courses whereas Ingerland only has 3 years.

You can go to Scottish universities at 17 after sitting your highers. The first year courses are around the same level as Scottish sixth year studies, or English A levels. But, the thing is that you only do 3 A-levels (or SYS), so if you happen to pick the wrong subjects then your choice of studies is dramatically limited.

I'm aware of the Southhampton old-boy thingy (they did that when I worked at Sony), but a 1st is a 1st wherever it's from. (for Desmonds it's a different story)

[DraculcuCoarne]

so it kind of depends in what kind of humanities...

yep...the kind of humanities called generative liguistics(as far as i know he wrote his thesis in that field). so in my opinion it is a huge difference betw. generative linguistics and environmental biology. he read all the stuff from Kuopio university (he intends to go there) and there is stated clearly that you must have a bachelor degree in a relevant field or his BA is totally different. that's why i asked if it is possible to be accepted considering the absurd...maybe smb. around here was in the same situation...

[Pursuivant]

just tell him hes an eejit wasting the taxpayers money.... (learn some finnish habits here )

[DraculcuCoarne]

just tell him hes an eejit wasting the taxpayers money.... (learn some finnish habits here )

as if he cares...anyway he is always doing things his way
and why waste taxpayers' money if he is not accepted?...if miraculously he is it means he is really interested in what he wants to study

[Pursuivant]

they have to employ someone to go through the futile applications... 4000 nigerians, 3000 nepalese... its *my* money they are wasting. a finn would not even apply knowing they have no chances.

[DraculcuCoarne]

a finn would not even apply knowing they have no chances.

no balls...?

[Pursuivant]

see now we have Karelia there in Russia. And it is *OURS*... to invade it... meh... need to grow 200 million army and *then*

[DraculcuCoarne]

eh..don't worry...there are enough polar bears around...you'll manage