1. Personal education background
Undergraduate and master students are both sociology majors in two different 985 universities.
due to various reasons, the results during the undergraduate period are very average, and there are not a few courses with more than 6 or 7 points, and some of them fail. But what are the courses you are interested in and the professional courses that are in line with your research direction? Urban sociology? 、? Development sociology? Good grades. Never won a scholarship. My English performance is relatively stable. I passed CET-4 and CET-6 at one time within one year, and passed CET-4 and CET-6 oral test. Publicly published one paper. My poor grades during my undergraduate course are probably an important reason for my unsuccessful application.
during my master's degree, my grades were stable, and only one course was below 8 points. I took several courses related to my research direction across departments. Won the honor and scholarship of excellent graduate students at the university level for ***5 times. There are 7 published papers. Participated in a faculty-level academic forum, submitted papers to be selected into excellent collections and made PPT reports.
2. English test
IELTS test in September 29, 7 points.
3. Origin of application
My girlfriend has suggested to me many times to apply for studying abroad. I have some knowledge, but I haven't carefully consulted the relevant information. Once I paid attention to the resume of a professor who interested me, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, suddenly felt that it seemed that I should seriously consider going out to study for a doctorate. However, I do have a certain understanding of the difficulty of studying abroad, so I aim at Hong Kong. In addition, I learned the news that my classmates and sisters who graduated early applied for Hong Kong successfully, and gradually strengthened my confidence in the application during the communication with my roommates.
Naturally, the application first requires English scores, Hong Kong's British colonial status, and a classmate's advice, so I chose IELTS with two other students in my roommate. Registration in April is officially prepared, and the exam in September has half a year to fully prepare. I stayed at school all month in August and studied English hard. It is also helpful to study with classmates and encourage each other.
4. Direct knowledge of universities in Hong Kong
In July, I participated in a summer camp organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Students and visited Shenzhen and Hong Kong for a week. During this period, I visited City University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Shue Yan University, and gave lectures and other activities. Especially the lectures at HKUST are very helpful. I have an intuitive understanding of urban life and higher education in Hong Kong.
5. School Selection
Before applying, the Chinese University of Hong Kong was the one who knew the most about Hong Kong universities, and it was always my favorite school during the application process. However, the old school Hong Kong University must also consider it. Other schools don't know much about it. First, their reputation is a little poor. Second, their professional settings don't suit my interests very much. In the end, only CUHK and HKU were chosen. In fact, it was later discovered that City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology could all try it.
I also have a selection process in my major. Before, Kaobo always planned to cross majors, so he also wanted to cross this major when applying. However, in the process of contacting CUHK, I found that it was really difficult to cross-major. In addition, in November 29, the cross-school cross-major examination was lost because of the limited difference of 3 points in a single subject. Although there was another opportunity to cross-major examination, my confidence was greatly affected, so I later targeted at sociology of my major.
6. Research Plan
After taking the IELTS test in September, I mainly focused on preparing for the cross-disciplinary exam in November, so I basically didn't prepare for the research plan during this time. However, I read a lot of books in the process of preparing for the exam, and two books written by a teacher inspired me very much. I think I have found a very good theoretical framework for my related research. Because there are often questions about what research to do during the doctoral period, I have carefully prepared relevant answers. These are the initial frameworks for my research plan.
I started to write my research plan seriously in early December, before my final exam results came out. At first, I translated what I had written before into English, and then I began to add and modify the content directly in English. The writing framework used is provided by the University of Hong Kong. In a short time, it is necessary to read many books and papers to expand the content, especially English materials, which is very brain-consuming, and writing a summary also requires a comprehensive grasp of relevant research. Although it took a lot of effort, I'm afraid it's still a leak, and the English original alone is lacking a lot.
After writing a first edition, I showed it to a professor in my department, which is also my tutor's favorite pupil. However, I feel that the professors in this department are very busy and difficult to contact, so I only talked to him once in person and asked him to write a letter of recommendation for me. But the conversation is still very enlightening. Before, my research plan was completely a theoretical summary, lacking detailed design for field research. At the suggestion of the professor, I chose another case and wrote the research design in detail, including the basic situation of the case, data collection methods, analysis methods and possible results. This is like a complete research plan. Finally wrote 25 pages.
It should be noted that although the intention is to cross majors, there are actually many intersections between the two majors, so the basic topics of the research plan have not changed. I just want to apply for sociology, so I have to deliberately join the research results and theories of many sociologists. And I haven't watched it for a long time. Very? Orthodox? Social studies, so I really encountered some difficulties. Later, the professor in our department also said that he lacked the classical theory of sociology.
7. Transcripts and degree certificates
Undergraduate transcripts, degree certificates and graduation certificates are sent to me by students who are studying in the school where they are undergraduate. Transcripts are printed and stamped directly in Chinese, and translated in English according to the template and sent to print and stamp. Graduation certificate and degree certificate are taken by camera, and then filled out in the WORD document template and sent to be stamped. A stamped school envelope is required for sealing.
The master's report card is copied in Chinese in the department and stamped, then translated into English according to the template, and then stamped in the graduate school. However, I really don't agree with the handwritten Chinese transcripts. Some courses have no registered scores or credits, which made me run several times before I could do it well. In addition, open a certificate of study in graduate school.
8. Letter of recommendation
There are two letters of recommendation from HKU and CUHK, one * * * and four letters. Find your own tutor and the professor of the department who helps me look at the research plan. The tutor is a veteran figure in the domestic sociology field, and that professor is an active scholar in western social theory in the sociology field at present, so both of them are still relatively heavy. The recommendation letter of HKU is in WORD format, so I just printed it all and asked the teacher to sign it. Cuhk's recommendation letter is in PDF format, which is very strange to type with ACROBAT, so I have to trouble the teacher to copy it.
9. Registration and payment
Online registration, I feel that the registration system of HKU is better and it is convenient to check the status. It is more economical and convenient to apply for a YOUNG card at China Merchants Bank and pay the application fee online than to use a draft. I feel that the service of China Merchants Bank is good.
1. Resume
I found the template on the Internet and carefully wrote 2 pages. Including contact information, education, experience, personal, publication, award.
11. Materials are sent by SF Express. Within one kilogram of materials, they are all in 3 yuan. Generally, they can arrive in Hong Kong the next day, which is very good.
materials include research plan, undergraduate master's report card, diploma certificate of undergraduate degree certificate, certificate of master's study, copy of ielts test report form, resume, copy of published papers and copy of scholarship certificate.
At the end of January, it was sent to HKU on the deadline, because there was a snowstorm at that time, the whole city was buried by heavy snow, and the expressway was closed, so the courier company could not deliver anything. I was going crazy at that time. Fortunately, it cleared up on the 29th, and materials were sent out in the afternoon, and finally arrived at HKU on the 31st.
it will be sent to cuhk in late February. Because I want to keep improving, I made changes at home during the winter vacation.
12. Contact the tutor
I contacted the professor of CUHK who I was interested in several times because I wanted to cross majors. Later, after I decided to apply for sociology, I hurriedly collected all the teachers' mailboxes on the websites of HKU and CUHK, briefly talked about the topics of my research plan, and then sent them all one by one. Most teachers replied, but most said they were not familiar with my research direction. A few people said that the description was too general, and they wanted to talk about the research plan in detail. But I hadn't finished it yet, and I couldn't get it out. So overall, I basically didn't contact my tutor.
13. Wait for
all the materials to be sent in mid-February, and receive the interview notice from HKU in early March. To tell you the truth, I have no idea about applying for a school in Hong Kong. After all, I have never taken it seriously as a career like many people, but regarded it as an amateur activity. The main goal is always to take an exam, and there are always other things in the middle.
At the beginning of 21, I also wanted to prepare for the second exam, which is a cross-major, and I have been preparing, and I was very confident. However, when I registered at the end of 29, I suddenly found that the exam subjects had changed. At that time, I was confused and made do with signing up first. I didn't realize it was too difficult to re-prepare a new exam subject that I didn't like and didn't understand in a short time until I officially prepared for the exam. So my heart became more and more nervous. So since the beginning of 21, I've actually been doing three things at the same time: applying for a Hong Kong school, preparing for an exam, and looking for a job. I submitted many resumes and participated in several interviews. Because I have worked as a part-time real estate planner before, I have a good understanding of this, so I want to work hard in this respect. As a result, when I was at home during the winter vacation, a decent company informed me that I was hired.
after much consideration, I finally gave up the hopeless second exam and chose to practice in this company, so I worked as an intern in two cities in the next two months. When I entered the company, I found that it feels good to make a little money by taking real estate planning as my hobby occasionally. If I do it full-time, I really can't accept it, because in my heart, I still feel that I should be an academic. And found that the company's system construction is not standardized, and the work content is not my favorite planning, but biased towards data analysis, which is not satisfactory. So my heart is always struggling, and I am more and more negative about the internship.
14. Telephone interview
When I received a phone call from the Sociology Department of Hong Kong University in early March informing me of a telephone interview, my heart could be described as ecstatic, as if my prospects were suddenly bright. So I began to consult all kinds of relevant information, including professional knowledge and interview skills, and also mobilized my girlfriend to help me collect information. Because I was an intern in a foreign country, I asked for leave with my company two days before the interview, went to a local relative to make full preparations, read the materials carefully, practiced English listening and speaking, and simulated the interview with my girlfriend through QQ voice.
The interview started on time. HKU called my mobile phone directly for 24 minutes, which was a long time. I can't remember who the teacher interviewed was, but I feel that the English of the examiner is very standard, and it should be British and American. The questions include a brief description of your research plan, what methods you used to conduct specific research on your case, and what other schools you applied to. All the questions were in English, and I answered them fluently.
cuhk informed me by email at the end of March that the telephone interview would be held in early April. The preparation process is similar to the last time, and there is more time. The first question is to introduce myself in English, and then other questions are professional questions asked in Mandarin, including what the research method is, how to define the time period for selecting your research data, whether to analyze the data quantitatively or qualitatively, etc., which are very detailed, and also ask whether you have applied to other schools. Asking questions in Mandarin makes me feel relaxed. A * * * takes 1 minutes.
The two interviews should be the second batch in their respective schools, probably because I sent the materials late.
15. WAITING LIST
HKU informed me by email that the online application result was WL. Cuhk didn't give any notice. I sent an email and only got a very vague answer. Later, I found it was WL on the Internet. I'm really disappointed to learn that this is the result. I feel that all my efforts in applying are in vain, and my dream of studying for a PhD is completely shattered. I really didn't want to stay in that real estate company. It was another accidental opportunity to change my job and was hired by a university to do administrative work. I found that the atmosphere of the university attracted me.
after that, I only checked the application status online once until graduation, and it was still WL, and I completely gave up my extravagant hopes. My plan is to do administrative work in that university first, and not give up reading at the same time, and then take another cross-school and cross-professional doctoral examination at the end of 21.
before graduation, I heard that many students had succeeded in taking the PhD exam, which made me feel even worse. I felt a little ashamed. Originally, I had the most clear goal of studying for a doctorate, but this turned out to be the case.
16. Conditional Anl offer
On July 2nd, the day after I came to work in that university, I saw an email from HKU saying that I was currently working on my CONDITIOANL OFFER
Because I have been working in other places, I asked my classmates who are still studying for a doctorate in the master's school to help me with it. It is still the old way to handle it. There are templates in both the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School. But the poor report card management method hurt me again. After doing it, HKU received a report saying that the report card was incomplete because there was no record for the third year. In fact, I didn't take any courses in my third year of study, but there is no explanation on my report card. The key point is that I have already passed the defense, and the place on the report card about graduation defense is still blank, and there is no relevant record.
At this time, the school has been on holiday, and I specially contacted the academic administrator in the department to ask her to supplement the transcript and issue another one. However,