Interview: Manchester MSc OP&SCM 2024 admit

📍 Interviewee background

Yvonne

Bachelor's: National Chengchi University

Major: Diplomacy

IELTS: Overall 7.5

Relevant work experience: 1.5 years

Admitted to:

Manchester - MSc Operations, Project and Supply Chain Management

Warwick - MSc Business with Operations Management

Cranfield - MSc Logistics and Supply Chain Management

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📍 Finding my way

Studying abroad has always been on my bucket list. I wanted to experience life overseas. In college I had planned to go on exchange, but the sudden pandemic upended that and I nearly missed out.

After graduating I didn't yet have a field I wanted to dig into, so I decided to work first. On the job I gradually figured out where I wanted to go, and I realized my gaps in supply chain management, like data analysis and basic programming. To learn this field more systematically, I finally made up my mind to start preparing for a master's.

📍 Why Manchester?

When I started applying I was fixated on rankings, to the point of nearly giving up on the subject I most wanted to study. After some thinking and research, though, I firmly decided to focus on supply chain management. I compared the schools offering it, weighed the curriculum, location and school resources, and Manchester became my first choice! Besides a curriculum that met what I needed from the field, I learned from my research that the university offers plenty of career support, and Manchester is a big city with lower living costs than London. All of that led to my choice~ I'd also recommend reaching out to current students or alumni of the program before and after you apply. It helps with both choosing schools and writing your SOP~

📍 Start early! That's the trick

First: I'd suggest giving yourself a longer runway so it's less stressful~ From researching schools, consulting study-abroad agencies, preparing for IELTS and writing documents to actually applying, it took me 9 months in total. Because I had relatively plenty of time, I had some buffer during busy stretches, and the extra time let me have people review my application documents so they were fuller and more complete.

Second: I'd also suggest taking IELTS first. Many UK schools don't require an IELTS score when you apply, but if you have time, get your IELTS score done first, whether or not you later decide to time your submissions strategically. Studying for IELTS full-time, I sometimes wanted to slack off, but to give myself more options later, and since Manchester was my first choice, I set myself the goal of hitting the unconditional offer (uncon offer) threshold in one try. I'm glad I put in that effort: once I got the uncon, I didn't have to worry about IELTS anymore and could start on housing and other documents for going abroad early.

📍 Résumé (CV)

I think the best order to prepare in is: CV --> SOP --> RLs

When I had no idea where to begin, here's why I chose this order: writing the CV lets you list your past experiences and the highlights of each one, then you narrow it down to 1-2 special stories and details for the SOP. I left the RLs for last so that when I approached recommenders I could clearly explain my motivation for applying, and they could write more detailed letters based on my background and experience. That's the order I prepared my documents in, shared for anyone who doesn't know where to start.

📍 IELTS prep

I didn't go to a prep school for IELTS. For listening and reading I drilled with the Cambridge past-paper books and the 雅思哥 (IELTS Bro) computer-test app. A few podcasts I recommend: for commutes or spare moments, “6 Minute English” and “TED Talks Daily”; “IELTS Speaking for Success” is good for Speaking Part 1, and “IELTS Plus Podcast” for Speaking Part 2&3.

I also highly recommend downloading the 雅思哥 app to see the current season's speaking topics. On test day, I'd prepared for a lot of the Part1 &2 questions. Finally, if you're preparing for IELTS on your own, I'd still suggest getting someone to help edit your writing so the logic and structure flow better~

(I wrote a post about it on Dcard, titled: 上班族自修雅思一戰7.5！ (Working professional self-studies IELTS, gets 7.5 on the first try!)

📍 Recommended agency

I only consulted two agencies. The first was a large UK study-abroad agency, and the second time I found Harry! After talking with Harry, I could clearly feel how different he was from a typical agency: he takes the time to understand your background and goals before advising you, knows the schools and programs well, and analyzes similar programs across different schools. Since I worked during the day, I could usually only talk with Harry in the evenings and on weekends, and he still replied super fast! Throughout the process I could feel how careful and professional Harry is. Highly recommended for anyone applying to schools in the UK or Australia!

📍 A few words for you

The previous pages are my honest words to all of you. I hope something in them helps everyone who reads this!

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