Kleene

Actually, they do. Got one myself.

Btw, Oxford allows you to reuse recommendation letters. I got one from my course supervisor, and reused the three from last year (MSc admissions).

I was in a similar position last year, with my MSc from October 2014 to September 2015. I ended up applying to stay at my current institution in January 2015. That was before I got any results back. The first term's results became available a couple of weeks later and were used in the applications process anyway. Had I not gotten in, I might have applied to some European programs with later deadlines or taken a year out. I was not decided about that yet. Many course mates have ended up taking a year out anyway.

In any case it depends on your department. Some people were already awarded (or possibly nominated with guaranteed funding if they didn't get it) in February. Also, people are usually informed only if they got funding, or applied for some funding that requires a separate application, so you might have to inquire. Not everyone will be equally willing to share whether you are nominated or not, though. Fortunately, my department was very helpful in keeping me updated on all the funding nominations.

Because you got funding for Cambridge, or do you simply prefer Cambridge?

I am pretty biased here as someone who is in Oxford to study theory (PhD starting next year), but in any case it would be Cornell or Oxford. Congrats on having admits from such awesome places! I only applied to Oxford this year, because I was already here and had to apply two or three months after starting my course. Had I not gotten in, I would probably have taken a year out. For a while I had been thinking of applying to Cornell, but I probably would not have applied there because I already have a very decent masters and am not too fond of the US. In any case it would have depended on the responses of POIs there. Cornell is one of the top places in qualitative theoretical CS, and so is Oxford. Take into account job prospects: with an Oxford degree you will be better off in Europe, with a Cornell degree in the States. Also, the research fit might not be the same in both places. Finally, the PhDs in the States are much longer and include coursework, unlike in Europe where you can go straight into full-time research. Depending on your background, you might have a preference.

What college did you apply to, again? I don't suppose your decision on where you are going will be determined by college placement? What are your thoughts on that atm?

Congrats! That entirely depends on your department, the type of funding, etc. Some funding decisions may come with or even before an offer, and other funding decisions may come as late as May.

Nice, congrats! I had the same decision to make last year. It was a tough one indeed. But you cannot go wrong there anyway. I just received notification that I received a university scholarship (not Clarendon for those wondering) to pay for my stipend. Very, very happy indeed.

Though some programs automatically consider you for the MA if you do not get in for the PhD, or have an option for you to indicate that you want to be considered for the MA. You might want to check whether your school does that before paying double fees.

I get to stay at my current college. Any news for any of you?

When I went to look for grad school abroad, I was shocked to learn that it was possible NOT to get paid for PhDs.

When applying for my masters, I had to bug so many people to get my transcripts. I had taken courses in four different degree programs, two of which had not bothered to enter the English course names in the system. Thus, I had to bug those people to either enter the English names or provide me with an English transcript manually. One of them decided to do the latter and then used the internal post that takes over a week to even leave the university, apparently, while they knew I needed them within two weeks (after weeks of bugging, deadlines were eventually approaching). One university wanted my school leaving certificate, so I needed to get a sworn translator to translate that. Fair enough. Then, this same university started complaining over Christmas (after the deadline) that they wanted my transcripts in the original language as well on the first day after the holidays or my application would not be considered. I had to get some university officials to write to this university that my university does not issue transcripts unless requested, so the original language in which my transcripts were issued was in fact English. So happy that for my PhD none of this nonsense was required. Such is the beauty of applying to stay at your current institution. They simply got my grades of the first term during the admissions process without me having to do anything!

You should have made a poll. Gotta love statistics. I will turn 21 in September, when I start my PhD.

I expect that any commitments other than the signing of the university or college contract will not be binding. Of course, the earlier you withdraw the better.

By the way, I don't know what meaning you assign to 'prestigious' (TSR), but I was talking about the rigor of the program that is well-recognised by the faculty and external examiners.

You may have a shot, but why would you want to switch? Most MFoCS students have done their undergrads in maths, though there are some computer scientists like myself. You need a solid maths background (mostly algebra). If you want to take courses taught by the maths department, it makes sense to switch because that's only possible in MFoCS. If you want to take only computer science courses, the MSc will give you more options. Just have a look at both of the course handbooks and see for yourself the differences in courses, examinations, degree classification, etc.

Haha, congrats and good luck with that! Sounds like an amazing problem to have.

Thanks all. Both courses are 12 months long. The MFoCS is valued highly and seen as more rigorous than the straight CS course. Taking mostly CS courses in MFoCS will be comparable to taking some of the most advanced CS courses in the straight CS MSc. Most CS classes are taught to both MFoCS and CS, anyway, though MFoCS have only three weeks to finish the exams/projects while MScs have five weeks. Also, the requirement for a distinction in MFoCS is at least 70 in all modules, while in MSc it is just an average of at least 70.

I am postponing telling anyone from my undergrad institution. I want to tell my friends, my study advisor, my supervisor, and my LOR writers, while I do not want any of them to hear it from someone else. xO

I just called my parents individually, and my grandmother. I have been abroad for 4 or 5 months now and have never called them. At some point during a silent moment my mum just said "Well, we are no talkers, are we? That's why we never call or skype." So true. We send messages almost every day and never have face time, but I guess this warranted a call. My grandma finds it hard to have me so far away, so my parents have been preparing her for the fact that I would be staying abroad longer (PhD after MSc). However, she was a bit startled when I told her it would be for years while she was thinking about one semester.

Just got my fully funded offer. Over the moon!

Victorydance, with all due respect, unfunded offers are those where (like in the case of TO) the university indicates they are not going to fund a student. That is, there are no fellowships, tuition waivers, RAs or TAs available whatsoever that may contribute to the student's financial situation. I do not disagree with what you are saying, I only disagree with your notion of unfunded offers, because you are describing likely sources of funding that are not available for actual unfunded offers. Not getting funded is more than simply not having money thrown at you in your acceptance letter.

I have no idea how to make a financially responsible decision. That's not even the only catch with accepting an Oxford offer. There is also the conditions of your offer. Although people who get admitted usually score significantly above the requirements, it may be that you are not sure whether you will make the conditions of your offer. That makes accepting Oxford and rejecting your US ones a risky business! I think that much departmental funding is given out before April 15. Also, some scholarship require interviews, so you mean at least know before April 15 whether you are shortlisted or not.

Yeah, DPhil. "Officially" it is late March onwards for all January applicants. Reality is different, though, and varies per program. I know that for my program decisions and the first round of funding are finalized this week, so I should hear this week or next. No one on the results search has ever been notified after February 26 for my program. For my MSc last year, I got notified mid March.