oopalfrootz

For the benefit of anyone wonder, I used the Princeton book. Other than the general GRE a couple of weeks before, I'd never done an American-style test before, and was not used to it at all. I still got (tbh) a very good mark on it. You definitely need a book, because it's a stupid exam that tests your book-learning rather than your chemistry skills. I would recommend that one.

1. There are no shortcuts. No one's going to jump out and tell you which profs to apply to. Search through every last one, eliminate the ones that don't suit you quickly, then have a more detailed look through the rest. Get it down to 3 or 4, and have an idea in your head of which you would prefer. But make sure that idea is flexible for when you get new information! 2. Yes, send your CV - why not? Also as zapster said, include a tailored cover letter - tailored to each prof, not just the department as a whole. That's the best advice I can give... up to you whether you take it or not.

I definitely agree: wait until you're there and can talk to your supervisor in person, and you have a rapport going. 'No one likes a surprise' would only come into play if you decided to tell them a month beforehand! At roughly the same time, contact HR or who ever deals with these things to ask about how they can help you.

UC Irvine is in such a ridiculously beautiful area. I still miss it all the time even though I only visited for a couple of days, and ultimately had to turn them down (it was a very close decision, though). I don't know about the other unis, but unless you're loaded you'll have to live in campus housing at UCI - and it's likely you'll have to share. The apartments are gorgeous though, and spacious - at least compared with UK unis' offerings; I'm not sure what US ones are like typically. The views are amazing, kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and living rooms are all large, and they are all I would say absolute maximum 20 minutes' walk away. Even the professors all live in their 'professor ghetto' owned by UCI. If you end up picking accommodation there, I'd advise you to get in as early as you can. Particularly if you're like me, and do better without sharing a flat. There are very few apartments you can get to yourself.

I got mine a while ago. You should let them know you may not be able to get a visa if you don't get it soon... they appear to be unaware, else heck knows why they wouldn't have got it out to you. Call the international office rather than the department?

I had my interview a few weeks ago in London: I was in the building for about 5 hours but the actual interview was about 2 minutes. He didn't ask to see any documents (advise you bring everything you can, though), and asked where I was going and what I was studying. I think that was it! They say take £4 for retaking your photograph, but it actually cost £7! I had to redo mine because the white background somehow appeared blue.

^ I'm international; no one wants to fund me!!

Hi! I can't drive, as I've never had any need before, living in a city where it literally is much quicker to cycle. Or sometimes, even to walk. I'm hoping to learn this summer for when I go to the States in August. I currently have a UK provisional licence, and I had like one motorbike lesson ever which was disastrous - I'm hoping a car will go better. Questions: is it easier to pass in the US or UK? (I'm serious!) I'm kind of worried because in the city where I'm going to, they all drive so politely it's ridiculous. I'm vaguely scared that I will drive like a maniac British person and it won't be okay. Should I try and pass the test over here and get an international drivers' licence? I'm not sure whether I will stay/go back to the US after my PhD, but it is likely. Perhaps I'm better off getting a US licence to start off with? Will it mess me up totally if I start learning and get confident in the UK, then have to switch to opposite sides of the road when I get there? It's scary because I have about a month in which to learn, and no idea whether I'll be any good at it. Then when I get to the US, not much time at all. Also, it sounds slightly racist but I don't mean it like that - I would rather learn in the UK than with an American instructor, at least till I'm confident. I feel like it is likely to be different, and I'm going to be freaking out (probably), so I'd rather have someone I can sort of feel at home with, if you get me. The same sort of thing as why some women ask for female instructors (I'm considering doing that too). Thanks guys

In the past for my J-1 visa, I (as far as they were concerned) paid for myself. It was totally fine. I just showed them a letter from my bank saying how much was in my account - a bank statement is fine too, but I had that handy. Will post up here how my interview (tomorrow) goes, if anyone's interested.

You don't need a ticket at all. My F-1 visa is for a nominally five year course, so they're obviously not expecting me to come up with a plane ticket dated 2018. In fact, official advice is to wait until you have your visa before buying plane tickets in case you're not granted one.

They are all awful. Totally, utterly awful - at least compared to the UK. Expensive as hell and will suck your soul out if you let them. Advice: DON'T go to Radio Shack. They totally lied to my face: when I bought a SIM + plan there, the woman told me the $25 on my receipt was for a data plan. In reality, she hadn't sold me a data plan at all, and was charging me $25 for the SIM card!!!!! SIMs are usually free in the UK so I didn't even query it! Daylight robbery. Just don't ever go there.

Hellooo! I'm a current undergrad there. Yes, the interviews are horrific, and yes, they're meant to be, but you're not supposed to answer the questions in an instant (this isn't America). You are permitted to sit and think for a few seconds, you know! There *is not* an answer guide set out. They're looking for how you think, not right or wrong. There are resources that give you an idea of undergrad interviews at Oxbridge available - grad interviews aren't much different in style, apparently. Throw away all your ideas about undergrad classes and exams and think about the Oxford interview as a chance to discuss, learn and show your worth. God, I sound like an admissions tutor, but I think it's the best advice. I had a great time in my undergrad interview. Enjoy it! (Also, I recommend this department. It's a very different style from the US. Some people prefer one, some the other. Hope it goes well!)

I'm heartbroken to be saying no to my second choice. Because in some ways, it would be better - it's just overall, my first is the stronger choice. Damn, though.

butterscotch - they're very fast. Mine came within a few days (somehow), and I live 3000 miles away. If you haven't received one of them yet, could be a postal issue, so contact the uni directly?

I didn't think the NMR waiting times seemed at all bad at Irvine. Bearing in mind that *ahem* some unis typically have queues of 48 hours to book NMR time, and insist you use irritating autosamplers from "routine analysis"...

Interesting. At all the places I applied to, international tuition fees were the same as out-of-state. Of course, the situation is very different in the EU...! It's still a mystery to me with respect to this uni though: funding for international students (at least from the students' point of view) isn't bad. I'm talking about UC Irvine, which makes out weirder with the "international students come to California", no?

Every single person I know: "So, have you made a decision yet? Did you choose? Have you made a decision? Tell me tell me TELL ME NOW" Including my parents, every single phone call. I've told them I will let them know when I have. They seem to think I have forgotten that I made this promise every single time we speak, though. I am bored stiff of people asking, and it gets annoying after a while! Particularly when they kept asking before I'd even visited the places...

Sorry if this topic has come up before. I don't think of it as a bad thing if there are few internationals at an institution. Obviously it's good if there's more multiculturalism, but ehh, it's not a deciding factor, esp when I am moving to a foreign country and want to experience the culture there. I'm just asking out of interest. My undergrad institution and the other place I've been accepted at have a high proportion of international students from all over the world, which may be why I noticed at my last visit that there are very few international students there - nearly all American. Why is that? I thought about: perhaps not good advertizing to the international community - I know my undergrad institution does it well higher perceived cost of living very expensive air fares from the West Coast to Europe, Central Asia or Africa not-quite-'Top 10' current ranking perhaps international students are less aware of this particular uni's current strong push up the ranking tables? international reputations are surely different from 'native' reputations. My mum (no education to speak of) has only heard of two American 'brand name' unis and thought they were the only good ones; one of them isn't even that good for my subject... and we all want people "back home" to think we're doing well... few international students already = fewer want to come?? Anyone think of any reasons I might have missed? Also has anyone noticed that (massive generalization here) eg: Chinese-origin professors tend to have research groups with many Chinese students - even if the prof has lived in the US all their life? Why is that? Are they expecting a familiarity and understanding, or something along those lines?

The two courses are VERY DIFFERENT. I can't emphasize this enough. You seem to value a short course. Go for the UK then. I value a longer course, which is one of the reasons I am going for the US. Unfortunately, I have no idea how mathematics specifically works so I can't help with the details. But you can be certain that the two qualifications are very different things.

Congratulations so much! I love kabelo's last sentence in their post. Oxford is a fantastic city to work in, full of opportunities - particularly if you are here for a short time. Remember, we are a little crazy here, so don't confuse the Oxford system with the system in the rest of the UK. Chances are, they are different. Email an admissions tutor if you have questions - they will be happy to help, I promise!

Bring every piece of information you can to the visa interview at the US embassy. They probably won't ask for most of it, but on the London US embassy website it says that incoming scientists and professionals should bring a CV. So bring your CV, bank statement, offer letter, SEVIS number, details of salary and scholarships... everything. Make sure you bring a passport photo or 2 that look relatively recent; supposed to be last 6 months. When I applied for a J-1 in the past, they didn't ask to see my bank statement, CV - even my offer letter. But if they had asked I hadn't been able to produce them - I'm thinking that would have been bad news. There was a grumble that my passport photo didn't look recent enough - "your hair appears to grow quickly, madam". But it still went through okay...

I was moderately surprised they didn't use BCC either - but not a great deal at the time as I was expecting them to encourage something like this in terms of what I was thinking as good qualities in a grad student. Derp! Most of you have calmed me down a bit now; it's not the end of the world, is it. Probably haven't ruined the rest of my life - if I even pick that uni! I guess I'll just have to feel slightly awkward when I meet everyone, and hopefully most of them will be nice and that will dissipate. Thanks, everyone.

Oxford is a brilliant city to be in - not just because it's 'pretty' - it's full of opportunities (but then so is London, isn't it?). It is certainly a mad place to live in. I would stroooongly recommend it as a place to study, especially if you're only here for a year or two (after 3.5 years, the novelty is wearing off for me I admit, but I loved it for the first three). Chris Gray is the Vice Pres for Graduates of the student union; you can get him on graduates at ousu dot org.

Luckily, it wasn't one of the people I emailed, but an American friend I mentioned it to that said it might be construed as weird. If someone replied and said that, I probably would think they were a bit of an ass unless they stated a relevant concern! I guess I am freaking out a bit too much, but I'm totally disappointed at myself. ARGH. Hopefully it will be fine... "Neighbourly" was totally what I was going for! Let's hope all the other applicants are from Texas.

Oxford WILL always support you in times of financial difficulty - particularly if you pick your college right (look at their funding pages, and/or choose historically "rich" colleges). But legally you still have to prove you will be able to have enough money to pay for it before you get there. Finances really, really should not get in your way if Oxford accepts you and you would have chosen it as your top choice. It's something a great number of people here are passionate about. You can always contact the student union grad officer if you are worried; they will do their best to help. (Dare I say it's also exactly the small city life!) Between UCL and LSE... I don't know enough about your particular field to be able to give a proper opinion - but yes, in general opinion they seem to be neck and neck...