nickspoon
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Posts posted by nickspoon
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I'm in a slightly unusual situation here. I'm a computer scientist, finishing my bachelor's this year. My interest is in theory. Although I have been turned down for the PhD programmes I applied for, I have been offered three things:
1. A funded 1.5-year taught MSc in Theoretical CS (with thesis component) at ETH Zurich.
2. A 1-year taught MSc in Maths & Theoretical CS at Oxford, possibly funded (otherwise very expensive).
3. A 1-year research assistantship at Caltech in a largely unrelated area, with publication potential.
My goal after any of these is (at present) a PhD in the US. Ordinarily I would leap on the first one since I got a scholarship for it, but I'm worried that if I do, I'll end up essentially repeating those courses in my PhD. I'd rather not limit myself to schools offering transfer credit. I like the idea of the assistantship, but it's not really related to what I want to do so I don't know how useful it will be.
Any thoughts?
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I stubbornly refuse to call them. The application fees they collect should at least cover the cost of a one-liner mass rejection email, even if it just says something like "MIT EECS: Rejected, kthxbye."
Yes, this. For $75 I expect a goddamn singing telegram.
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I've heard nothing. I sent an email to the admissions office yesterday to ask for my results (calling them from my mobile would be outrageously expensive) but nothing back. It's quite trying really.
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Whoever it is who keeps spamming the survey, can we stop that? It's not a forum, so don't use it for discussion.
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We will most likely all get the rejections via the website at the same time. But I understand your frustration.
Oh indeed, I expect so. I just think that even MIT should, if they say they're going to post results on the 15th, post results on the 15th. I would like to get on with my life, and my other applications, please!
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You may be able to set up Skype to forward to your phone, so the interviewer can call you via Skype and you can pick up from a landline or mobile. Obviously that won't work if they want to use video calling, but it's an option.
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Well, it's the 15th. Anyone got anything yet?
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The first thing I would do is make sure that every applicant is told instantly about the progress of their application, so they don't have to check Grad Café every 5 minutes to see if the admits have gone out yet.
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Looking at the number of acceptances this year so far, it's comparable with the total number of acceptances last year. While that isn't a definite indicator, it gives me somewhat less hope of an acceptance having not received one yet.
(Yes, I have been obsessing over this a bit. Sigh.)
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Yep! Or that the adcomms go through apps alphabetically...and by the time they get to the end of the alphabet (like me), they've already filled every seat & the waitlist!
Ooh, I like that one. Mainly because it sounds plausible D:
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Looks like they're starting to go out. This is even more nail-biting than the whole of last month.
Area II Theory applicant, by the way, with fingers firmly crossed.
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If the central administration distributes funding, then they have the ultimate decision over admissions. This is the case for funded Masters at ETHZ for example; the departments submit reports but the eventual decision is down to the Rektorat.
MSc (Oxford, ETH) vs. Assistantship
in Decisions, Decisions
Posted
Thanks for the advice. The Oxford course also has a thesis but I believe it is a 3-month rather than 6-month project, and the assistantship will also have scope for publication. By repeating courses, what I'm getting at is that (depending on the institution) I may well have to fulfil the requirements for a master's degree again, which seems like something of a waste of time that might be more valuably spent getting research experience. Your reasoning is sound, though, and I am certainly leaning towards ETH.