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.