Kleene

Personally, I would be annoyed by an applicant who believes that a typo is enough reason to send an updated CV. In fact, at least some of the universities will have looked at your application already. I definitely wouldn't send an update.

February 27, 28 and March 1 visit day according to that schedule.

I applied to three schools, though I already have admission to stay at my undergrad institution. I think I should be able to get two admissions, but that's just a guess. I would be happy to stay at my undergrad institution as well! I would be more anxious if I weren't.

Anyone already got some sort of response? I keep seeing people in the results page with information no one else seems to have. It would be great if they would share it here so that we all know what's up.

I would be a bit concerned that your practice scores have not increased from August to November. If you have been studying during this time, this might be an indication that more studying (in the same manner, at least) will not make must of a difference either. Just like you, I felt very unprepared for the GRE. I was busy with coursework and had no time except for the time I took from the other things I should have been doing. I considered rescheduling, but I followed through and my GRE turned out to be just fine. If it had turned out worse, I would have studied an additional four weeks and retaken it. If you have the money (which you probably do, since rescheduling is not free either), just take it and see how it turns out. You can always retake it, but then you will be more familiar with the test situation, which may be an advantage anyway. By the way, rescheduling only makes sense if you are sure you will have more time to prep then (less coursework, fewer classes).

I had a group interview once for an early entrance program. Six candidates were presented a case. Three were assigned in favor and three against. We had about 10 minutes to prepare arguments and review the case. Ultimately we were having a debate in front of a panel of four interviewers. Given that you are applying for Social Work, I think you can expect to be presented a case. It will probably not result in a debate as did ours.

Theory there.

Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science

I am definitely not talking about panicking after only a week of official results coming in. Only panick when many results have come in and the results are obviously getting less and less frequent. That would be about the time to contact the admissions office to ask for a heads up. Panicking is not doing any good anyway. For me personally, it reduces panic to check out the results page every day. I do agree with you that the key to not panicking is not assuming things that are not necessarily true.

How many of your school are already giving out results? Do they usually interview?

I applied to the MFoCS course. For this course interviews are conducted for those living in the UK. By the way, I am already killing myself over not applying to straight CS, seeing all the results coming in... If you look at the results page, only one or two people got an interview so far (not clear whether or not it is the same person). You could hardly call one or two out of nine results "many". I wouldn't worry if I were you. I believe getting the email with questions is pretty common. You should check out The Student Room, about UK university life. Perhaps someone there could answer your questions.

You will probably have to retake your IELTS. I don't know any courses that accept a 6. Some accept a 6.5, but most require 7s. Your GRE scores are not great either. For Robotics the quantitative is more important, but I am not sure if you are likely to be admitted with a below average verbal score. That would mean that you would have to retake the GRE as well or apply to schools that do not require it. IELTS, GRE and GPA are key to not ending up on the rejection pile straight away. Reasonable scores allow the rest of your application to be evaluated.

Education and artsy things (Music, Theater, etc.). Those things are not taught at research universities in my country, though it is probably possible to study it as a specialisation of a much broader course. I now recall that we do have courses like Film Studies. I suppose that kind of courses can be related to these artsy PhDs. I like the Packaging!

I am with you there! If I don't get in, I will start a two-year masters at my undergrad institution. The coursework is not a fit at all, but some of the research is. I will probably continue as a TA, hopefully a RA as well, and continue my life as if nothing happened. I might also pick us my second BA again. After the masters I will probably apply again, but then to a greater numbers of schools (> 3).

This is a great topic! I am so glad I haven't told many people. No one whines about it. My mom, however, has told quite some people that I am going to the US. Which is very, very unlikely, but she does not seem to get it... It is only one of my schools, which is also the most selective with about 5% acceptances... Well, shit happens. Lol, indeed! "Where are you studying now?" "Well, still in the same city as you are." "Oh, I thought you were going abroad." "Yeah, I thought I'd better finish my undergrad first. ..."

I have applied to (taught) masters and a PhD, in the UK and US among others. I haven't heard back yet, so I can't be sure how successful my SoPs were. As far as I know, UK SoPs should be more focused. They care less about how well-rounded you are and are only concerned with you academics, which is your coursework and what you have done in your field outside of the degree course. If you mention anything like extracurriculars or irrelevant activities, please directly relate these to the course you are applying for and how these activities make you a great candidate. They want you to answer to obvious questions: why this course, why this university and why (they should accept) you. On top of that, some universities/courses (like Oxbridge) may require proof that you are up to the intense work. Some courses explicitly state what they want you to write about in your SoP, so please check if you can find course specific requirements. Research masters indeed often require a research proposal, which is a different cup of tea (not mine ).

I have applied to three schools. They are said to give out acceptances early March, mid March and late March, respectively. Only the last one may contact me for an interview, but the other two probably not. Just keep an eye out on the results page for official acceptances. I wouldn't worry until many results come in for a specific school and you haven't heard anything. Also, check the results page for the time frames in which offers were made the last couple of years for your specific schools.

I agree that the 'skills' the GRE tests are more like test taking skills and time management skills than anything else. Still I was surprised, since I thought the problems were extremely easy and time was plenty. You just need to be aware of the time constraints. I can imagine that if you have not taken a single timed practice test you might underestimate the pace you'd have to work in. I suppose I am just very fortunate to be used to (severe) time contraints on tests. It probably heavily depends on your education whether you are used to it. Averages per country also vary a lot, although that may to due to a range of factors.

I am actually surprised by the low scores some of the admittees got. I got a 170 on the quantitative, but I would have thought that would be very common among CS and math applicants. I had also expected that native speakers would get higher verbal and AW scores. I am an international and scored 162 verbal and 4.5 AW which I am glad of. I am aware that GRE scores don't really matter as long as you are above a certain cut-off, but still I would have expected applicants to top tier universities to have near perfect scores.

1+2) I applied to a course that takes 5-7 years, depending on whether you already have a master's degree. That would still leave a 2 year gap (assuming a 2 year master's). 3) Some US PhD programs require you to study a foreign language. Berkeley has some programs, for instance. I don't know any UK programs with such a requirement. Of course, but wouldn't everyone deliver a better product after an additional two years?

The length of a PhD program varies throughout the academic world. In the UK 3 years is about the norm, whereas the program takes 5 years in the US. Would this difference show in the quality of the thesis or the 'prestige' of the degree? I know that a PhD in the UK is usually more specialized than in the US, not requiring things as foreign language studies etc.