Kleene

Are you talking about admittance or ESOP? I suppose there are many applicants with a 4.0 GPA.

If you are accepted by what is definitely your top choice why not enroll, regardless of any other results not yet out?

Still waiting for MIT, but I suppose many admits (and a few rejects/waitlists) have already heard from them.

This is such a case in which I would nicely ask for feedback on your application. If they have a reasonable answer, so be it. Perhaps they will realize they do not have a reasonable answer.

Sure. I received the email Feb 18, the letter was posted Feb 19 and it arrived Feb 21.

I am still waiting for one or two results, but I am very likely to accept an offer without visiting.

London and Oxford are completely different cities. I applied to Oxford and got my admit to ETH Zurich this week. For me Oxford's collegiate system is a huge plus. Socializing is much easier if you live together and have a college to bind you. You don't have to look for affordable and reasonable housing. In fact, you would not even have to cook your own meals if you do not want to. London (and Zurich for that matter) are different. I am not saying that you should base your decision on this, but it is definitely something to take into account.

In that case I would just follow through with the offer for now to find out if you are interested in working with this other prof.

I am not sure if I get why you applied to the CS department if you wanted to work with someone from the Engineering department. In this context, I am not entirely surprised that you did not get an assistantship with your POI. Did you not see this coming?

I have a really awesome offer now. I am still waiting for two results to come in. One of those is an inferred rejection. The other is possibly an admission. If that is an admission, I would be a very hard decision. At the moment I am glad I have no more than two offers to decide between!

I received the admissions letter today. No word on ESOP. It took two days (I am in continental Europe) to arrive. I am only getting more excited. It will be a very though decision if I am admitted to Oxford.

You could try and look in Europe. I know quite some universities that offer PhD without any coursework.

Yes, that is indeed what it implies. Congrats on your admit!

Mind you that PhDs in the UK usually take 3 years. That's after the MS, without any coursework. In continental Europe 4 or 5 years is quite common, I believe.

By the way, I noticed you said the word 'always'. Some adcoms seem to believe using 'always' is a killer, since it would technically mean since the day you were born. Also, keep in mind that some of my suggestions are severely affected by personal preference. Best of luck to you!

Just some suggestions. red = remove blue = add purple = is a bit vague, I am not entirely sure I get your intention When do you need it? I am not sure if I have time to check your second essay today.

Quite some interesting things happening in the results search. Someone waitlisted yesterday, admitted today, for instance. I have the impression that the application date (if December 15 at the latest) is unrelated to the timing of MIT's notifications. You're a Dutchie too, by the way?

Probably. Apparently they are not satisfied with your transcripts they have now. Make sure that you send transcripts complete with original signatures, stamps, etc.

Those GRE scores seem good enough for top universities. I know that MIT does not have a terminal MS. You apply to the PhD program and do your MS along the way.

Probably, though not for European universities. I have the impression that those acceptances are a lot more to the point, in general. "It is our pleasure to confirm that you will be offered a place in the XXX"

I felt exactly the same.

Was the original transcript that you scanned and sent to them certified/signed/official?

Not that I know of. I have not applied for it, since I did not have a research proposal. I hope to get my funding from other sources.

Lol, I wondered when someone would ask. But no, it has not changed.

Thanks so much for you encouraging reply, Dianali.