Feanor

Thank you, and you're welcome! Good luck with your application, hope to see you in Oxford (should I accept their offer) .

Well, UCSD is ranked 59th overall (by QS), but got people like Zelmanov (a Fields Medalist) in the department of Mathematics. I'd say most group theorists, for instance, would consider it a pretty good place to be. I'd say it boils down to who you'd work with and what you'd get to do.

They asked some of the expected questions ("Why Oxford?", "What do you intend to do should you come here?", "Are you familiar with the course structure and specifics?") and a few technical and semi-technical questions, but all very simple. Since I manifested an interest in Category Theory, they asked me to define "category" and asked questions such as "why is Category Theory important for Algebraic Topology?" and "In which situation have you most used CT/ What kind of experience have you had with categories?". I used that one as an excuse to talk about my latest project and I guess that was the part they most enjoyed. Since the project was about profinite groups, they asked me to define "profinite group", but that's how far as it went in terms of technicality. It was quite informal and lasted for about half an hour. The interviewers also asked a few questions on background and experiences (for example, about my exchange period in the U.K as an undergrad) and asked me about my last-semester grades. In the end, they allowed me to ask questions as well and I asked a semi-technical question regarding one of their papers, which they seemed to like. It was way simpler/friendlier than I had antecipated, don't panic in case you get invited, but do your best to prepare for it (become an expert on Oxford, your application materials, the interviewers, the department, your past projects, etc). By the way, I don't think you'd be able to prepare for the technical questions upfront, so just trust your background and you should be fine (they mostly ask for definitions, but I've heard of people being asked for very simple theorem statements or outlines of proofs).

Yes, I know I'll have to wait until I have my college offer in order to be considered of any of it's scholarships, but I was wondering about the university-wide ones since they've asked for a reply on their offer by mid February. Sure, I will proceed as if no scholarships will be awarded, but I don't want to miss any opportunities elsewhere by accepting an offer too soon. At least it seems my acceptance is not binding before I accept the college's offer, which should take quite a few weeks to come...

Does anyone know when people tipically find out about decisions regarding scholarships and funding in Cambridge and Oxford (such as the Claredon Fund)? It is complicated to decide wheter to take an offer without knowing the whole financial scenario and I can't seem to find this information online...

I've recently received an offer from Oxford for the MFoCS program and am waiting for Cambridge's decision for the Part III of the Mathematical Tripos. Should I get an offer from Cambridge, which school should I pick? I am most interested in Category Theory and fields such as Algebraic Topology and Homological Algebra. Both schools offer a very good array of courses and house excellent academics in these areas... so its hard to decide. Does anyone have any arguments to share against or in favour of one of these options? Any insider information will also be much appreciated. Thank you!

I submitted my application in October 10 and had a Skype interview in January 7 with two faculty members. The offer letter mentioned I should get a college offer within a few weeks.

Yesterday, I was also freaking out about the possibility of not getting accepted anywhere - today, I got an offer from Oxford (which may be my only offer, but you just need ONE). You've done what you can, now just try to sit back and relax...ok, that's impossible. But try to do something besides spamming F5 in your email, it won't help. Besides, Fullbright is very competitive, isn't it? You may still be very qualified, even though you weren't selected.

Has anyone else received an offer for the MSc in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science from Oxford? Any news regarding colleges or scholarships?

If that happened to me, I'd pretty much assume I was accepted (and made an impression). He wouldn't go that far for a random applicant.

I suppose "we will get in touch within a couple of weeks" means "we may contact you in precisely two weeks". Gosh, they could've said something during the interview, couldn't they?

Tell me about it, I keep replaying the interview I had last week and how I should have mentioned/asked certain things...

I'm positive Chicago wants to induce a heart attack. You open your mailbox and are greeted by an email from "The University of Chicago", sent from their grad admissions' email... telling you all about the problem of rescuing endangered languages, their research on Mexico and "interesting" alumni.