Marst

Thanks! Good luck to you too. Hope things work out. Keep us updated.

I have a chronic pain issue that is often managed alright, but at times I cannot even read or write let alone think or conduct research. Therefore, I am also contemplating telling my advisor. I will probably wait until I officially enroll in the PhD (still in masters atm), but I might have to start experimenting with meds again soon, which means that I might get worse for a while. Are you registered with the disability services? I haven't had the guts yet to go that way, but they should be able to advise your on this matter.

Interesting move on A's part. Is this seriously the university asking, an adcom or something, or is it simply a POI you have been in touch with? The latter would make sense.

Do you ever work outside? If so, where do you go and how do you make it work? It probably depends on your discipline where it is at all possible , but I like to work outside every now and then. My laptop can go for about 4 hours with a bright screen (necessary to see anything at all in the sunlight). Just have to make sure I don't bring any notes that can be blown away by the wind. In any case, with nice weather it is always a trade-off between sitting comfy and having your own space with all your stuff, or being outside and getting some fresh air.

I am surprised that you of all seem to be able to keep a schedule. I have a very hard time living a structured life. How about people who only have their research going on, no classes and no teaching? Are you also able to maintain a schedule? I have a lot of issues with maintaining anything resembling a schedule and could do with some tips!

In my case, it was very similar to applying from the outside. The differences were that I did not have to pay an application fee, could resubmit my letters from the masters admissions (plus one new one from my course supervisor), and I had with a lot more know-how of the process. Undergrad GPA (or actually class rank) was an important factor in securing funding, as well as graduate class rank. Admission was indeed rather easy, but funding was another thing entirely.

If you don't have to do any coursework, it might be possible. I don't expect many supervisors to be willing to go that way with a student, though. Your best shot is probably at your current institution (or masters institution if you have already graduated).

This is simply not true. Oxford (and other universities in the UK) give out more offers than they have funding for. That is standard practice. Then, the top candidates are funded. It is true, however, that non-EU tuition is more expensive than EU tuition. That gives rises to a situation that is similar to in-state and out-of-state tuition. Yes, some funding is only for EU students, but other scholarships are exclusively for non-EU students. TL;DR: An American that does not get funding in Oxford was simply not competitive enough to get funding.

This.

So the 'party' will only involve the three of you? That might be awkward.

UK masters are not 'terminal' in the sense of US masters. In the UK doing a masters (or an integrated masters, either integrated in undergrad or integrated in PhD) is mandatory in most fields. Therefore, many masters are very rigorous and aimed at prospective PhD-applicants. If TS wants to apply for European PhDs, a masters is pretty much the only way to go.

Uhm, ETH is known to give stipends of at least 50k. Yes, Zurich is expensive, but the stipend will more than compensate for that.

It sounds like your advisor could recommend you to take certain courses if they are relevant for your project and you lack some background knowledge/skills.

Thanks, I will give it a try and report back.

Alright, that makes sense. I was already surprised that Edinburgh would accept CS PhD students straight out of undergrad. So the Edinburgh program is a 1 + 3 or something? I think those MScs in maths and CS diminish the advantage of the coursework in the US PhD. Do you have to TA or RA in Amherst or Edinburgh, or can you focus on your own research? Other that all that, you might want to consider where you would like to work after graduation. Working in Europe will be easier with a European degree, like wokring in the States will be easier with a US degree. Also, you will have to live there for 4 to 7 years during your PhD, so have you visited both places to see whether you would like living there?

Since you have very little CS background, you are probably better off with Amherst. The coursework will prepare you better for industry. That is, if other factors do not sway you to Edinburgh. Bear in mind that most European students have MScs before they go into PhD and, therefore, better employment prospects in industry. Your prospects in academia largely depend on how well you do in your PhD. Edinburgh is a great school, so that should be no impediment. I don't know any European academics that did postdocs in the US, so I am not sure where you got that from.

Neat!

It is a bit of a cheat, but go for a program that allows you to finish all coursework before starting on research. (I just finished my last exams. Unless I have done poorly in two of them (unlikely), I can now completely focus on research. Really happy with that.)

Although I agree with the rest of your post, the first sentence is not true for all programs. Some programs give out funding based on a departmental ranking, and these rankings might very well be based on "objective" measures such as GPA, GRE, class rank, etc.

Without wanting to jump to conclusions , I would recommend anyone with an offer for Cambridge maths part III to go for it and never look back.

Isn't ETH's degree 1,5 years? I think you should take it very seriously that Stanford takes many of its own masters students for PhD. Applying to stay on at a institution is SO much easier than applying from outside. Since you have never been to the States at all, I think it would be wise to visit (preferably Stanford, of course) before making your decision if at all possible. I am not sure where you are from, but the education, demography and geography are all very different in the States than in Europe (although the States and Europe are both not homogeneous, obviously). You might have a preference as to where you would want to spend the next X years of your life.

For many European PhD programs, a masters is a prerequisite. Those programs usually have no or very little coursework, allowing you to progress to research much quicker.

I have deliberately avoided courses that were not (almost completely) new to me. Can't stand it either. So far I have managed to take up new stuff, though!

I registered for Evernote, but couldn't find anything like that on the web app. Maybe someone knows if the Android app has different functionalities?

In general, it is safe to say that the time of applying for a masters does not have any influence on the outcome. They make sure that courses do not "fill up" before the application deadline. Of course, it is different when you are applying for a single project as a PhD student or something. Therefore, the result should be the same when you apply in April compared to any other time in the year. I think it is possible to accept an (unfunded) place in the UK only to later withdraw. The two times I applied they wanted a reply asap, but in July or August at the latest. (Having applied in January.) To be sure, you would have to inquire at the specific universities you have in mind.