CS PhD: Cornell, UChicago, Waterloo or Oxford?

[Abaco]

Dear colleagues,

I am in the tough phase of choosing a graduate program.
For this reason, I am gathering as much information as
I can to make this decision. I have received valuable advice
so far, but it is never too much. I am specially interested in
theoretical computer science. If it is not asking too much, I
would like to know your opinions. How you would reason
about this decision may be of great value. Perhaps, it may
unveil some aspect that I was missing.

I look forward to hearing your opinions.

[cs_phd]

I think cornell is good for theory. I don't know much about oxford's theory cs. I would choose cornell unless Oxford's theory is far better than cornell's.

[Kleene]

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.