"Safety" - "UNSUCCESSFUL"

[logaritym]

Bad day - I was just rejected by my "safety" (University of Bristol - UK). Now I'm thinking about applying for some more universities, if it's not too late. I guess I should aim again at ~TOP50. Can someone give me any good suggestions for pure mathematics (low application fee, late deadlines, etc.)?
Thank you!

[lpt234]

Don't panic, you have a very good Math GRE and this is very important in the US. If you want to apply to another university ( which I think will be useless according to your background and the number of universities you have applied to), you certainly should apply in the US, where you GRE will count. Unfortunately, I don't know any university where you can still apply at the end of January.

[blerg]

Also, don't forget that many times a safety school (one well below your qualifications) will reject you because they know if it unlikely that you will attend. i.e. you got rejected because you're overqualified.

I know there are a few US schools with late deadlines. One that I know know for sure is Rice (because I am applying there).

[owlpride]

Georgia Tech accepts applications until March.

[fireandgladstone]

I like the idea of an IMO gold medalist worrying about his admission prospects.

[logaritym]

Thank you, guys!
I guess the best option is to wait for a while until I'm accepted somewhere or rejected from few other universities and then eventually send a last-minute application to a lower-ranked school. Florida and Mass.Amherst have late deadlines too.
Greetings!

[Ghost Map]

Surely you were rejected because you were overqualified - if I recall correctly, Bristol asks you to list the other institutions you've applied to. Gold medals in the IMO and undergraduate publications are both very rare, but you have both! If you don't mind me asking, what particular area of mathematics are you interested in and was your publication related to that area?

[logaritym]

The last two years weren't very successful for me and I dropped my level a little bit (had to improve my English, at some point got addicted to my PS3). I'm 25 now and in 2010 I finished my MSc. The article was joint and published after I graduated, so I guess it's not so valuable. It was in (Analytic) Number Theory, which is the field I want to continue working in.
As far as I know, Bristol is very good university and has strong department in ANT. Even though I considered it as a "safety", I should be happy to study there if accepted.

[cbreeden]

I can tell that you haven't really experienced much outside the academic world. Clearly, competition is stark when it comes to applying for graduate schools. However, I think that you are apprehensive in that you don't have the "perfect" application. That is OK. Very very few people have a "perfect" application. What is clear is that you have a very competitive application. You shouldn't need to worry so much--striving to reach your full potential and stressing out over you comparative rank against other individuals are two completely different things. You will be accepted with one of the colleges you have applied to. So take this moment of waiting for your schools to reply as a nice short hiatus and relax. Best of luck.

[Ghost Map]

Congratulations on reaching the Oxford interview stage - it is my understanding that Oxford will only interview the applicants that they are seriously considering. Was it a phone interview with a research group to help them make recommendations? Don't worry about it too much, I think you'll be fine as long as you answered the technical questions reasonably well.

[smartiful]

t is my understanding that Oxford will only interview the applicants that they are seriously considering.

This is indeed the case, so don't worry too much just yet. As long as you answered the mathematical questions OK you should be fine!

[logaritym]

Well, I really messed it up seriously this time (my first interview, panicked a lot). Couldn't recall facts, made some (math) errors, even forgot to check what exact research I could do there. It was absolutely disastrous!
However, at least I had the opportunity to talk with a great mathematician, so I'll be thinking about it while making sandwiches in SubWay:)

[Ghost Map]

Still not to worry - not every aspiring mathematician is great at interviews. For instance, I was also recently interviewed by the Oxford number theory group, and I was extremely nervous as the interviewer was a very prominent academic (probably the same academic who interviewed yourself). In preparation, I had basically memorised my personal statement and research objectives, but had not prepared for many of the common interview questions. Consequently, I completely failed to provide an answer to one particular common (non-technical) question >.<

[logaritym]

Guys, sorry for the spam, but I'm freaking out!
I have only one acceptance with funding so far (and it seems to be not very good financial offer, comparing it to the others). It's probably a little bit late to be accepted elsewhere (I know that there is still some chance), but I really can't wait one more month until I hear the official decisions. I already asked on another forum, but would like also to consult with you - is it acceptable to ask the departments what's going on with my application? What should I send them?
I want to study and to party, but these adcoms are killing me instead...
Thank you!

[owlpride]

It's totally okay to inquire about the status of your application. "Am I still being considered for admission? When can I expect to hear back?"

They will probably tell you why you haven't heard back yet. You might be on an internal waitlist, maybe they haven't made admission decisions yet, maybe the admission offers go out through the graduate school (which causes some delay), or maybe they are too lazy to send out rejection letters.

You won't know until you ask!

[lpt234]

I totally agree with owlpride, but I think you should wait at least 2 weeks, since it is normal that you have not received some of the responses yet.

[logaritym]

Thank you for the answers!
All of the US schools I applied for have already sent a bunch of acceptance letters... Additionally, 2 weeks seem as painfully too much time for me now... [edited] I sent the letters.
Greetings!

[aas56]

I mean man you got accepted in Illinois UC which is a great department . By the way usually the money they pay you for TA is always enough to get a modest life in US. I am not saying that to cheer you up but it's true fact.
Besides Don't compare the TA offer between universities because every region has a different standard of living.
Anyway I wish you better luck in the remaining applications.

[MattW]

The cost of living in Urbana Champaign is quite low compared to other regions. The stipend should be enough for the two semesters a year in which you're taking classes, so I wouldn't worry about it. You will probably have to find another job over the summers, although you may get lucky and be hired through the math department at UIUC. Good luck with the rest of your applications.

[owlpride]

I think it's important to compare funding offers, but there's several things to take into account:

(1) Amount: Can you comfortably live off of your stipend?
(2) Duration: Are students typically funded for four years or six?
(3) Stability: Is continued support guaranteed, or is funding renewed competitively each year?
(4) Work load: Are you working 10 hours a week or 20? Do you get off-years without TA duties?
(5) Nature of work: Will your duties facilitate your professional development or will you be doing tedious grading for 20 hours a week?

logaritym, please keep us updated about the responses you get. Now I am curious

[fireandgladstone]

I'm more curious about the person with offers from MIT, Berkeley, Cornell, Columbia, and Ann Arbor...

How's the decision process going?

[owlpride]

The decision process is about to go on an extended vacation to NYC and Boston and San Francisco.

Good luck to everyone who's still waiting!!!

[logaritym]

10x again to everybody!
I guess you're right, maybe the financial offer is not that bad. If the funding is enough to live in Illinois decently, this is really a great opportunity!
Owlpride, have a nice well-deserved vacation:)
Good luck, guys!

[Ghost Map]

Don't worry about it too much. I'm not entirely sure about US universities, but unlike most UK universities, Oxford and Cambridge do not usually make decisions until late March. In fact I know of potential D.Phil candidates being interviewed (for the first time) by the Oxford research groups in late February. I have not yet been informed of the outcome of my PhD applications (masters applications e.g. part III is a different matter) to Oxford nor Cambridge and I do not know of anyone who has. In any case, let me know if you receive a response from Oxford or Cambridge.

[smartiful]

Apologies for being so nosy, but any update on this?

[logaritym]

I'm back!
Got some good news, many bad news...
However, does anyone know something about the "Weidenfeld" or "Raffy Manoukian" scholarships in Oxford? I'm an Armenian, accepted without funding.
Greetings!

[irreducible]

I'm back!
Got some good news, many bad news...
However, does anyone know something about the "Weidenfeld" or "Raffy Manoukian" scholarships in Oxford? I'm an Armenian, accepted without funding.
Greetings!

Weidenfeld deadline for this year was in January...
http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/pros ... eidenfeld/

Raffy Manoukian deadline is in about one hour...
http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/pros ... ty/raffym/

I hope you have already applied to Raffy. You won't know the result of these until May which would mean turning down the US schools.

Illinois is looking good right now

[smartiful]

Armenian nationals are automatically considered for the Raffy Manoukian scholarships, so he probably made than deadline. Having read the description and selection criteria of the Weidenfeld scholarships - these seemed to be geared towards politics and the social sciences?

Personally - I highly doubt it's worth turning down UIC.

[irreducible]

What did you decide to do?

[logaritym]

I still don't know - I have few more hours to decide what to do. But probably I'll go outside - through the window...

[smartiful]

Do you intend to email UIUC at midnight? Nerves of steel

[logaritym]

I chose UIUC in the last minute, I hope I didn't miss the deadline.

[owlpride]

Wow, that sounds awful! I am sorry that this all happened to you at the worst time possible!!! I know it doesn't help but you do have my full sympathy!

[PNT]

You can't do much better then UIUC if your interested in analytic number theory

[logaritym]

Yes, the ANT department of UIUC is really one of the best and fits very well my interests. The problem is that I put too much time and effort (preparing for GRE GENERAL) and hoped to get in one of my dream schools - Stanford/Oxford especially. However, thanks to everyone for all advices during the last few months, the drama is over. I wish you success and all the best in your future careers!
Greetings:)

[johnrichard]

Yes..that works pretty good in your needs.

Good Luck.