See our Funding and PhDs Explained sections for links and information.

This is a big topic. Try searching the forum for things like 'age' or 'discrimination' - you'll find a few interesting (and hopefully encouraging) discussions.

If you are a UK student it will be easier to fund a 4 year MEng, than a 3 year BSc plus an MEng.

Your CV should list the courses you have taken and the grades that you obtained.

How many hours per week do you spend on your MSc (lectures, tutorials, independant study, etc)?

Remeber the PhD studentship is tax free. If you are a single parent and your grant is from a UK research Council you will be able to apply for a Young Dependants Allowance (£2090 for the first child, £1200 for the second, nothing for any others). You will also receive the normal Child Benefit.

This is not very common in the UK. The difference between UK and other EU students is that although most studentships will pay the course fees of any EU national, they will only pay a maintenance grant to UK residents.

The only worthwhile reason to ask to see your reference is if you are having trouble getting a job and can't think why - or if you are about to apply and you're worried that your referee will give you a bad reference. Otherwise you are just going to embarrass somebody who in all likelihood is trying to do you a favour. Asking to see you reference after you have successfully applied for a job is just nosey.

The University of Manchester is one of the top universities in the UK. As we always say on this site, it is the supervisor and the departments reputation you should consider, not the University - there are good departments in bad universities and bad departments in good ones. The most important thing to look for is the Research Assesment Exercise rating (5* is the best).

You should not rely on part time work for financial support. You will not always have time for a second job. Also you should check that you are aloud to work whilst studying in the UK. Nowadays most people are, but you should confirm this before you arrive.

Try submitting this thread.

Freedom of information legislation means that you have the right to see any information stored about you and this includes references.

As long as it's virtual, you can have whatever you want.

Yes you can. There is no central admissions procedure for postgraduate degrees, so nobody knows what else you are applying for. When it comes to accepting a place you'll need to be more carefull. Before accepting a place, make sure that you are not then commited to paying the course fees if you change your mind.

It shouldn't matter, as long as you completed the degree second time around.

It shouldn't stop you getting a PhD place, but would definitely be an advantage. If you can't get work in a research lab, try one of the many temping agencies for laboratory staff. The work you'll end up with will probably be very routine and not necessarily in a research lab, but it will be useful - and you'll get paid.