Good luck - you've done a lot to give yourself the best chance. Sometimes there is an element of being in the 'right place at the right time' with these things, so please remember whatever happens that you are a good candidate and have done all the right things!

NBurger, that all sounds like a nightmare and very difficult to manage when your scholarship has run out - I will definitely need to find work if mine drags on like that. I hope things go smoothly now and that you have a good viva experience!

My experience was similar to IntoTheSpiral's - I'm in a different field, but got my PhD offer with partial MSc results (distinction grade) and references which stated I was capable of independent study. I wasn't asked for my final MSc grade at any stage (even after starting the PhD).

Sounds like quite a schedule, Fled!

How are folk doing this week? I keep finding myself crossing things off in my head these days and saying, 'Well, I'll never have to do that again....', which is possibly a sign that I'm destined for a life of non-academic pursuits! (although I have had the same narrative running through all my studies and have always gone back for more eventually!)

Sounds like you have a very unhelpful, critical inner voice going on there! It is hard to keep plodding on sometimes when you don't know for sure how or if things will work out - I am at that stage too, 8 months to go and don't know yet what my data will show if anything - but I'm sure at this stage there is plenty to be salvaged even if we don't get perfect data! It can be hard to keep the faith sometimes but if your advisors are suggesting minor changes, that's what they think you need to do. There's a final year support thread on here if you have a look around - a few of us are at a similar stage!

Hi Nesrine

I'm sorry to hear you got that outcome. We don't have to go through a confirmation process at my university, but I have friends at other unis who have similarly been asked to re-submit at this stage (I get the impression that it really is something that happens a lot) and they have come out the other side feeling that their work was stronger. I hope this is your experience too, and I'm glad to hear you have such a good relationship with a supportive supervisor who already thinks your work is great.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Tulip. I think it's very helpful to know that even if you come away with a brilliant result, the viva itself may not offer much of a feelgood factor! As I am inclined to hear criticism much more loudly than praise, it is very helpful to know these things in advance. Good luck with your corrections!

I'm so sorry to hear this. It sounds like you have been treated horribly, and to be given the wrong result by mistake is just awful. I hope there is a way to dispute the results, or at least to get some time with your supervisors to sort out what exactly happened and where to go from here. I hope someone here will be able to tell you what the next steps might be, but in the meantime, please take care of yourself because you've had such an awful shock.

In that case, you probably need to go with what your supervisors think is most likely. It may just be one of those things that no-one has written a guideline about. In my own experience of submitting work (but not this type of document), I have never seen references or appendices included in a word count.

Sorry you're feeling terrified to submit - the irony is that they probably think they are being really helpful, but it is daunting to get critical feedback. I think it all feels so personal at PhD level - previously it was just a case of sitting and waiting for a couple of lines of comments to come back on written work, but when you're doing a PhD and have to sit down with the people who're judging your work it is all much scarier!

I'm struggling to get going today. I've noticed that any time I'm working on something that needs to be sent to my supervisors, I slow down to a snail's pace, even though they are never very critical! That fear of being evaluated is a strong one!

We don't have to write a confirmation paper at my university, so I think TreeofLife is right and it varies by institution. There may not even be a standard guide at the uni - lots of these things are variable in my experience!