Hi,

out of my 4 years in London I 've been living 2 of them in the university residence. Main advantages include the proximity to the uni which really cuts down on travel expenses and it also saves time. I found that my quality of life REALLY improves when I live close to work. Moreover, I enjoy living alone. I enjoy it so much that I scream from happiness every night that I go back to my little room and don't have to talk to anyone. Of course, other students in the residence socialise a lot as they cook together, party together etc. I would advice to ask to be with other Master students as it is very hard to live with undergrads.

The main disadvantage is that living in the dorm is expensive as you can find a flat share in zone 2 with less money even when calculating travel expenses. Another massive disadvantage is that you always hear people slamming their doors as they come in and out of their rooms (that drives me crazy). Finally, living in the residence feels temporary (because it is) and it never feels that you have a home.

In Sussex rent is much cheaper compared with London, so you might even rent a small house by yourself. Sussex is really beautiful, (amazing woods with mushrooms, dears and boars, the ocean, nice pubs) but it gets lonely in winter.

Hi Mr2013uk,

generally you can get PhD funding if:
1. you are a very good student who manages to publish your master's dissertation
2. there is lots of funding for research projects coming in the department

Most PhD funding require that you have "a settled status in the UK" which is going to be an obstacle for you.
Keep in mind that because of the lack of industry jobs at the moment, there is an increasing number of students applying for PhDs. It can be very competitive even to get short-listed for an interview. I think that your chances improve if they already know you in the department.

Hope this helps.

Hi Pixiedust,

hope you are feeling better. The fact that you have trouble getting out of bed and getting ready is alarming, together with feeling frustrated/ useless/ guilty. I suggest you should take some time off and talk to someone.

Your health is the most important thing. You shouldn't worry too much about your PhD, you still have plenty of time and at the end everything falls in place :)

I have a similar scholarship- I pay my rent and oops! what are all these zeros on my bank statement?

Don't ever lie to your supervisor, how would you feel if your supervisors were lying to you? It is a relationship based on trust. Although I am allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, my supervisor doesn't allow me to get a job outside of the uni. I do some work in the department and top up my income, but of course it is not enough. Next year I will have to go in debt.

Every PhD is different, and mine was really intense so far, I don't think that I would have survived if I had a job.

I also continued to a PhD after a Master with the same supervisors. They were both very helpful during the Master's dissertation and they became even more helpful during the PhD. They support me in very practical ways, (providing me with whatever I need really fast), academically ( feedback fairly quickly and of good quality) and also psychological support :) which basically takes most time :) I suspect that one of my supervisors tunes off and only hears a fade buzz in the background as I go on and on.....

Hi,



I also took a year off before starting my PhD and it does not reflect bad on you. I wouldn't write anything about my health issues/ family problems in the application. There is an equality form, where you can choose to include this information.
In your application you should focus on your strengths, which is basically your published work. Moreover, write something about your research interests. If you have 2 bachelors in different fields, then stress out that you can develop a multi-disciplinary approach combining both fields.

Also, you should consider doing a master before the PhD in the same university. You have more chances of securing funding if your supervisor already knows you and wants to keep working with you.

Taking into account that a PhD literature review can be longer than the dissertation itself, I would assume that you need to add a substantial amount of work.

But again, every PhD is different. Maybe you have a very limited topic with very few publications available, so you literature review is really limited.

Hi everybody!

at this exact moment I am only procrastinating so as not to get on with a report I have to complete in the next couple of weeks!!!!!

So, I am actually facing the opposite problem... I am at the end of my second year, and writing is pretty much like in everyday life: I cannot stop talking!! I am aiming for a short PhD, I wouldn't like to exceed 60.000 words (without counting appendices, tables and references). I believe that short thesis are stronger, and I don't want to bore the examiners to death! But I produced a massive literature review that is about 1/3 of my aim! I tried so hard to make it more dense, but it was impossible. Then I moved to the methodology, and here again I went on and on...
I ve actually started worrying that a PhD is not long at all, and I will struggle to fit everything in such a tight word count! I really don't know if I am underestimating the whole thing :) I still haven't started the main analysis of the data but I can guess how it will go: analysing and writing for a gazillion years and a half, produce 5 books and then throw all of them in the bin. And then try to edit, oh gosh, and my supervisors roaring with my lack of structure. I try so hard to organise my writing beforehand but I get carried away talking about EVERYTHING humanity knows.

Hi Jay,

I also think that their comments are due to a gap of knowledge than anything else. I don't think you can "correct" the data- my opinion is that this is "cherry picking". If you have time watch statistics in Berkeley on i tunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/statistics-2-001-fall-2009/id354822870). There is a very nice example of researchers deleting one point as an "outlier" while it was actually showing that the engine of the rocket will explode if outdoor temperature was too low. Which of course exploded.
In any case, in real life situations you will always get a skewed distribution... All my data are skewed and I plan to use non-parametric tests. Because I am still struggling with my statistics, why don't you ask for support from the smart nerdy guys.

Yes, it is a good idea to see how other people in your field analysed the data.

What I would suggest is start the presentation with a first slide that describes the order of the presentation... In any case though it is very unlikely that anyone puts references on the first slide, so yeah, the examiners were a bit weird!

It can be very hard working and studying on the same time.

Moreover, depending on the topic you may have field work expenses- travel, food, hotels. I assume that you won't have the expenses of a science PhD like calibration of equipment, repair of equipment, consumables etc. In that case self funded PhD is just impossible- well, unless you are a very bored billionaire....

Hi Dotdot,

just to point out that the first few months of the PhD can be overwhelming. It feels like climbing a very steep foggy mountain. I used to spend endless hours in the office feeling that I achieved very little at the end of the day. The older PhD students told me that this is a sign that I am progressing well. Sometimes I felt that it was so much work and my progress so slow that I would never finish. Moreover, recognition of all the hard work comes much later, and is therefore hard to keep motivation high.

Writing can be really hard and frustrating. Both my first and second publications were a bit more than 10,000 words and it took me a year to complete each. I was working long hours on weekdays and most weekends. Writing courses helped me become more efficient by planning the work ahead.

I don't think that there is an easier way, and it is not a reason to quit. Try to focus on small achievable tasks each day even this goal is writing one paragraph, or reading 2 papers. No reason to get depressed or desperate.

Good luck with your decision.

Hi Anon,

I don't think you should delete the post as old posts are sometimes useful for new people. it is a bit like a "library" of experiences. Students without funding are not worse, sometimes it is pure luck whether you will get it.

Moreover, everyone has difficulties. I have dyslexia, and I don't think of it as a "disability". Sure, some things are harder for me than others, and I may take longer to perform certain tasks, however, it is just a matter of different way to process information. In certain areas I have advantage compared to non-dyslexic individuals.

So far, my PhD has been a matter of being willing to work hard on certain tasks rather than being a genius.

Good luck. PhD is not a Nobel Prize, it is some research in a specific area done over a period of 3 years.

Asthmatic symptoms can be induced by physical exercise- it is not always beneficial. Currently, 1 in 11 children in the UK (WHO) have asthma (diagnosed by a physician, let alone children who might have symptoms but no diagnosis).
However, there is no written plan on asthma in schools.

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I agree with previous posters, I more often receive the question " what is this di di di you are doing? Why don't you have a baby?". At that point you can hear a silent " spinster alert, cat lady standing" as I am already over 30 and no family plans in the horizon. Wait give me these googles... Nope, still no family plan in the horizon :)

You can come with more interesting excuses of why you haven't finished yet " my computer keeps getting a virus and so do all my pens and pencils too ..." I think more people use the question as a conversation ice breaker or to express interest in your life rather than an accusation. "so, when is your viva?" I would ask a friend at a party, and he would go crying straight into the bathroom leaving me clueless "what did I say?"

@florence : at any circumstances don't follow Florence's advice and start talking about your phd! This would end up with you being a social pariahs. The rumour of boredom will follow you around in all interactions and act like a human repellent. I only start talking about my phd in the following situations:
1) genuinely interested chap that specifically asked and participates actively in the conversation
2) annoying male with sexual urges. I start from the part that I collect mucous from people's noses
3) less often, in conferences and supervisory meetings


Just focus on your work! Who cares what other people think?