======= Date Modified 16 Jun 2012 10:11:37 =======
Hi,

i've been offered a place for a Masters in Bioinformatics with a very good university and the possibility for PhD after. But here are the issues...

1) I'll have to move to the other side of country. Apart from the cost it doesn't bother me.

2) Unfortunately I didn't get the scholarship I applied for but I have the option of a student loan to cover 70% of the fees. I still have to pay £2,000 from my pocket for fees (which I don't particularly have laying around + moving/living expenses).

3) I know it might be silly but I'm 31 in a few months. I'm thinking that if I go down this rabbit hole I'll be 35-36 before I finish my PhD. I've been told that bioinformatics have good job prospects so there might be light at the end of the tunnel.

The alternative will be to find a decent job in London and move on with my life.

So... is it worth it??

thanks,
Dora

I agree Dalmation. An article on that would be more helpful.

======= Date Modified 26 Apr 2012 13:43:25 =======
Smoobles that was actually useful. You pointed out all the things I need to consider.

I did very little bioinformatics as part of my undergrad and i'm familiar with BLAST etc and I understand code more/less but I've got no real experience in it. I've been studying a bioinformatics book by Arthur Lesk because I applied for another Bioinformatics MSc with Edinburgh which I have place for because I thought it would be a good idea to catch up. The book covers most areas of bioinformatics but like you said it would be a good idea to read recent literature.

I wish they offered me a funded place.. I have to go through pages and pages online to figure out who's offering funding and how i can apply. Most of them are so vague.


Ejc: I replied to you.

Fantastic news! Congrats!!!! :-) (up) (up) I'm sure you feel relieved and many thanks for the hints, very helpful!(up)

======= Date Modified 26 Apr 2012 13:36:24 =======
I got short-listed for interview for MSc in Bioinformatics at Imperial Colelge in London. I have to do a 5 minute presentation on my review of a recent paper. Any advice?

"At your interview we would like you to make a 5 minutes presentation that presents a review of a recently published bioinformatics journal paper. The paper must describe an original topic of research and must not be a general review of an area. Please bring 1 copy of the paper with you to the interview. The interview panel will have bioinformatics academics including those with strengths in the numerical and biological areas so your introduction should be brief and focused. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes, as there will be questions about your general background, reasons for applying for the course etc as well as the presentation."


I'm dreading it but I know I need to focus! But seriously, any advice will be much appreciated.

Well... here I am again... I sent e-mails out. Half of them replied and the projects they are offering are not the ones advertised. I was told to contact other professors which I did and they don't take on new students :( . I'm losing hope by the day here.

I contacted the prof that I'm supposed to send the application to when It's complete and he told me what I already knew, that I should contact supervisors and discuss topics. I think I will draft a standard email and send it all five of them. I'll post when It's ready.

======= Date Modified 16 Jan 2012 21:03:03 =======
Hi all,

I came across a PhD studentship at UCL (which by the way I DID NOT read properly - but realised AFTER i contacted the Professor with a question and I bet he'll think I'm dumb :-(). Anyhow, apparently I have to contact all the supervisors that I'm interested in agreed on a project and then apply for the studentship if I'm accept. And all that has to happen by February 10! No pressure!

My issue is that there are 28 supervisors (!) and all the project and all the supervisors are very similar and all very very interesting to me but I managed to limit it down to 5 supervisors

. How do i go about clearing this out? I never had to do this before. I usually apply for standard projects as advertised. Do I just contact them and introduce myself and ask them for a list of their current projects or do I have to come up with my own idea?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

http://academy.swanlotus.com/downloads/PhDGuide.pdf

======= Date Modified 11 Dec 2011 13:55:17 =======
That's all I've been thinking lately!! How burnt out I am and I'm not even doing a PhD right now but I'm applying for some. Since I finished my undergrad I find it very difficult to read anything or focus on anything which is extremely frustrating considering I used to have your schedule and read more or less anything that would come my way! It's veeeeeeeeeeeeery frustrating, I feel you but I haven't found a solution yet. I took holidays with my partner (which probably didn't help) cause all I feel I need is go off somewhere on my own, empty my head and start all over. In the meantime I'm just hoping that I will snap out of it somehow.

If you do find a different solution to it, share!

ps: i have a bf and that can be frustrating some times too (as well as not having a bf/gf) cause you never get a minute to yourself, especially if you live together like we do. So the grass is not greener on the other side either, even though I know what you mean.

Hi all,

i finally got a reply from Cambridge today saying I didn't get the PhD I applied for :((. I'm still where I was and still debating if it's worth to keep applying. Hope others are luckier than me.

Thank you all. You are being extremely supportive! I actually received an email from Cambridge today saying they haven't finished shortlisting! So there's still hope :-) . I am working on what I'd say in an interview cause I usually suck at them which will help me with other applications and I'm also looking around for other programs.

I'm still conteplating moving to London which is the biggest city nearby cause is be able.to do a masters there.

I'll keep you posted x

Thanks for the support Caro. I have already considered the part-time Masters option but unfortunately I live in a town with 2 universities and another 3 in towns nearby and neither of them has anything relevant for me!! It just shows that universities focus on "what's in fashion" rather than good old science, which means I would have to move to a new town to do that (which is an idea I'm still exploring).

I'm turnign 30 in a couple of days and I feel like I missed the boat when I think of how many students are out there with same or better qualifications than me and younger! (I'm not even sure if that plays any role but it's just depressing).

I'm still looking for any relevant topics but there's not much of what i know how to do around but we'll see how it goes.


thank you all for the support and the sharing.

Just a little update.. It's the 20th today and the interviews for the Cambridge PhD are on the 26th and I haven't heard anything so I'm assuming that's a no. Thanks for your help with this application. I'm looking around for something else but I'm losing hope.:-(

Congrats!!! Keep us posted!(up)