Hi dee2005

In the UK, most (not all) research assistant posts require the post holder to register for a PhD anyway. Competition for these posts is especially fierce.

What individual projects or places?

I'm thinking about funding and if there was a research assistant place with a specific project in the same dept would you be allowed to do both?

If you are a full-time PhD student you are expected to devote the majority of your time to the PhD. Taking on significant amounts of work would generally be frowned upon.

Applied for 4 studentships, interviewed for 3 and got offered 3. Wondering now if I made the right decision picking the one I did....

Is a studentship when the money is already there for a specific project?

Not necessarily - a studentship can be funded or unfunded

http://www.postgraduateforum.com/showmessage.asp?thread=4910

I'm so new to this.

just the one. i was lucky to get it first time.

None.

I applied to 6. For one of them, my application arrived too late and was not considered. I withdrew another one, and I got 4 offers, however only one of them with funding. I was lucky that the department which offered me funding was my first choice, if not it would have been difficult to choose.

After my first masters, probably 5. I got offered one, but they did not have funding, they promised me they would get some but it did not appear, so I pulled out. From the other 4, I had 4 interviews, 2 I made the reserve list for. Another one, 3 or 4 years later I still have not heard anything from (I did have an interview). After my second masters, I graduated last year, I applied for one this year . I was thinking of doing a PhD, I saw an advert for a research assistant, and after emailing my now supervisor several times with questions about her research, she asked me to apply for the PhD, which I have accepted and has full funding. My moral is don't give up if you really want to do a PhD, by the time I was offered this one, I knew exactly what I wanted from a PhD, unlike a few years back, and I know myself better.