Congratulations GoingNuts!!! I am so thrilled for you, this good news is totally inspiriring!!

How many of us are left now? Is it just moi? :-)

That is brilliant news!!!! :-)(up) so so pleased for you!!! At least now you can throw your application for royal mail in the bin ;-) and who knows, maybe you won't need quite as much therapy 8-)

Thanks Miss Hopeful. Don't worry there are still others waiting - we wouldn't leave you alone anyway!!! I know the support I've had off you all has been immense but we must keep it going till the bitter end!!!!

Fingers crossed there is good news all the way. If not from the AHRC then Uni funding or even a lottery win!!!

Thanks stressed but I still think I need the therapy- shaky confidence syndrome doesn't disappear over night!!!

Whoa - congratulations! Brilliant, brilliant news!

Hopefully this means that there's some good news coming out of panel four for me soon too! Don't think the post has arrived at my parent's house yet, so maybe there's a chance I could still be hearing something today. Fingers crossed. Am I the only panel 4 PhD waiting here now? :(

I'm still waiting for panel 7 PhD. The postman must think I'm a complete nutter, waiting by the door every day, the door has glass in it so he can see me clearly lurking there. My husband phoned the AHRC this morning to ask if my letter had been sent and the secretary said that I should have received it by now. So is it lost in the post?? I'm going mad here, I managed to control it for ages but now my supervisor keeps asking me if I've heard anything...

Rejected.

Unsuccessful.

The LoD arrived this morning and I got my Mum to open it over the phone. I could tell from her description that it wasn't good news and I just wanted to know. I feel numb right now. I had a little cry on my lunchbreak and now I seem to be taking it fairly well - I mean, me and 70% over the applicants right? It's sad because given the type of study I am applying for - that which helps others in the community (homeless people, the elderly, the disabled, children, refugees etc) - I feel that I had quite a good case. But who knows how many others applied with the same course? It could come down to many many things, not least things like references which I ultimately have no control over. I think I knew all along this would be the result. I got a grade 4, so not even close.

I guess for me now it's research into other options, loans and potentially getting a part-time job. I am still going ahead with the Masters because (maybe foolishly) I believe I CAN make a difference and use theatre to improve the lives of others.

Does anyone know where I can find a list of other sources? I know someone on the AHFF has compiled a list.

Thanks for the support everyone, it has meant a lot. Good luck to all those who are waiting to hear xxx

i missed out on masters funding last yr, and my applic was messed up this yr by my dept not sending the PG results form. However, its completely possible to do a masters and work part time. Might be a bit annoying, and eat into any time you might want to do other stuff in, but entirely possible. Yes, you need to aim to get work handed in that represents the best you can do, but most people i know had to work and have still\managed to get marks at distinction!

MissHopeful, I'm really sorry you got bad news about your funding. If you're really keen on the subject areas you mentioned, is it worth trying to get a part-time job in the same area you want to study? Then your paid employment would inform what you're doing on your Masters, and vice versa. Or at least it might give you the edge over other people if you applied for funding in the future. Also, some employers fund staff doing work-related courses in their own time if they get something out of it too, so that might be a option for you at some point. (Mine did, fees only so I have to work p/t, but it's better than being completely self-funded.)
Hope you find a way that suits you. Take care.

I'm so sorry MissHopeful its crap. I just don't understand why they can't get the bloody letters out sooner!!! I know I'm repeating myself but I DON'T UNDERSTAND why it takes them so long to inform everyone when rankings were finalised in July! Aaaahhhhhhhh! What can I say, your project sounds brilliant and benefits communities in a direct way. It's bloody wrong, people like you should be supported - governments waste enough money on stupid initiatives that benefit nobody - its so frustrating that someone like you doesn't get the help that they so richly deserve.

I really hope you make it xxx

and Miss Hopefull - really glad yr going ahead anyway. You might be skint for 12 months, but if it helps you get into a career you want and are committed to you its a small sacrifise in the long term!

Arrrggghhh Misshopefull, I'm really sorry to hear about that. :(

This may well be the last thing you want to hear, but I've just got a phone call from my parents telling me that the letter has arrived and that I've got funding. I'm really happy that I've got it, but I must admit it was easier to celebrate last year when I didn't see these forums and didn't find out about all the brilliant people and projects that don't get it. Arrrgggghhhhhhh, survival guilt...

For the record - its a PhD, panel 4, dated 22nd of August.

Good luck to everybody else still waiting - hope you all hear some good news soon.

Really glad to hear your news Bobnic - am I the only Panel 4 who didn't? :-( sigh, at least some of us did, and I really am genuinely happy for you and GoingNuts! I do think part of the issue with mine is that I had to work hard to show qualitative stuff, its a heck of a lot of quantatitive work (census work and cross referencing with employment records from 1840-1900) and that's just not their thing is it! At least in a way I have a lot more freedom now and can do what I want to do rather than what they want me to do if that makes sense.

MissHopeful - what can I say hon? I'm so so sorry sweetheart - that is just gutting :-( I'm really pleased you're going to go ahead - contact Alice on the AHFF forum and she will help you - she's amazing and knows only too well the pain of rejection herself! Its just all completely f*cked up! (sorry about the language) people who will do bloody amazing things for other people get rejected, while others who still don't have a clue what they want to do get it! That doesn't apply to anyone here btw - I'm really pleased so many have been successful, its really nice to see, I'll get off of my downer sooner or later lol. I just think so much of this is what will sell a good book, or make money in the future. I don't know, I'm being a bit cynical right now lol - call it sour grapes!

Congrats to those who got funding and my sympathies to those who were disappointed with the news they got. I think its entirely possible to do well on a degree while you are working either part time or fulltime--its just a matter of structuring your priorities and your time. Its certainly do-able. What is the old saying, there is nothing as powerful as a made up mind? For myself, I found working while pursuing a degree forced a strict time management schedule, and a very focused approach to the work, and this was to my benefit, I think. Working probably has some advantages over not working, imo, and I don't think anyone should not pursue their dream...if you can self-fund through work, go for it.

MissHopeful - a quick PS...
Not foolish to think theatre can help people either - I came across this PhD recently, though it's not my area at all...
http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/44959.htm