I am leaving to Limerick for a PhD. What is Limerick like? is it good? are there tennis courts? thanks to all

Hi, we have just been trying to buy a house for a year so know all about it! firstly, you could try HSBC (you need to bank with them). They will consider a bursary and offer a loads of money (about 4 x joint salary)-be careful not to overstretch yourself though. Also, HSBC are very strict regarding who they will lend too, you need to have excellent bank statements etc.. pref not in the red, missed any payments or had any cheques bounce and all that.

Other than that Scottish Widows do a really good graduate mortgage and consider bursary's as an income. the alternative would be to have a parent as a guarantor but remember if you miss a payment they will be liable for the entire mortgage. They also need to be in a position to beable to pay your mortgage theoretically. so unless they are minted, they might not even be eligible. get online and get phoning around! good luck

also...these two were the only ones we found who offered mortgages to PG students AND offered 100%. If you have a deposit you might find it easier but this will usually need to be 5% of house price. I think you'll find halifax only goes up to 95%

I went to see about this and Halifax are meant to give mortgages to PhD students so try them. Good luck!

I agree with anon german, you should really begin reading review articles. However, don't sweat too much as you will have plenty of time to read like mad when you actually start the project!

What is wrong with that Pippo? Its not a dream, its is perfectly feasible.

My partner and I want to get onto the property ladder..........keep on dreaming

Appear confident ! It can seem a scary thing, all those faces looking at you, but if you prepare you'll be okay. Look at the questions you'll be expected to go over, practise on a friend beforehand to get a feel for explaning things to others, and if you're unsure of something don't try and bullshit. Say you don't know but you'll find out and either email them or tell them next time. Let us know how it goes !

yap, i'd better.

Well I asked my supervisors for some pre-reading on the topic. Most of it is utterly incomprehensible, so don't worry ! The whole point of doing a PhD is that you WILL understand it all eventually, they won't expect you to yet ! The fact that you are making the effort to try and find out a bit more will be a positive thing. Good luck !

Hey. At the moment i'm just enjoying it whilst i can ! Been out with my new housemates, meeting my new fellow students tomorrow, it's all good ! Just enjoy it before it really goes mad !

Avoiding marraige is NOT a reason to do a PhD. However, enjoying research is. It's your call.

http://www.jobs.ac.uk always have stuff in Holland. Good luck.

Reading your supervisor's stuff will just scare you. Be patient, work hard , and everyting will follow. (Honest!)

Check 23 September's edition of Times Higher Education Supplement (THES). Students are very satisfy with Cranfield.

Who encouraged you to read your superviosor's thesis? I do not see the essence in reading a full thesis now as that might shallow your criticality. Get involve in the 'Green Leaves' fun and the rest will follow.