Sheffield has an excellent developmental neurobiology Research Institute in their Biomedical Science department. I'm sure they'd take Indian students, although I'm not too sure how the funding would work.

I'm getting a bit frustrated and despondent with my current lack-of-PhD-ness, and am feeling old to boot, so just out of interest, how old were all you guys when you started your PhD?

When I was a final year undergrad, a housemate of mine applied for a PhD in her Department, and had to give a presentation to a few members of staff and post docs. However, it was helped by the fact that she knew a couple of the staff, and her presentation was merely a rehash of her dissertation viva, so it wasn't too bad for her. Presentations at interview seem rare, but I presume they're looking for someone who is good at speaking to a group. Good luck!

I would absolutely agree with those posters who have suggested professional help. The only caveat is how long it will take - on the NHS, a wait of over a year would not be uncommon. However, this in itself should not be a barrier to getting help. It just makes things a little trickier.

Hi Angie,

You have my utmost sympathy and empathy here. Sounds like a very hard situation. PhDs are nagging little things which seem not to go away however much you might think it would be easier if they did! Do you know of anyone you could speak to about this, possibly someone impartial (ie not your supervisor, and not a super close friend)? How much work would you say you still have to do to finish? And was there something in particular that made you stop when you did?

Pea, if you can't face the though of the scoop, you could just use your hands

One step ahead of you on that one Ann - already done it :) Thanks forthe suggestion though. Have already sent off my online application, but figured a full CV and exam result breakdown wouldn't hurt so sending those too.

Hmm, ok. So Academic qualifications, then employment, then publications, then skills?

I kinda like having my relevant employment first (it's very relevant, so I want it to stand out more than, say, A Levels). However, I'll definitely take your adivce with a publications section - it is only one, but I would presume that most PhD applicants don't have published work, so it's something I'm certainly not complaining about having to put!

I am currently applying for a PhD, and have a publication I want to include on my CV. My CV has the following sections (in order) - Relevant Employment, Education, Other Employment, Skills. Any idea where I put the publication in all of this?

From a male point of view, I've always worn a suit for interviews. I can see why smart casual - maybe a shirt open at the neck with smart trousers and shoes would be preferable if you don't like wearing a suit, but I really do. In fact, interviews are a good excuse to wear one! Does this make me strange?

Sadly Nezza, I would expect that the interviewer feels the same. There is no rule to prevent this. In fact, the rules that are in place make it obligatory to interview, and so they are the cause of, and not the solution to, this problem.

When I started technician work, I was scared of a large centrifuge with a very heavy and very expensive rotor, liquid N2 (no because of the potential injury so much as getting growled at for using it wrongly), the freezers (in case I accidentally thawed other people's samples), any strong acids or alkalis, anything radioactive, a histamine autoanalysis machine we had, and a large water purification machine. Pretty much everything then...

A few months later, and I was steadier, and by the time I finishe,d nine months later, I was as confident as you can be.

Hey Golfpro, I'm in Preston (living, not at uni atm). Cumbria has some very nice courses - RLSA is rather posh...

Is Freddy still at DC United?