On balance, I don't think that you do have a point. Obviously, your supervisor is coming across as a little tactless by bigging-up other students and not you, and it is possible he is indirectly having a 'dig' at you, but then again he may have been completely innocent.

So many academics have little to no people skills (hence the fact they aren't working in the private sector!), and they don't recognise when they are insulting or upsetting people. It's just something one has to develop a thick skin and beware of over-analysing situations.

Tydra, you can apply for funding in different ways. You can get a place and then look for funding, or look directly for an advertised funded position. Generally, the sciences have more funding, so I believe the most common way is to look at advertised funded places and apply directly. Your best chances of getting funding will be via studentship (as Shani says you won't get full funding for the leading research councils), or through the private sector.

I got into UCL with a 2.1 and As at A level (although I eventually chose another London college).

As Smilodon says, masters courses are cash cows. If you make the grade, you normally get in. The obvious exceptions to this rule are very popular courses at Oxbridge.

I would also recommend going for a flat too, and preferably in a building that only houses postgraduate students. I know a few people who stayed in the shared flats in Manchester, and even found those a bit too loud. I don't know what your budget is, but Manchester has very cheap private sector accommodation.

Alice, should I assumed that's sarcasm?;-)

As far as I'm aware, universities cannot charge EU students extra fees (this is EU law): for example, if both a UK and EU student receive a fully funded studentship from a university, the EU student cannot then be subject to extra fees (akin to an overseas student). If an EU student wins research council funding, the council has the right to not give the student maintenance money; however, they will still pay their tuition fees and this will be at the UK rate, and the student will not be subject to additional fees.

Alice, non-UK EU students should be treated exactly the same as UK students when it comes to fees. If a EU students wins standard funding then they shouldn't be paying a top-up. This is generally speaking, of course.

The Dutch tax system is punishing. The first bracket is >33%, and it's easy to slope into the 40 and 50% rates. At a guess, a PhD student, assuming they 'pay' is taxable, will be subject to plus 30 and plus 40 tax rates on their income.

======= Date Modified 14 Feb 2009 05:32:24 =======
Hi,

A standard PhD in the UK is three years. There is no 'pay', but rather a student receives funding from a research council, the university directly, a charity or the private sector. This funding is not automatic, but within the sciences there are lots of funding opportunities attached to specific projects that you may apply for directly. The funding varies, but it's generally around £9-14,000 a year depending on the source, and tuition fees are paid. The funding is generally a standard amount each year, and may go up in line with inflation, but does not usually involve increases like the Netherlands. The funding is non-taxable, so what you see is what you get.

Funding is provided for three years, and a candidate is expected to research and submit their thesis at the end of 3/4 years (the amount of publications produced during this time will depend on the candidate's discipline, department and motivation). Commonly, a PhD will go beyond three years, so there is an official 'write-up' year after the three years, when the candidate will write-up their work - this final year is usually not funded. Thus, a PhD (assuming there are no hiccups along the way) will take 3-4 years, but many people take much longer!

The Netherlands sounds a very rosy option! Is the Dutch PhD 'pay' subject to tax? If so, I imagine the net salary is actually lower than the standard funding in the UK.

Phdbug, you'll be fine - your tickets are coming through the post, so all you need to do is present the actual ticket.

Credit cards are only required when purchasing e-tickets i.e. getting the ticket at the station from a machine.

======= Date Modified 11 Feb 2009 18:29:48 =======
Tricky makes a very good point! If the train company insists that the person travelling is also the person who is the card holder - then why would they allow payment to be processed on a differently named card? They can hardly argue points about security/fraud, when they themselves don't have an electronic system that matches the traveller's name to the credit card name.

I'd phone customer services and ask to speak to a senior manager, and very politely ask them to explain the above. I'd also ask what happens when people pay on company credit cards, which commonly will not have their individual name printed on them.

Unfortunately, going down the legal route takes time and will probably end up in a small claims court. There isn't a whole lot you can do as transport is not covered by the Distance Selling Regs. There is an unlikely argument that they have incorporated an unfair term into their contract. Also, there is an argument that the terms on this matter were not clear before the point of purchase (which would breach e-commerce rules). I didn't study consumer law/e-com law, so can't really help!

I nearly had a similar problem recently when booking a Eurostar ticket for a friend, who was stuck in Paris. I was about to pay on my credit card, and then just before clicking the 'confirm' button, I realised that they needed my credit card to pick up the ticket at the e-machine in Paris.

Personally, I would just take the gamble on using the e-mail ticket and your husband's credit card, and when asked to produce the card the train manager will simply see the surnames match. If you're challenged about it this, simply adopt the innocent/naive approach, and say all your purchases are made on your husband's card (you don't have one yourself etc etc.), and offer some joint ID.

======= Date Modified 10 Feb 2009 14:29:41 =======
Hi guys!,

Oh my progress is going so slowly!! I've been on antibiotics for a nasty throat and chest infection, which has firmly put me in a general state of malaise. I recommend trying Berocca vitamin supplements they seem to pep me up. I'm sure the scientists amongst us may disagree about their efficacy...but they seem to give me more energy when working.

Today I'm going to do 6 hours solid work, and will be back later tonight to honestly tell if I did it or not. I still need to finish my work on chapter one!

Heifer, cutting and pasting your work is a really good idea! Some of the best authors, eg. Will Self, structure their novels by writing hundreds of post-it notes and then move them about still the ideas fit.

Hi James,

It's hard to say whether you'd be successful at one of the London colleges because you do not say where your first degree is from (lots of countries use a GPA system), and whether or not it's a law degree, and whether it's from a top-class/tier university.

Generally, LSE, UCL, KCL, and QMUL all require at least a 2.1 and at least a merit at masters. If I recall correctly, KCL and LSE equates a British 2.1 to a 3.5 GPA (US degree), and QMUL require at least 65% in a master's dissertation. I'd be surprised if UCL has an lesser standards (in fact, probably higher).

These requirements can be waived by some colleges if you have professional experience.

You seem to be bang on a border-line case - just looking purely at your quals, and assuming your GPA is a US degree.

However, I know people who have not met those qualifications and gained admission into the London law schools. I also know some Americans and Canadians who have got on PhD courses at Oxbridge with a GPA that does not meet a UK first class degree.

Being an international student and being willing to pay international fees, will obviously help your case.

I'd definitely recommend that you continue to apply and approach supervisors.

I'm afraid it's a sign of the times! Given that you have a first class degree, you could always look towards a funded MPhil, and then move into a research role.

Hey Ruby,

Indeedy, you are on the final stretch! Good luck to you. Are you just polishing your thesis now, or still writing new material? I have my thesis in a full draft form now, so it looks finished, but in fact there are many HUGE gaps that still need to be written up.

Thanks for the tip on Illustrator - I'll have a look into that. Adobe usually offer a generous trial period on their software, so I may be able to do what needs to be done on that. Smartdraw seems like something that can be mastered in 10 minutes - it's virtually a click and drag drawing system. I'm a bit bothered that my thesis doesn't look very professional...

Tonight's aims:
Finish work on chapter one.

Watch the BAFTAs....Brangelina are attending!

I agree with everyone else...it sounds creepy, and it does indeed cross the student/supervisor boundary.

I remember Olivia (where is Olivia these days??), wrote a very good reply in another older thread about keeping to professional boundaries with all work colleagues.

I would also recommend removing him from your MSN Messenger service, or at the least put him on 'ignore'/'invisible' during the evening and nighttime.

Of course, you have to be careful not to appear to give him the brush-off, or he make turn against you, particularly if he thinks 'everyone is against him'.

Maybe there is someone else in the faculty that you can confide in, and just drop a passing hint that you find him a little over-familiar.