I guess I am just very confused about what is on offer from banks...why would anyone WANT the student account that does not let you do anything except get money from a cashpoint?! This does not help me at all. I can do that with my US bank card, and moreover, with rent and so forth to pay, what earthly good is an account that only lets you deal in cash??!

Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland appear to have some OK account options...but before I venture out into the wind and damp...does anyone have any information on them generally? Thanks!

I wish banks had an account for mature postgrad students...the selling features on student accounts seem to be things like 25 % off concert tickets and gigs, lots of free overdraft...NOT features I am looking for in an account, thanks anyway.

If money did buy happiness, then I would have made far different life choices than my current ones--once upon a time I could spend £s by the thousands and not bat an eye because of the financial circumstances I had whilst married! But money alone does not buy happiness, and if you want to do the PhD for no more than simply doing it, then I say go for it, what do you have to lose?!

Sure, they COULD do something else, and they DO have other pursuits, but I think that learning for the value of learning is just fine. It seems to be something being tossed by the wayside with the current focus on "econometrics" and universities as giant trade schools. Learning has value all on its on.

The idea that a fat paycheck is what we all should be aiming for with out question is one I do not agree with. Money does NOT buy happiness. The lack of it does not make you happy, either, you need a certain amount to meet the basics of life, but life is not more fulfilling if you have 4 TVs instead of one, or none, and a larger car than your neighbours.

I say by all means go for it! If you get into it and find its just not what you want--well--nothing says you HAVE to stay in it for the duration, and you might just find yourself really enjoying it, despite what you read. I think that the frustrations vary dependant on your field--i.e., if you are mainly desk based or library based versus doing things in labs where your specimens go kaplooey when the freezer breaks down. My retired parents take courses at their local university on an "audit" basis, that this they do not get graded and they do not pay fees, but they fully participate, and take 2-3 courses per semester, and do it--why? For the love of learning.

Gemini--easily bored, assimilates knowledge rapidly, likes to know a little about a lot...some of this IS true.

Taurus--steadfast, always always always meets deadlines and demands. Steady, determined, bull-headed. some of this is true too..it helps balance off the Gemini when its time to get deadlines met!

Cancer--likes to cook ( trout recipes anyone?) kind-hearted, sentimental, idealistic, giving and nuturing ( which probably has everything to do with my research topic and its focus!)

I am finishing my all-dayer...! I actually got a lot done, and got back to my favored pile to work on--the issue on the PhD that is actually the one I enjoy working on the most, where the bulk of the day was spent on necessary drudgery....

Wonder what star sign people are and how that impacts ( if at all) their study habits?

Me-Sun in Cancer, Gemini Rising, Moon in Taurus.

That fear of being "found out" or exposed somehow as a fraud or imposter I think is a very common one, not only for people doing a PhD. There is even some indentified syndrome for it, I think--the Imposter Syndrome? It is said to afflict women more than men, and highly achieving people are prone to it. Why? No idea...there is a link to a website with some information on it.

http://www.impostorsyndrome.com/

Way to go JoJo!

One of the most efficient backup systems on drafts is to email them to yourself, if you have a web based email account, then you can get to them from any computer. I did this as a safeguard when moving to the UK, in addition to backing up on my memory stick. I had one horrible moment when I misplaced my memory stick before leaving the US and wanted to just lay down on the floor and melt in despair. But I DID have all of the relevant things emailed to myself, and I DID find the memory stick!

I have a system like Rosy's--piles of related things. How they relate sometimes changes, and then the piles get re-arranged. It is a bit like archaelogy at times, going on a big dig. This is all complicated by my overseas move. I brought one case completely heaving full of books and articles--but left even more behind... I had to select which ones I needed the most, or would be difficult to access over here in the UK.

Actually--it works---for some reason I seem to have good recall even months later, that so and so did an article on such and such, and can locate the article and go on from there.

I think my lowest moment in organization was when my darling male puppy showed off one of his developmental milestones, lifting his hindleg and having a wee all over a stack of articles...

This being the only smiley to show its pearly whites--must represent someone at the dentist--the expression is right. Flossing is also really really key to dental health, according to my dentist.Brushing alone is not considered enough. What is the situation of getting to a dentist in the UK ( asking out of curiousity, not that I am in need of one at the moment)? Is it an NHS covered service?

I go to the dentist every 6 months for check ups, xrays, cleaning and polish. This is in the US. Normally the prevention stuff is covered by insurance 100%. I will have to pay out of pocket for my next US dental visit this summer, but even at that, I think I was told about £50, which is well worth it. I went awhile without going to the dentist, and when I went in I was horrified, I had to get two fillings, a root canal and a crown--and I was not having pain or problems. Lack of pain or lack of problems does NOT mean your teeth and gums are not having issues. That was such a wake up call that now I get to the dentist like clockwork.

Thanks, appreciate the posts! I will call round tomorrow to a few banks and get some more information. The student accounts, which may be all that I am eligible for, do not really have any features that are appealing--overdraft at cheap interest...errrmm....no. I don't need any overdraft features....well, I will see what I come up with tomorrow.

One question I asked the bank today seemed to confuse them, and that was whether the amounts in the account were guaranteed. After asking the question five ways, I got an answer that amounts were guaranteed up to £30,000. Does the UK have a government funded national deposit insurance scheme, is it done through each bank, or what? Reading about bank failures like Northern Rock scare me about the security of banking, and I just do not understand the different banking schemes well enough to sort out what is what...