If you are a full-time lecturer you earn minimum £30,000 per year in most institutions. I don't think it's a big problem to pay back a loan of £20,000.

People buy houses for £200,000 and have mortgages etc.

sorry, but that's rubbish. It's a waste of time to even think about it.

7 years of suffering...not sure if that sounds like a desirable route to success!

Juno, I don't really understand what exactly you disagree with? That P/T studies are extremely difficult and that there are not many success studies as most people give up after years of wasted time and energy?

I don't like the whole concept of P/T studies, simply because it doesn't work very well. Something will definitely suffer. It could take up to 10 years, or your relationsships/social life will suffer or you will decide to quit. I know many people who told me about exactly that. And I don't know anybody who completed without any damage.

Why not take a loan and enrol on a full-time programme? It's certainly more likely to result in completion. And that's a realistic view.

Of course, money is an issue. But if you can, take a sabbatical year to complete data collection.

I fully symphatise and know how depressing this situation is. Still I wonder why people embark on P/T again and again. In my opinion, part-time studies should be banned. Not only do they last forever, they also put people in situations which are almost impossible to handle and due to the increased length, it's hard to keep yourself motivated.

xConnorg: any advice on how it could have been avoided in retrospect? what were the main reasons?

So what happened next?

why do you want to study distance and in the US?
One thing to remember is that a PhD is not a walk in the park, so any institution which hides that fact or is not honest about the time, efforts and capabilities required is probably a load of shit, accredited or not. With regard to the latter, please bear in mind that accreditation agencies vary in quality, so some accreditations mean nothing. Sad but true.

I think shani's last point was EXTREMELY important! You can usually pay your masters in at least two instalments (e.g. one in September and one in February). Which means you could definitely get a loan now which covers the first instalment and then get another one in 2008.

I agree with Shani. There is nothing better and more relaxing than camping with a bycicle. You just ride away with a sleeping bag and a tent and stop wherever you like and stay as long as you want. In fact, I'm off to exactly that trip in Europe, so won't be here the next four weeks. Arrivederci.

Oz, you're right. I'm contradicting myself here. Talking about usernames and then using my real name as username. I will contact the forum panel in due course with regard to a new username. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.

It's one of those "hidden" diploma mills. As you can see on the website, they appear to be a normal university (with credits required etc.)and are not as blatantly obvious as other institutions.

At the same time, they only display superficial information and create a false impression. Also, there is no real information concerning faculty etc.

On a first glance at the link (http://www.ncu.edu/), this is definitely NOT a proper university. Stay away from this one!

It's not very difficult to spot diploma mills. They usually offer you a degree for money and don't expect much else apart from life experience etc.

Appropriate universities have strict admission procedures in place and are explicit about the duration of the PhD program which in the US would take 4 years minimum.