hi Vazm, thanks for posting here. My advice to you is not to give up. Most people realise later that maybe they should have done better (when they did the first degree) but we can't turn back time, we can only look ahead. The good news is, when you get your opportunity, you will definitely excel because you already have a different mindset and circumstances compared to previously.

We have often read of people who got their degrees while being in prison--what about those people then? when they had a totally different life BEFORE they took their degrees--they probably had nothing to start with. They probably started with a lot of regrets.

Have you found out the requirements for Southampton/Manchester? Do you really have to take the 3-month pre-master course? Find out what it takes to get accepted even with low GPA. Also, find out DIRECTLY from the university that you are interested in. There should be some kind of student advisor who can help you; and tell you which are the areas to improve.

I had a friend who had very poor BSc. grades but wanted to do a masters badly. His case is different from yours as he wanted to do a research MSc. So he approached the supervisor, and was told that he could be put in that research team for MSc, provided he do some additional courses--AND take on department work (which I think, honestly, they took advantage of him) but he wanted the MSc so badly, he did all this. After 3+ years of hard work (and partly being exploited by his supervisor to do departmental work), he got his MSc.

The choice is yours. Remember to also approach the universities DIRECTLY besides going through an agent.

Best of luck, and wishing you well.
love satchi

Hi Davo
I'm so glad you're feeling better. Prozac is helpful but you can include other things to improve your mental state--like exercise, meditation, most importantly be very, very kind to yourself.

hi! I don't think they will run with your project, don't worry. Just keep looking for other PhD oppportunities!

love satchi

hi allicec how are you? its me satchi. Its a good idea to split into two; Research Contributions and Further Work. To avoid repeating/summarising what you said in the earlier chapter conclusions, tailor your Research Contributions as overall contributions; while the ones in earlier chapters are conclusions based on the chapters (its like a big hamburger, and small hamburger; they are the same but they are different).

Further work, as I was told, can have lots of sub-headings; no problem, you just need to lead the reader into how the research can be stretched further.

hope this helps, and wishing you all the Best!!!
love satchi

hi smoobles thanks for posting! The funding ended months ago. But--
what if --- the letter is there for suspension (saying...now your registration date is say Nov 2014) --BUT the university still has the student signed on full-time (like they did not update their records?) is this possible that they forgot? So actually there is no need to cancel the already approved suspension if the registration as a full-time student is still there. The way I look at it, there is no problem in submitting, what do you think?

thanks very much
love satchi

Can somebody advice me on this? To suspend a phd and defer a phd, is it the same? Say someone applies to do this, then the registration date is shifted, so the end-date becomes say...November 2014 instead of November 2013 (if the university approves the suspension). What if the phd candidate then decides to work during this period of "suspension" and suddenly finishes the thesis? Can he still submit his thesis early if his supervisor is agreeable?

thanks very much
love satchi

hi Vimes
I've had friends with similar situations; it can be very frustrating and you could feel that it is so unfair. Whatever you do, don't give up. Speak to somebody, maybe from your graduate research school, don't give up. Don't worry so much about the publication that is "stolen" away from you; deal with that later.

First, continue to keep yourself healthy, take good care of yourself, pray to God, meditate etc. etc. or do something that is nice for yourself. Don't stress over it.

At this moment you need to get your phd first;
focus on getting it passed.

love satchi

hi Davo, I have been depressed before, so I know what feeling down is like. But look on the bright side. First you have a studentship. Your problem now is not having a clear research topic or plan (which seems rather strange to me, as they would have given you a studentship for something---which is ......??? OR something in the area of......).

Usually people write their research proposal within 6 -12 weeks upon their PhD studentship registration i.e. from the time you officially start. So if you have already gone 5 months since you started, and still don't have any idea, you should approach your supervisor. Make an appointment--and don't stress yourself over it.

Once you already hit rock-bottom, there is no more rock-bottom to go--the only other way is UPWARDS. That means there's still hope.

Be honest with your supervisor. If you don't have an honest discussion, things could get worse. For example, your supervisor might think you are ok, when you're not. Or think that you could do say analysis ABC for this, when you really may not know how to run that analysis.

At the worst, you might have to walk away from the PhD. Lots of people leave half-way, give-up or simply don't finish. There is no good and bad about this. Everyone is unique.

But what you want to do is to FACE the situation. Worrying about it is not going to help.
Talk to your supervisor.

love satchi

hi LilyMe,
thanks for your warm wishes! yes I love anime!
What will you do about your thesis then, if you're not changing the submission date? Do you have some kind of plan?
I motivate myself with small things; for example--if I finish a certain part (say editing a table) then I get to watch something I like.
If I finish a chapter, I go window-shopping, and maybe buy just one dress (on sale, of course).

You'll have to really find some way that works! I'm sure you'll find it.
love satchi

Hi ywan459
Thanks for your input you've been very helpful :-)
Love satchi

ok done! hope all goes well with your dissertation!
love satchi

hi ywan459, thanks for your advice. yes I think I'll do that.
love satchi

hi wowzers
For a start, I really like your username. Please keep looking for other PhD studentships. I think you can really only relax after you have an offer on paper (letter saying they are going to give it to you).

Best of luck! keep looking
love satchi

hi LilyMe
thanks for sharing--and congratulations on your marriage and life in the UK. I'm sure you are an exemplary student and good at your topic. At this moment I am also a housewife, my partner goes to work everyday, and I stay home to re-work my thesis (which is already finished!). For some months I could not write. Sometimes I found myself looking at clothes on eBay instead of doing my work! In some ways I also became isolated from the research community because I was living at home full-time.

If I were you, I would find a way to delay the submission date, and then start making a plan to write. You'll also need to allocate extra time to yourself if you have to learn methods that you're not familiar with. Another one is reading papers which do take some time. Don't worry about what your supervisor or examiners will expect from you. Try your best not to worry about anything, but do start making a plan--and TELL someone (tell us?) about it to make sure that you do as you said you were going to.

What I do at home is paste (with blue tack) lists of things I'm going to do so that I see them everyday, then I won't forget. I also motivate myself by allowing myself to watch Japanese serials on youtube if I have finished what I set to do everyday.

Wishing you the very best
love satchi

hi Anggha
thank you for posting! I would choose U2 because 221 ranking is not that bad--and if the supervisor has time for you, chances are higher that you will finish your PhD without delay. It is really not nice when your bursary finishes--AND your phd hasn't finished--and what if you're stuck in a foreign country and have to struggle to support yourself etc.etc.

Prestige is good but its not everything. "Top" isn't everything although "top" is nice I agree with you. I have worked with a "top" professor before, and he was very busy as usual (or he was simply not around or hard to find), he pushed all the work to his grad students, and then I felt that he wasn't really that "top" although he was "top".

best of luck and wishing you success in your choice
love satchi