i am with you, badhaircut, to an extent. i suppose if you think about it as being paid for doing something you like doing and that will give you good qualifications for the future, the stipend amounts sound good enough. but on the other hand if you look at what PhD students do and what it is worth or should be worth, it seems strange that graduates who do something similar or less hard in industry should earn so much more.

hi,
well if you're looking at germany, don't forget nearby switzerland! especially the renowned swiss federal institute of technology, which happens to be the single university with most nobel-prize winners in the world. check out
http://www.biol.ethz.ch/index_EN

I guess it depends what discipline you're in. In my experience it is normal to have little to no coursework as a PhD student.

How then can you become an expert? Well, you can't be taught to be an expert in your own field, you have to learn by yourself. Doing a PhD is more about doing your own research, that is, finding out something new, that nobody knows yet, than about studying/learning what other people already found out.

So, if you don't have a research background, you'd probably benefit from courses in 'how to do good research' which isn't necessarily about your field. But then again, I believe research is to a large part 'learning by doing'.

definitely not alone... though mine are just irregular, full stop - not connected to stress.

look at it from the bright side: yes, stress might well be the cause for the irregularities. but, it goes both ways - the irregular periods might be a cause for your current PhD stress(de-motivation), too. rest assured - the period will come, your mood will change once again, and you'll write up that thesis like nothing
but from my experience, it's usually not worth it forcing myself to work when it just won't work. rather it just gets worse cause it adds guiltiness. so, instead, use the de-motivated time now to go out, enjoy the sun, rest actively (a spa perhaps? a impromptu bicycle tour?) and when the mood turns, get back to work with fresh energy!

if you are aiming for an academic career it shouldn't matter if you get your MSc from UCL or LSE - they are both top universities.
a word of caution though: perhaps the UCL is no better, but at LSE at least the MSc courses are clearly there (among other things, I suppose) to generate money for the school. thus, departments must put through as many students as possible - and teaching quality suffers. to the extent that some PhD courses are reluctant to take MSc graduates from their own school...

do you want to do the MSc mainly because you need the degree for your career, or because you want to get deeper into the topic?

1) do some more research on the actual value of the name of the school. although LSE might open many doors in investment banks, is it also a real advantage at the UN? try to find some data on this before basing your decision on it.
2) have a closer look at the curricula (and the staff) and decide which suits your interests better. look at the actual courses being taught instead of at the adverts that are used to lure potential students.

pea, that's tough.
i strongly suggest that if the PhD is going well, keep a solid hold on it, whatever happens. make sure you have a day or two per week only for your PhD, it could be the anchor that keeps you solid through all the trouble!
can you talk to your supervisor(s) about this? they should be understanding and might be able to show you possibilities on how to keep your PhD going that you weren't aware of.
oh: don't worry you won't manage! after such a long relationship one tends to worry not to be able to deal with stuff alone anymore. but you can, you will be fine! you are a perfectly capable, intelligent person, so don't worry!

people have been saying 'arranged' and 'approved' marriages would likely be less happy on average. well i just read an article (in german) claiming that in India divorce rates are the same for 'love-marriages' and 'arranged' ones.
i've also heard from arranged marriages in kosovo: having your husband 'chosen' for you (in the end it is you who choses, but others present you with candidates) has certain very clear advantages for women. it means that in the case it doesn't work out, you can always easily leave and your parents/family won't dissapprove.
also, 'love-marriages' are historically quite young in the west, too. there are some historical narratives that love-marriages coincided with a disowning of women. before, women inherited from their mothers and men from their fathers. after, the 'family' was the owning unit and men controlled the family, so also the property that was originally the woman's.

- You could say 'from this perspective, only the cities that have large medical research facilities as well as large numbers of teaching hospitals are in question, thus London, Cambridge, Oxford' (Just guessing here!). 'Since from these cities only London offers enough variation, London it is.'
hope that helps!

as I am in a similar position (will also be doing interviews in clinics) I have some thoughts:

- Are you visiting primarily teaching hospitals? You could argue that only London has enough teaching hospitals. (Access might be easier than to other clinics)
- You could perhaps argue (f.e. on the basis of exploratory research - or just assuming) that new stuff is implemented faster/differently in London / teaching hospitals and thus to avoid too many unknown variations, you are concentrating on an area where this one factor at least should be ~ homogenous. Thus, London, or thus, teaching hospitals and continue with arguing the first point.
- Could you argue that much research is conducted in London and that you expect there might be connections between research and application, as in clinical trials? Thus differentiating London from other cities.

um, in some subjects the trend is towards making what I think is called 'collective PhD theses' meaning you have a number of published articles on related topics that you then complete with an introduction, some short section(s) explaining the links between the articles, and a conclusion - et voilà, there's your thesis.
thus, if you really have a good track record of publications, you should be able to argue 'PhD thesis near completion'

i don't know so much about international students in germany, but local PhD students would normally have either their own appartment or share a flat with other PhD students/professionals.

PhD students in germany are typically regarded as staff, earn a wage, have their office, they are involved with several projects at a time, do a large part of teaching etc. You won't find many PhD students spending their days in the library.

one additional thing you could consider: while doing your PhD you might have the opportunity to go away for a year or half a year as a visiting PhD student. if your fiancée is a bit flexible she might be able to go, too, which might make it a really fun experience! and if she can't, the separation would be made easier by the knowledge that it is really only temporary. that way you would get some experience of different departments, perhaps different countries, without having to permanently leave your "home".
myself, I decided against a funded place at my previous university with a semi-interesting project, in favour of a so-far unfunded place with a really interesting project at a top uni with my ideal supervisor, but in a different country, leaving my long term partner behind. I would have so much liked to have the choice of getting it all - good uni, good project, funded, stay with partner. I envy you!

I feel exactly the same. I seem to be doing nothing but writing proposals when what I want to be doing is being out there in the field. All this proposal-writing seems so pointless because it will most likely all be different once I get to do some actual research... but still it needs to be done. aaargh!

I'm at a research centre - not a lab though. It is expected that everyone shows up regularly but there are no fixed times. So some people tend to come early and leave early (9-5), some come late and leave late (11-7 or 8) and some come early and leave late. Some actually only come in the evenings, as they work full jobs "on the side".
Also, some don't come every day, as they have jobs, teach, have a second desk at a different department/university, or have classes. So, really, you never know who's going to be there.
Still, as it is not obvious to have a desk provided to us PhD students at my university, it is frowned upon if you do not show up at all over a stretch of time without giving notice.