I did my undergrad in aberystwyth (sea-side town in Wales). I went there to get away from the city for a while (im from London). the adjustment period was veeeeeery long, during which i felt very lonely. But eventually, i found happiness in the form of really good friends (and it does take time to form actual friendships), and i started to warm to the town itself.

Its true that abersytwyth doesnt offer nearly as much as a city -there are plenty of things that serve as a constant reminder e.g. lack of music scene, lack of culture, only one woolworths! - but there are a small number of things that aberystwyth does offer, that a city doesnt (e.g. sunsets on the beach right on ur doorstep, cleaner air, rolling hills for as far as the eye can see). And its these things that make you think..."this is s***, but its not so bad"

Does that answer your question? or do you want me to be more specific?

when you first go to a remote place to study, it is awful - you feel so cut off and isolated from civilisation. after some time though (perhaps several months), im sure you will learn to love it - remote places are charming in their own special way, but you wouldnt necessarily want to visit once you leave!

So in the long run(PhD's are quite long!), going Scotland to do this PhD, which you obviously want and deserve, may well be the right choice to make.

ive acheived sod all. supposed to have a bunch of molecular markers by now...bearly started extracting DNA! i think when supervisors make plans, they assume things will work first time...the success rate of lab work is very low! and you can forget about beginner's luck too!

Ive been talkin to a few of the other first year lab-based students...its the same story.

Sorry to hear that, that sucks ass. take it easy for the rest of the week (work-wise) and dedicate the next few days to doing things you enjoy...its nearly xmas (i.e. holiday time!!!)

And yes...Mr. Muscle does deserve a jail sentence, or at the very least, an ASBO.

heya loopy. im on the 4th floor of the Lyle tower (attached to Plant Sciences) - Mark Beaumont's group. I dont need to go into AMS building much anymore...not since my snails got evicted from the 6th floor!

As for meeting people...im lucky enough to have a really nice research group, with whom i enjoy socialising with. most of my flatmates are really nice too, although, being in halls rather than a house, its a bit more of a chore to make an effort to get to know them (i think the big heavy fire-door creates a psychological boundry!). I would recomend doing the clubs/societies type thing - you meet dozens of people that way.

As with any new place, it can be hard settling in. But these things take time.

heya Mark. I started a PhD (biology) here at Reading in October and im in halls. im in Childs Hall, which is somewhat of a dump (tiny kitchen between 12 people, everything stinks, very institutional, not very homely) but pretty damn cheap and convenient being on campus - im in the self-catering extension, which is where they tend to put final year undergrads, postgrads and international students. They put the first year undergrads in the catered main block, so i dont see them much, although i can hear the screams! If you are going to go for halls, i would not recommend Childs. i am really looking forward to moving into either a nice hall (ive heard good things about Sherfield) or a shared house.

Finding a b'day gift for a 1-year old...what do babies want(!?) Playin footy later, and i might go into the lab on Sunday...non-stop rock n roll lifestyle for me!

phdaspirant - I think "success rate of PhD aspirants over a year" is abit of a vague term, but i'll do my best here...

i cannot tell you how many potential PhD projects and university deparments i looked at...it feels like 500+. i think i seriously considered about 5 uni's, which i had email-contact with and went to open days e.t.c. i eventually formally applied for only 2 studentships. One i wasnt even short listed for because one of the other candidates had more relevant experience. The other one, i was short listed for...i had the interview, and they offered it to me (and i said yes!). My PhD search began in summer 2005, and got more serious around xmas 2005. hope thats helpful (?)

happy b'day!! drink sensibly now...

try to keep it all relevant to the specific project you are applying for. rather than give a complete record of all the expertise, put an emphasis on the expertise you have that will make you ideal for this project.

Keep your paragraphs 3 to 3 1/2 lines long (short, i know, but thats all the human brain can digest at once)

If you are worried about fitting it all in 1 page, dont be afraid to tinker with the line-spacing by 0.1-0.5pt, and fanangle with the margins a little too.

Also, play your big-guns first, i.e. Make sure the first selling point you put in the letter is your best one! Hope that helps

LOL!

Yeah, in a way im looking forward to winter - lovely warm cups of tea (with a cheeky shot of whisky in it, hehehe) e.t.c. but coz the days get shorter, it feels like there's so little time to get any work done, which stresses me out a bit (hence the whisky!)

true

i applied for 2. I was short listed for 1, had the interview, then got offered it.

I am indeed a lucky git! So my advice is to apply for as many as possible