It's tricky, I've seen people in everything from ski wear to suits! As a student I prefer to be fairly smart, so I tend to wear nice trousers, heels and a shirt/conservative top. Smart suit-ish dresses are good, and I think as long as a skirt isn't too far above the knee you'll be fine, just pair it with a sensible top. Evening events vary a lot, unless there's a big gap before it and/or a note about dress code in the program, a lot of people won't bother to change. If you want to then go ahead, just opt for a dress that's more smart than it's blingy. Last one I went to I wore a black wrap dress. Overall, don't worry too much, there's a great deal of variation at these things and academics aren't always the most sartorially aware anyway!

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True, it is difficult. But I know several people who've gotten in with just a good BSc, the key for them wasn't further degrees, it was relevant work experience. All of them worked in hospitals before getting accepted. Not saying that's the answer, but it might be worth considering.

Could you not get onto the accelerated 4 year medicine course straight from your masters?

Aw, I'm in gerbil love :-x
They remind me of two I had as a kid, so cute.

Ah, hi alfie and fudge! Can we see a pic of them on twitter?

This is ridiculous, they've obviously got no interest in supporting you or pursuing this research. I know they might want to close ranks but if they're that determined to fail you, what have you got to lose? I say make your case, make their lives tricky and hope you're re-assigned. First step, put together a file of all your emails, written work, and corresponding feedback (or a big red scrawl saying "none given"), then summarise chronologically how things have gone, ie:

Sept - sup2 approved work plan (which has since been followed)
Sept - no supervision offered, began working solo
Nov - sent x emails requesting feedback on 7000 words, no response
March - No criticism of research direction at presentation
etc etc etc. Out in black and white a list of unreplied-to emails and clearly hypocritical responses (written in their own fair hand) are pretty convincing.

If things have happened as you describe then it sounds to me that you have a good case. Consider sending your summary to your head of department/school (skip the supervisors, if they're not responding you need to go above them) explaining your concerns and asking for their help in resolving this, suggest meeting them to discuss how to progress. Also talk to student support or even your student's association, they may be able to help you. Lastly, you might want to consider talking to your funding body, after all, these idiots had an obligation to support you and are wasting the funders resources by setting you up to fail. If nothing else might you be able to salvage your funding and get it re-assigned?

Hmm, a long chat with my best friend cures just about anything, there's nothing like feeling understood/putting the world to rights. Getting out and being active is also a major mood-saver; mountain biking, water sports, even just going out for a jog together can be great. Any form of dance is doubly cheering, it's hard to be sad when you're salsa-ing :-) If there's a group of you you could organise something daft like a chocolate treasure hunt in a park, or set up your own croquet/crazy golf. Old movies are great, so much gentler than modern blockbusters, and I definitely second the comedy clubs if you've got one nearby. If you wanted a spa day but money's tight, then lastminute.com have great offers, or you could go and get treatments at your local beauty school (not majorly glam but still fun and very cheap). I also like to borrow peoples dogs whenever possible, their happiness just rubs off on you. Waht else, making things can be therapeutic, you could get t-shirt or pottery painting kits (borrow a child if you feel self-conscious and need an excuse).

They've usually got up to 40% off offers on, check the website or have a look in a copy (there's often a paper insert for it). You rarely need to pay full price for a sub :-)

Jinkim, this is awesome, welldone! We never doubted you for a minute :-)

Move aside Linda, there's a new doc in town!

I'm with Stressed, make the most of your last summer of freedom! There's a good chance you'll feel like a fish out of water your first few weeks/months anyway, and you may have plenty of reading time enforced by practicalities so don't worry too much about swotting while the sun shines :-)

I agree with Sue, doing 83 esssays in a week isn't slow! And a third year referencing wikipedia and unable to form paragraphs? You must have been doing your nut by the end. I guess it's all relative though, the uni has to pass so many people, and as Sue says, we're probably a little biased being phds.

It's hard to say Blair, I certainly had the odd brain freeze in interviews without it affecting the result, but I think it really comes down to how you fared relative to the competition. Good luck though, hope it works out for you.

Is Rufus a siamese, Adam?
Curious because I had a siamese cross called Rufus, he was completely nuts, more monkey than cat!

Hope it's going/gone well Jinkim, thinking of you

Hi Neomagic

A lot of people do work from home, and it really depends on how well suited you are to that. The pros are: saved time and money, greater flexibility, no colleagues distracting you. The downsides can be that you go stir-crazy through lack of human contact, struggle with the lack of mental distance from work come evenings/weekends, or lose motivation and distract yourself (on the plus side, this often results in a very clean kitchen). I find I vary week to week, sometimes it's better to be in the office and have company, other times being alone at home gives me the head space to focus and write, I'm allowed to be flexible and come in when I feel like it so that's fine.

If you're disciplined and like peace and quiet it could work well, just be prepared to review it if it starts to hinder you. Could you maybe trial a couple of weeks at home before investing in equipment and so on?