Can I ask the potential supervisor about the competition I have for the PhD? I am in touch with a professor in a Uni, where the project I am interested is going on. We had an exchange of mails for more than 2 months and he has been helpful;however I havent emailed him for more than 3 weeks now. I want to know how many more have applied for the same project and also more about the qualifications of them, can I ask him directly or will it be a bit cheeky and non professional?

if you dont ask - you dont get

I just won full funding yesterday to start mine in October. I was also in contact with my supervisor over a number of weeks and built up a good rapport with him.

I think it is useful to ask what sorts of qualifications the competition has. I ceratinly did. I didn't ask for specifics but I wanted a feel for what I was up against.

Turns out I was up against Masters graduates with distinctions so I was well-chuffed that I had succeeded with just an undergarduate degree (in fact, I'm on Cloud 9 at the moment!!).

I would definitely ask how you measure up. You can safely do this without breaking any confidentiality. Besides, it is useful to know for future reference what you need to be successful. Forewarned is forearmed they say. Good luck!

Certainly fortuitous...I'd play the lottery this weekend if I were you Sylvester.

Thank Golfpro, may be I should. As you can imagine, I'm ecstatic!

To those competing using undergraduate degrees, it can be done!

...and why not. A good 1st from a quality establishment and [obviously in your case lots of enthusiasm] makes an undergrad a strong candidate I'm sure. Good luck to you Sir [for Saturday's lottery] and congratulations on the place

Enthusiasm (if you get opportunity to show it) goes a long way - particularly in the early telephone conversations with the supervisor. I certainly went for it, but then I genuinely meant it.

Get in there fellow aspirants!

congrats sylvester!!

Congratulations sylvester. In a way I am quite envious. I am finishing and you are starting. The first year is the best and the most exciting.

I havent called my potential supervisor regarding the project; however there are quite a few exchange of e mails. Does it mean, he could think I am less interested. I never had to call him to ask him anything. I dint want to pounce on him. Is it mandatory to call up and speak to them to show our enthusiasm??

'To those competing using undergraduate degrees, it can be done'.

Sylvester, you were in Management consultancy prior though? That has to enhance any application. You were hadly the average undergrad if indeed the case.

Yes, I'm leaving consultancy. However, I'm doing a science PHD following a part time degree which I do in evenings - quite different from the nature of work I do.

That said, as you say, it has a number of transferable skills - e.g. project management, report writing skills and I did milk these for all they were worth. I was also able to show that the fact that I was prepared to leave my job to do this showed my commitment.

As most people say, it's a package of things. I'm borderline first/2:1 on my undergraduate degree and have a first on my dissertation.

I got my referees to review my applications and proposals. I even got the supervisor to review it and comment before I submitted it. At some places, this is quite acceptable.

I guess it depends where you are applying to, but I have spoken to every supervisor I have applied to so you know what you're getting into and also that they are looking for your application when they sift through the big pile.

PhDaspirant

It's not mandatory to phone them. But I was advised to by my referees (independently, I might add) as a way to make yourself known to them as a person rather than a name on an application form.

Whilst qualifications are the primary determinant, you need to think what can I do to stand out from the rest. Getting a supervisor on your side is a big help. Be bold but be don't be brash!

thanks for your reply sylvester! I have never got a chance to speak to my potential supervisor yet!! hopefully i would get to be a part of his research team for next 3-4 years!!.. waiting with fingers crossed

Email the supervisor first to ask if it would be okay to talk to them about the topic, explaining a little about yourself. Make the email personal. They routinely get bog standard emails from students so showing them that you've thought about their topic is an advantage. If they don't reply within a couple of days then phone them anyway and ask if now is a good time to talk, if not, then when.

Think of some questions but also try to read a relevant review paper (perhaps one of the supervisor's) so you appear knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

This should get you off first base with them. You could also say that you really want to prepare a research proposal. You've read article X but are there are any other articles you recommend to get started. Obviously, you need to make sufficient effort on the proposal to impress them. Depending on how things go you could even ask them to comment on it before you submit it......