======= Date Modified 21 28 2010 18:28:43 =======
Hey,

I've been invited for an interview, which is great and all but they want to see a copy of my Dissertation before the interview. I was wondering if this is a normal procedure, as I am now getting a little bit worried because my dissertation wasn't really that great (I received a merit on it, but this was not a good merit) and I am now a little bit afraid that they'll judge my dissertation to my disadvantage. I didn't worry too much about this interview, but now I can't stop worrying that they'll tear it to shreds and will think that I am not capable of producing work at doctoral level :-(

Hey Velony! First of all, congrats on the interview! I would try and see this as a positive thing- if they are interested in reading your dissertation then they must be keen to find out more about you. I did my MSc and PhD with the same supervisor, so she had already seen my work, but I think it's fairly common practice for them to ask for a sample of your work. It might be that they just want to find out a bit more about what you have been researching, and to see if you have good writing skills etc. I wouldn't worry too much about it- they will most likely ask you a bit about it at the interview, so if you feel that there were bits that were a bit on the weak side then it might be good to talk about what you would have done differently if you did it again etc. Research is a learning curve for everyone- we all look back and realised that we could have done it differently- so show them that you can critically analyse your own work and that you have thought about how you can improve it. That's a vital skill for any PhD student! And besides, I know fully-funded PhD students who just scraped a pass at MSc level, so a merit isn't bad going at all! Best of luck with your interview, let us know how it goes! KB