I am just interested in peoples experiences with this. I dont know about you lot, but i get a little annoyed when certain supervisosrs (i.e. prospective PhD ones) get very lazy with replying to e mails. I am currently in 'talks' with a number of people at a variety of institutions, and i have a real chance in one. However, some are so casual about stuff that if it was up to them, they wouldnt offer you a place until two weeks before it, where as i wanna know a little befeore that if possible!! who agrees?

Its high time our prospective supervisors learnt some punctuality. I had attended an interview regarding a Ph.D. position in November2002, and that kind person at the other end responed yesterday giving me a lame excuse saying that he was out of station attending a conference. Agreed that he was out of station , but was he at such a remote corner of the world that he could not even mail me? What irritates me is that they try to keep us on tanterhooks, giving optimistic sounding noncommital replies while we eagerly wait for some sort of communication from their side.

Yeh that is exactly the situation that i am in with one uni (mention no names!). Its like they want me there, but wont commit to it just yet, but, at the same time, they dont really want me to go anywhere else. What is the answer though i ask? do you badger them until they give you a straight answer? or do you just sit tight and wait? lets get some proper discussion on this board, rather than the same old messages from students who cant be bothered to do their own research

Most of us maight have been through such experiences. So please share your experiences with us so that we may find some remedy to this (hopefully someday) sort of nonchalant attitude by our prospective supervisors.

At last! A proper/interesting discussion on this message board.

If you think that's bad, what do you do when you start the PhD and the supervisors become even lazier? I'm ecperiencing this and it's no joke. If things don't change, what do you do, start kicking arse or start looking for another PhD? And how does the latter reflect on us 'victims of laziness'?

THis happened to me almsot 3 years ago, when I found a place I wanted and they seemed to want me but wouldn't commit, but they didn't want me to look elsewhere either because 'it would look like I wasn't that keen'. However, it fell through and now I can't get one evnthough doing a PhD is all I want to do. This is simply because I have been away from the laboratory for too long because of comapnies not wanting me due to 'lack of experience or a PhD' (but that's another debate entirely!).

I sent about 30 E-mails (Applications Phd ) and only 5 supervisors answer me ( two of them after 5 weeks ) :-)

i have been having the same problem. i have 18mths research experience and no one will commit. i have just received today one rejection and i dont understand why i cant get anywhere. They turn their noses up at my 2.1 bsc but I have experience which should help but isnt. I am getting seriously hacked off with the situation but a phd is necessary for my field. I think its about time academics behaved a little more professionally. Maybe this countrys science research wouldnt be in such a mess if they did.

I have been accepted for a phd conditional of funding, how regualarly should I check with the supervisor if he has got funding & doesnt forget about me?

Dear Fi,Please constantly be in touch with your prospective supervisor so that he doesnt forget about you.Say if your work would start some time during August or september, its still good 5-6 months away and anything may happen during that period.The supervisor may loose interest in you, may opt for some other candidate or may just run out of funds.Keep mailing or calling him up at least once in two weeks.This will give him an impression that you are really interested and may compell him to try that much more for funding your research.

Please do not use this forum to critisize specific institutions or individuals. We cannot check any allegations made on this forum and as such have had to remove a recent posting to this discussion.

Sorry - got a bit carried away!!!!!

First you need to write a research proposal. If you need help let me know.