Hi
I need some help to make a decision and any advice would be hugely appreciated.
I did my undergrad in psychology at Nottingham uni and was undecided about doing a Phd so I went off and did something completely different before realised it was what I wanted to do. I contacted my tutors about Phds and they said they'd keep me in mind and then I got a job at UCL as a research assistant. I really really want to stay in London but I've just been offered a funded PhD back in Notts in an area Im very interested in. So I have to decide: should I take the PhD but risk feeling lonely as I no longer know anyone in Notts and all my friends are in London OR turn it down and hope that a good one comes along next year in London....
can anyone help? How hard is it to get a funded Phd in an area you're interest in? Would I be stupid to turn this one down? Or is a PhD lonely enough as it is without being somewhere where you don't know anyone?

Thank you!!

Hi Ariel,
To be honest I'd say that funded places are difficult to get especially with the lack of funding in the UK right now. If it's a subject you're interested in as well, then I'd be snapping their hands off. You'll make friends in Notts (what was it like when you were doing your undergrad, did you make friends then at all?)

Hi
Thanks for the advice. I did make lots of great friends during my undergad in Notts, trouble is they've all moved on to other places, mostly London. I l enjoyed Nottingham but after living thee 4 years ( I did my Masters there too) I definitely felt like it was time to move on when I left. Are funded phds difficult to obtain in all areas? Do you know if psychology ones are especially hard to get?

Thanks

I don't wanna sound all doom and gloom but yes they are :( The issue is many applicants and fewer studentships available.

I'm on a studentship in health psychology which was very competitive to get on, I had competition from medical doctors, people with PhDs already, years of clinical experience, clinical psychologists... & many of the research assistants in the department are trying to get on studentships, the vast majority without success and it's really sad to see them struggle. In the end they're managing to find funding for the fees from the department, and they're having to work full time still with maybe a day off for the PhD, which they have 5 years to complete part time (it would usually be 6 but if you're working in the department you're doing your PhD in, at my uni, then you only get 5!)

I mean at the end of the day if you feel that you're gonna be miserable in Notts then that's important but if you think you can manage it then I'd be taking the opportunity. Just my opinion though and it's a big decision for you!

I'm going to take a slightly different angle on this, as I see what Ariel is saying.  I've been there in my varied path through life.

Going back as a PhD student is different as you're not mixing with large classes of undergrads as you did before, so yes it can be lonely.  I know the feeling of it being time to move on as well.  I felt that at Newcastle after completing masters there and the suggestion I might want to do a PhD straight after masters at Newcastle did not appeal.  People had moved on as you say and whilst I would no doubt have got to know new people, it would feel empty without the people who had left. 

To give a little background, I'd ended up previously doing two masters back-to-back (health reasons meant I thought I'd failed the first so I tried a different subject and ended up gaining both) and I can say the second felt a lot emptier.  All I saw around me was lots of new, strange faces and I felt the extra one who no longer belonged.  That made me not the most pleasant of company if I'm honest.  PhD at Newcastle at that time would not have been a comfortable experience given those feelings and I probably would have pulled out very quickly.

I finally did PhD five years later strangely enough at Northumbria, a stone's throw away.  However, it was five years on with slightly different immediate surroundings and a completely different set of new faces.  There were no old lecturers or other staff that gave a feeling of what I had slowly fading away.  The time gap and the fact it felt like a fresh start meant those feelings of no longer belonging no longer applied.

If you feel those feelings might be such that going back to Nottingham might make the experience uncomfortable, then I would actually leave it for the time being as a PhD is hard enough without feeling you shouldn't be there.  There's no point in taking a position where you're not happy and deny the position to someone who would be happy there.  Give it a year if possible to defer and you might feel differently. 

However, if funding is going to be difficult to find for a PhD elsewhere then I would think long and hard before turning this chance down as funding will only become harder to come by.  You're as entitled to join the student societies as the undergrads as a way of making friends and if things go well, you should make new friends with other post-grads in your department.


Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

Ian you speak a lot of sense.

Life experience has taught me that friends come and go. I tried to get a funded PhD in my area of interests for 6 years and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't. One year, I got fed up and applied for a number of PhD's and took the one offered (it came with funding). Didn't like the PhD topic but am glad I did it as it cleared my debts. Trust me, in life people move on and move away and so if you've got the offer of a PhD in your area of interest - grab it!

Just my view.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post and helping me out. especially thanks to Mackem_Beefy for putting my thoughts onto paper (thread) so articulately. Its not that I'm concerned about making new friends, rather that I strongly feel I've moved on from Nottingham (as great as my time was there) and the thought of returning makes me feel sad and lonely. I also had a bit of an issue with some of the aspects of the project - programming was a large part of it which really doesn't appeal.
I've explained to the supervisor that I hadn't made a decision yet and we both agreed that because I wasn't definite I shouldn't take this project. I feel much better opening it up to someone else who would be completely happy with it. Being given the chance has made me realise that its never too early to think about PhDs for next year and the interview was good experience so I feel ok overall.
Cheers everyone, I know some of you are thinking I'm crazy lol!

Hi everyone,
so i have confession. After turning down the phd (see above posts) I found I couldnt get it out of my head and the more I thought about it the more ridiculous I realised I had been. I know, I know I should have listened to everyone's wise words previously but I had to make the decision under such a time pressure I just panicked and thought Id see what my chances were getting one as good in London. Unfortunately I havnt seen one advertised with funding that's on a topic as interesting as the one I turned down :$ Do you think I should contact the supervisor again, explain that Ive been ridiculous and see if we can submit the proposal for funding to start in October or do you think I've burned my bridges with him now and he wouldnt be keen...?
any advice appreciated!

It's worth a punt but bearing in mind that he/she may have took on another student on that specific project, depending on the requirements of the funder (if they needed someone for the start of the academic year for example)