hi,

I wasn't sure if it's okay to ask but I am really desperate for advice.
I want to apply for a 4 year project (1st year rotation and then 3 years of actual PhD work).
The rotation would involve 3 labs out of about 10 to choose from.
The thing is I am not supposed to choose any lab or even generally state which ones interest me on the application stage.

What I want to ask is:

how to make the statement brilliant without choosing any actual project, I am afraid of beeing too general.
Should I contact the potential supervisor or a person repsonsible for dealing with informal queries? (that person is in a cometee choosing applicants)

Has anyone applied/got in to a 4 year project like this?

This opportunity made me believe I was rejected before for a good reason and I would really really want to get it.

Please please help me

What I applied for as a prospective doctoral candidate and what I am writing a thesis for at the moment are related areas but is not the same. So I think you will be ok with being general to an extent. However if you don't show interest in a specific area (not project but sub-area), then you risk looking like a candidate with no clear view.

yer, me :D

these programmes are usually designed in order to encourage people to do inter-disciplinary work and i assume this is the case here. if so then you can write about how doing the lab rotations could open up new opportunities and maybe what things you would like to gain to augment your existing skill set so you can tackle these problems.

thank you guys for great help:)
any more comments still appreciated:)

I am paralised to even start writing this statement.
this offer is just perfect and I just want it to go right.

I guess I should email the coordinator, what kind of emails I could exchange with someone who coordinates such a thing?

Is it okay to write informal letter on how I want it?

I am also in similar state as mellory. how do we strike a balance between being formal and informal through mails. One word or sentence may ruin the whole purpose. :(

Hi,

I am currently not doing an PhD, yet have ben in contact with people like clinical directors etc, who advise regarding what programme to do. My experience is that it better to be specific and explain exactly what you want. My view is that it is better to be to the point then to be vaque. This would also prevent problems later on during the programme.

Regards

Rick