Hi everyone,

Me again, and I feel a little stressed out. I have an interview for a PhD this Wednesday that I very much want, but only just noticed an discrepancy- My MSc is due to finish this September, and the PhD is set to start this September too! The thing is, at first I thought the supervisors were okay with this, but then i realised- the CV i have given them says i finish my MSc in August rather than September. Literally, just a one number mistake from a '9' to an '8' (as in August being -/08/14) and it was genuinely a mistake.

Now I'm worried it will look like I've actually lied about the dates and it will effect my interview if they ask about it- what should I do? Also, will my degree ending in September mean that I can't be considered for a degree starting in September (there has been no agree on the actual start date in September)?

I think you need to be honest if they ask. Try to find out the start date as it may be towards the end of the month.

There were people at my institution finishing off their masters when the PhD started. So it may not even be an issue. I take it it's not the same institution?

No, its not the same institution, so they're not likely to know. And i know- I don't want to lie, and when i'm already nervous, i find it very hard to be anything other than honest. But I'm really worried that its going to look like I purposefully lied and it might lead them to dismiss me right then, because this PhD is literally exactly what I want to do.

I'm wondering whether (this is even if i get the offer) whether it would be possible to negotiate the date? Also, the only thing i actually have in september is a poster presentation- my thesis will be in by the end of august.

HI, don't worry about this. This is unlikely to matter.

Many students start their PhD without finishing their MSc.

They will probably ask this again in the interview and you can just say that you made a mistake on the CV and it actually finishes in Sept. They may not even notice you said Aug anyway. They won't think you are lying.

A few weeks either side won't make any difference - especially if you don't actually have anything apart from a poster presentation! Most PhDs start at the start of term, in some unis this is the 3rd or 4th week in Sept and in some it's the 1st or 2nd week of October. You can just clarify this in the interview. Also I know several students that started 2 weeks, a month etc after the official start date too.

Try not to worry so much! Look up strategies of preventing coming across as nervous in interviews, because it's really important to appear confident.

Thank you very much for your reply- you just removed a lot of my stress. I will try my best to appear confident in the interview and i have been looking up tactics! I now how important it is, I think at this point its a test of how much I can control my body language and anxiety in the interview itself.

What's the hassle here? Just tell them you are unable to start until the Monday after you finish your Masters.

When I started my PhD, I was offered two at different Unis. As I had to give notice from my then employment, it was impossible to start before the first Monday of the October that year. For the PhD I decided to do funding started from that date, however, the one I turned down funding started a month beforehand (September).

I informed the Uni. for the PhD I turned down it was impossible for me to start before October and the potential supervisor said they would move the start date, no problems.

((( I eventually ended up at this other Uni. for a post-doc. If only I'd got to work for this alternative supervisor who was an okay person and not the Prof. I ended up with, I think the post-doc would not have turned out to be the nightmare it was. :-) )))

Ian

As others have said, it is unlikely to matter. Really. Do not waste any energy thinking about this. If it comes up in the interview, explain. If it doesn't, just leave it and negotiate afterwards if you are made an offer.

A week or two's shift in start date for a PhD rarely matters. You might even want to think about giving yourself a proper week off in between the two.

Thanks guys! I feel better and more confident. I won't let it bother me- i just didn't know PhD start dates weren't rigidly set in stone, so thats good to know!

Very unlikely it would be a problem. Bring it up after you are awarded the PHD