I recently lost my studentship and I'm devastated. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice/ideas on how difficult (or even plausible) it might be to find another studentship opportunity. Below is the story on how I lost my previous studentship:

I was awarded a studentship within a biomedical engineering department at a university in London.The studentship was partially funded by a corporation.

The studentship was set to start in October of last year. I was late arriving as a previous visa application for marriage i had submitted 6 months earlier caused problems when I tried to return to the UK as a student. After a lengthy appeal process I was granted my student visa and arrived about a month late for my studentship.

Soon after beginning, I became very sick. I loved the work and supervisors but I had a terrible living situation and an illness. On top of everything, I had a boyfriend back home who couldn't join me in the UK until the next autumn.

Come the summer of the year following my start date, I was so sick and stressed I had to take a last-minute leave of absence that was barely approved by the university/corporate sponsor. I returned back home for 2 months, intending to return with my boyfriend who was also starting a course in August.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend could not get the funding to join me and when I returned to London I was still sick, exhausted and extremely lonely. I asked for a further leave of absence to return home.While my supervisors seemed understanding, soon after I returned home I was informed that my studentship funding was pulled due to the corporate sponsor not wanting any further delays in their project. I was devastated!

My question at this point is whether you all feel I may stand a chance of finding another studentship, even with this mark on my CV. I'd prefer to move back to London, but I'm so worried I screwed it up big time!