I don't remember, I actually told them what the university said about part-time regulations on the day in the physical interview because I had read it before. They had no idea (main supervisor) and were shocked that a part-time PhD was four years, but they understood that I was doing it for cheaper fees, because I had told him about my background situation in phone interview someweeks before. Also, one of my 2nd supewrvisors (I have 3), went backwards and forwards between part-time/full-time phd, and suspending/coming back because she had 2 children I think and was also self-funding her phd (she worked in clinical research for university).

My 'progression' is just half of what a full-time is, full-time is supposed to have 12 meetings a year, part-time 6, but we have 12 even though they know I am not fulltime. I have progress meetings once a year and I have told them (independent people) that I am part-time and so I am not doing things as quickly as a fulltime student. Full-time and part-time havbe these once a year and there is a diagram that shows what a part-time vs. fulltime needs to achieve in a review meeting which are different things. They understand this, otherwise why offer a part-time option? Also, the admin staff have told me if they try to make you work harder than you are able come to them because I am part-time not full-time. The good thijng is you do not have to strictly stick to the timetable writte in books, sometimes you can speed up and sometimes slow down, do things in first year that were meant in second, and the reverse. PhD is really your project and most supervisors don't honestly care much about what you do, they leave you alone apart from meeting once a month.

I registered for a part-time phd for the financial reasons you said. Many people say don't do a self-funded PhD, but this depends entirely on your situation and aims I think, I had been out of university for a long time and not worked because I had some drug problems in my 20s and therefore could fund this through Universal Credit (being on higher rate because of my health problem). People don't realise not everyone is lucky enough to get onto a funded PhD. Anyway, I paid half the fees than a fulltime would because in my universiy part-time says 4-6 years whereas fulltime phd says 2-4 years, so I intended to complete in four, like a regular PhD student but with less fees. My supervisors understood this because I told them at interview and told them the university minimum requirements in their own booklet and that part-time fees were substantially less as a self-funded person. I won a scholarship in my first year (to cover fees and a little extra) but still stayed on part-time to take some pressure off, and also to keep fees low.

I started to drink in the last year of undergraduate university every day. Before for the first two years it was once a week. Then I went to medical school (heavy drinking almost every day and my social anxiety). Have just started a well regarded PhD in medicine/professional qualification (don't want to give out obvious details) and I am in 4 days a week. Every day I am off I get drunk and I can't seem to help it. I am going to fail if I don't stop but I don't seem able to stop by knowing the consequences. I don't know what to do.