Hello,

I was recently accepted into a very selective PhD program and I am incredibly excited for the opportunity. Last year, I received a First in both my overall marks as well as my dissertation for my MSc (including one spiffy award!). The point being - is that I love research and I am incredibly passionate about my field. I have a few career prospects including teaching and working for a nonprofit (as a research coordinator in wildlife conservation).

Upon doing research concerning "life as a PhD student" , I realized that the vast majority of articles, blogs, forums, etc were actually..quite negative. Many folks stated that their life was "hellish" and "miserable" due to the insanity of work-related stress. Moreover, many people were stating that they simply had no social/romantic relationships.

I am an incredibly hard worker..however, I also value having a social and romantic life as well as some leisure time. During my Masters..I overcompensated for everything and quickly became burnt out with only my passion and drive for the subject allowing me to have the energy to truly succeed. That was only a one year programme and I cannot see myself doing that again (I should put an emphasis on how many hours I put in every day..even my committed PhD friends were telling me that I was overdoing it and working myself to death).

Does anyone here have any positive stories concerning your life as a PhD student? Any rewarding experiences both academically and socially?! I believe that all of the negative stories that are available online might provide disservice to the overall experience. If possible..can you please provide some positive aspects to your experience as a PhD student?

Cheers

Thanks again,

I truly appreciate it. Yeah, he did not really say how much funding he has or is willing to commit. Although, I have heard from his past students that he is rather good about such prospects. It might be worth delaying my admission from January 2015 for October 2015 if I qualify for the scholarship. I am going to call both research admissions as well as the supervisor tomorrow to discuss such issues. I already calculated how much money it will cost to live there (throughout UK before, so I am somewhat aware). I am hoping that my possible decision to attend in October 2015 will not diminish my prospects. I heard that universities generally do not work that way anyways.

I am sorry for the confusion. I am a bit out of it which may explain my poor articulation at the moment. Yes, I am going to a UK university.

I explained to my supervisor that I will have to take loans. He stated that he will supplement some of his own funds to help me get started, however, he also suggested that I should begin searching for funding on my own (which I have had little success). It might be worth telling him about the difficulties that I am having, however, he is also funding for me is pivotal. Perhaps I should contact him again..

I greatly appreciate the information. Thank you so much.

I truly want to go for this PhD. I believe that my passion for the subject matter as well as research is one of many reasons for justifying this prospect. However, in so far, I have not been able to receive a fellowship. One perk about this program is that my supervisor is willing to provide some leftover grant money, yet we have yet to discuss how much.

As of right now, I am currently looking into private charities, conservation trusts, and scholarship programs. However, I am incredibly new to searching for funding and I am really not sure on how to approach the topic. I am searching early so that I may put myself into a better position before actually starting the program in January.

Does anyone have advice on how to go about looking for funding? Do you believe that charities are worth looking into? If so, do you know of any specific educational charities in UK or US? Additionally, does anyone have any information regarding grant funding? In so far, I found that I am only eligible to a few specific grants as many wildlife grants for a project in Africa are (understandably) aimed for people who are from the area of research. Should I be more proactive in terms of discussing my difficulty securing grants with my prospective supervisor? Although, I do not want to be perceived as incompetent so early into the game...

I hope to do this PhD. I know that there are plenty of outspoken opinions suggesting that you simply shouldn't do it unless you are either rich or obtained a scholarship. However, I do not believe that such an ambition should be decided by these things alone. I know that it will be difficult, however, I still have an amazing opportunity to pursue my goals and dreams involving a project that I have been passionate about for years and I hope that I can carry it out. Any information would be much obliged..as I feel saddened and lost after realizing that I am simply not "scholarship worthy"

Hello,

Last year, I graduated my masters program with a distinction (both overall and dissertation) from UCL. My love for research and learning as well as my passion for assessing research projects dedicated towards wildlife conservation has led me to pursue my PhD.

This past year, I spent month after month searching for programs that I found to be both compatible to my research objectives yet also provide some sort of financial support. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the programs were either unable to take students due to financial reasons or were completely underfunded as a whole.

Despite all of this searching, I found one department that truly complimented my interests and research aims. Moreover, this department ran an ongoing conservation project that I had always wanted to be a part of (since being an undergrad). After months of discussion with two prospective supervisors (both incredibly supportive), I submitted a proposal for a project that involved this particular conservation project. Following this, I was offered a place into the programme (PhD).

Unfortunately, I was unable to receive a scholarship due to my start date (January 2015). I chose this date so that I can save money and provide support to my family in the meantime (my mother is disabled). I should note that I am American and come from a lower middle class background so my only options are either loans or scholarships.