Try emailing someone who reads their emails in googlemail, something about LaTeX. They get some interesting targetted ads down the side of the email pane.

CB, if you are in engineering then I imagine that LaTeX will give you a better-looking thesis. As others have said, LaTeX has a number of quirks and the difficulty in tracking changes is another complaint. (I think this arises because LaTeX was written in the 80s when networked computers and collaborating on finished documents online was not common.) If you must track changes in something like LaTeX you could try subversion?

What operating system are you using? There are LaTeX editors for each and they can be helpful.

If you have any questions you could try asking here.

Good luck!

Ejc

Just thought I'd congratulate you on your marathon Catalin - well done (up) !

My MSc (similarly 1+3 but not at a DTC) was extremely intense. With hindsight, I wish I had enjoyed it more, and stressed less. There was a huge amount to cover and I got very worked up about it. I wish I had taken the opportunity to explore many different areas and work out what to do for the PhD without getting in a tizz about the grades and the work and so on.

You sound pretty good at time-management (a real weakness of mine) - best of luck, enjoy!

ejc

======= Date Modified 22 Apr 2010 14:16:23 =======
Hi Ttm2

I am sorry that you feel this way. Do you have a postgraduate tutor or director of studies with whom you could discuss your concerns? (That is something I have found helpful in the past.)

ejc x

I once was struggling with an undergraduate assignment so had a gin and tonic. It seemed to help at the time with the doing of the assignment but I got a terrible mark. I know this was not an extensive experiment but I have concluded that this approach is not for me.

As someone else said, each to their own though.

Ogriv,

What you say sounds absolutely standard to me.

Do you enjoy the group? You say you are pleased to be invited - are all MSc students invited, or is it because of who you are working with? (Or your amazing talent? :p ) Do you have a place to study a PhD?

Ejc x

Is anyone else finding this intriguing? I didn't even know some of these fields existed!

@Walminskipeasucker - do you compare your subjective outcome measurements to objective ones, or something? I'm trying to imagine how this works.

Or, are your measurements of subjective outcome measurements themselves subjective?

Statistical genetics

@superman - what aspect?

Ejc

It's difficult to compare, as I've only ever been a PhD student in London.

But AFAIK most research councils offer a bit extra (~£2k pa) to PhD students in London. This might not be flagged up as ***London Weighting*** on a studentship advertisment, but if you look at a research council website you might be able to find the details.

======= Date Modified 27 Feb 2010 13:14:48 =======
There are a lot of interesting points in the replies to this post.

M_heneghan - you are asking two different questions I think.

"Is an MA easier than an undergraduate degree?" - Mine was an MSc (and my UG a BSc) not MA and BA, but speaking to others I have found my experience replicated - that the volume of work and the intesnity of a masters degree is so much higher than for an undergraduate degree. I would say, then, that an MSc is not easier than an undergraduate degree.

That "the grades in my uni where I'm studying for my master's seem a lot higher than they used to at undergrad level" is, I think, more likely related to some of the points made below, about students on PG degrees being more self-selected and harder-working than at UG level, and as you said "past the partying phase", so they work harder, and hence get higher grades despite the work being harder. I don't think the standards at PG level are lower, because I do know of individuals who took a lackadaisical approach to their MScs, and didn't pass.

Ejc

Matt

Do you know any programming languages? For what you are trying to do, I would start with Python or R.

Ejc

Hi Aviator

My first thought when I read your post was, as you are a pilot, are you not given so many days off for a reason? A PhD (even a part-time one) is somewhat all-consuming. I'm not meaning to slate your ability as a pilot nor your ability to manage your own time, but I would hate to be the subject of pilot error because my pilot had been slaving away on his days off and now had brain-ache, IYSWIM.

Ejc

Hmm

If you're not looking for the decision to be altered, might be more productive to rant here, than elsewhere.

:-( Sorry to hear that.

I don't know whether making your views known is wise? Maybe others have views based on experience, but I think you are unlikely to change the decision, especially if the places have been offered to other students. So depends if you want to make your point for the sake of potential future interviewees, or on the off-chance that places become available again.

Hope someone else has some more practical advice!

ejc

Hi Ian

I tried to send you a PM but your private messaging is disabled, can you turn it on?

ejc x