======= Date Modified 21 Jan 2012 05:30:36 =======
Hi there,

I am new here; nice to meet you all!

I have just submitted my thesis in philosophy. My viva is in the end of March. It took me about 5 years to submit and I did try my best. I was running out of time and extensions and I had to submit, so my supervisor asked me to do so, though my discussion lacked some evidence. He mentions, though, that I may get major corrections or (most likely) I may have to revise and resubmit. Of course I try to keep positive but I am dreading the day of the viva.

So, my question is... would you quit if you got a revise and resubmit or it is worth giving it another year in case I complete the PhD later? Any advice? Have any of you managed to succeed after a revise and resubmit?

unless i win the lottery or get offered a foreign correspondent job- i'm finishing this phd!!! once i committed more than a month to it, i decided im going to do whatever it takes. i hope u can get through it and get ur phd!

I would have an open mind for the viva result at
this stage. The examiners will decide and supervisors have been known to get the
prediction wrong! If it were a revise and resubmit outcome, there will be
considerable work to do but this is not insurmountable. There are forumees on
here that have passed following R&R and some that are progressing through
the corrections now. A pass is a PhD award regardless of the way you got there,
ie minor corrections or R&R. It really depends how much you want to succeed
with your PhD? Some would feel that giving up all of this time for nothing is a
worthless waste and looks poor on your CV. However, the physiological and
emotional distress that can result from studying a PhD shouldn't be undermined
either. If it were me I would have continued as a PhD was my ambition. You need
to decide how you feel about it.

I think I would do the revisions but it would be alongside a job as I can't afford financially to go beyond 3 years. Don't give up hope before you get there, as Dunni says, supervisors don't always get it right. Good luck!

======= Date Modified 22 Jan 2012 13:39:44 =======

Hey apewithbrains.

Sounds like what I went through prior to my viva. I was told that I would most likely obtain revise and resubmit and a possibility of an MPhil.

I was distraught before my viva! (lots of tears in front of my supervisors and other people in the department- especially when they started mentioning MPhils!). About an hour before the viva, I saw the internal examiner walking round the department with my thesis in his hand looking very serious indeed. The internal examiner would not look me in the eye and I feared the worse.

I have just over six months to make all the corrections. I'm trying my best with my corrections, taking a few at a time and just working through them. However, I'm making some progress though. I've managed to chop out most of the extra content and addressed some of the major concerns raised by my examiners as well as added some new qualitative stuff that my examiners wanted to see if I had room.

The decision to quit is obviously a personal one. I can be fiercely determined about obtaining a goal, but I STILL have days where I'm starting to wonder if I should be realistic about my chances. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Am I simply not good enough to obtain a PhD? I'm meeting with my supervisors soon and I know their probably going to ask about why I want this PhD in the first place. Maybe that's a question I'm going to have to ask myself.

However, my examiners gave me some really lovely positive encouragement to finish this thesis which seems to be one of the few things keeping me going at the moment. I'm trying my best to remain positive and surround myself with positive people and positive thinking, but it isn't easy. At this post viva stage, I know that my examiners could have very easily awarded me with an MPhil/no degree, but because of their positive encouragement and feedback, I know that if I follow their corrections very closely, leaving with a PhD is a definite possibility.

It feels like getting through these corrections is just a matter of staying positive, motivated and working consistently and productively. I have days where I'm on fire blitzing through corrections, but other days, I'm feeling very very low. 

All I can do is try my best and work towards a favourable outcome in the autumn. I'm not quitting just yet. I have a six month window where I can either make this happen or not. No one is stopping me other than myself!

The level of positive feedback and encouragement I received from my examiners was completely unexpected, so sups can be wrong!

Best of luck.

Hi all,

I've just been re-reading this thread because revise and re-submit sounds awful, espcially your experience Pineapple with your sups scaring you with MPhil before your viva! I'm suppose I'm just a bit worried/concerned that your supervisors would let you submit your thesis if they were confident it would be R&R or MPhil... My supervisors are adamant that my thesis is going nowhere until it's PhD level! I wonder how common it is that people get asked to revise and re-submit?

I got revise and resubmit within 18 months last November. After over a decade (on and off) I was disappointed, to say the least. Part of me wants to quit and part of me needs something for the amount of work that I've put in. I do feel as though I'm throwing good money after bad, but I don't see what choice I have. Miserable though.

Don't worry about it until it happens. :(

======= Date Modified 23 Jan 2012 10:40:56 =======

I was under immense pressure to submit due to my PhD studentship. Someone wrote on this forum that R&R occurs in 1 in 12 PhD candidates, although not sure where this came from!

R&R is a disappointment, but at least they've given me the chance to go for a PhD.

Comments from my examiners outlined in the examiners report including ...........'breaking new ground',  'huge amount of work', 'good argument', 'considerable applied potential', 'very substantial thesis' and 'bringing major potential for new learning' ............obviously saved me from an MPhil!

I thought an MPhil was a definite possibility, but my examiners were unexpectedly and surprisingly positive which has given me something to focus on. I still have many many corrections to work through, but it could have been a lot worse, so at least that's something to be positive about!

It's good that you got some really positive feedback, so you know it's not a question of whether you're good enough (re- your post below!) You'll get there! (up)

Thanks Linda- much appreciated :-)(sprout)

I would also do what dunni73 would do. I mean, it's not yet the end of the world if you get that revise and resubmit verdict. Although there would be another issue on finances again as you will have to make some changes in your thesis. But I guess, it's worth the sacrifice, knowing that after you will accomplish the changes, you will be able to earn your degree. :-)

Hi there Aipwith brains. Don't be disheartened. I have recently received an R&R and I am fighting to get the PhD. Perseverance is what we need.