Not at the moment, but will probably be in the near future. They will start charging for it then, of course.

Technically you should ask them...

When I applied for my PhD I naively thought they would contact referees after my interview and I thought I had no chance of getting the PhD anyway so there would be no point in contacting them before.

It didn't matter though, they still gave the reference, even though it had been 5 years since I had had any contact with them! It's probably nice to contact them before the university does though.

When I apply for postdocs I'll just tell them I'm applying and using them as reference, so this way they won't be surprised when they are *hopefully* inundated with emails. They generally just have generic-ish templates they adapt anyway so it's not too arduous.

I think full time students aren't eligible for housing benefit. I tried once when I was an undergrad with only my student loan and they told me they couldn't help me at all whilst I was a student.

I wouldn't mention it... golden rule is if they don't ask, don't tell :P

If you claim it and are later found to be ineligible, worse case scenario, they will ask you to pay it back and it may affect your future eligibility.

I think you're right but I'm guessing the university are only going to agree if it's to their advantage or if they are feeling extra nice that day.

Is your issue purely upon principle? If it is you should probably think carefully about making your next move since your emotions are likely to be influencing your decision making. If I were you I would also see what other in your position think and how they work with the situation.

Sounds like 6 hours to me.

As in any job, I would be careful about rocking the boat unless you really need to though ie if it's interfering with your studies. Remember you probably need to be on good terms with your university/supervisors for references/collaborations.

Additionally, they have probably deliberately left this ambiguous so it will be difficult for you to argue that it's actually 6 hours not 3.

At my uni, we get paid for 3 hours per teaching session. If it goes on for 2 hours, we still get paid for 3. Obviously if it runs over, we still only get paid for 3.

You definitely need to speak to your supervisor about this. It's not necessarily a problem but you will need to put a different spin on your work to ensure it stays original. You can't get a PhD on the exact topic that someone else has already published.

You may well finish a PhD and find that it's utterly useless for your future career, but hey, you will have been paid a pretty decent salary for 3 or 4 years, not had to pay council tax, probably met some great people and learnt many new things. Oh, and got a doctorate in the process. What's not to like?

If you ask me, it's better to get a PhD and not need it, then not get one and find out you need it when it's too late.

I think you already know it's not a good idea to submit now. You've come so far, it would be a shame to ruin it by an early submission. Get a job if you need extra cash, but make finishing your thesis your priority.

From what you've written it seems a bit to a give a revise and resubmit verdict, seems like a pass with major corrections would have been more appropriate. Good luck with the revisions.

There's nothing stopping you reapplying, and you are correct in saying it's up to the admissions department to decide whether to let you do the MSc.

I think it is frowned upon though so certain universities might not like it and won't let you do another MSc. Of course, you could always omit the fact that you ever attended an MSc course and just put on your CV that you have a PG certificate. Depends on your integrity I guess.

the van, von and der should be lower case and should be ignored for alphabetical listing in a bibliography.

I'm not sure about surnames deviating from the usual English letters; I would just put Sørensen after the other surname beginning with SO.

Like you, I didn't really have a typical undergrad experience as I never lived in halls.

I've really enjoyed coming back to study after a few years of work because I have enjoyed student life.

There are postgrad societies to join but I didn't bother because to me it was still too much like undergrad.

Most of the social stuff in my department does revolve around alcohol but more in the way of pubs, not night clubs. People don't tend to get crazily drunk either. It's all very civilized. I think you'll find like-minded people eventually, especially if you go along to every event first, even if it's just to prove you don't like it. It took me a while, but I found some people I have really clicked with and it makes the postgrad experience all the sweeter.

I echo thoughts above. There is no rush to submit in three years and it's normal to write papers between submission and viva.