Hi all!
After a long phase of applications I finally got a partial bursary for my phd from my "second choice" university. I am an international student in an area where funding is extremely rare and I am thrilled - or semi-thrilled - to have got 1/3 bursary. Yet, as I said the uni was my second choice and I still don't know what to do.
I did a pro's and con's list which boiled down to a draw between the two uni's. Both supervisors are awesome and both universities are very good, very similar (reputationwise) red brick uni's yet after visiting the two, I was much more impressed by the other uni. I very unfortunately missed the chance to get a full funding and I was planning to self fund my first year and try again the second year (as it seems they offer more scholarships) but then I got a bursary from my second choice and now I am thinking if I should take this chance to pay less, or start the other one and hope to get full funding for the next year. The non-funded first choice university offers teaching hours and seems very actively dedicated to the student's development as an academic, whereas the second one does not offer teaching (or seems so). I am absolutely confused and I desperately need ideas. Thank you for bearing with me anyway.

Best of luck to all,

leaf

Hi Leaf.

You sound as if you've done absolutely the right thing by drawing up a pro and con list of each place. From what you've written, at least the way it comes across to me, is you're trying your hardest to justify taking your top choice!

It might be worth asking roughly how many teaeching hours you are. From this do a "cost analysis", so work out how much you would earn and how much it would cost to live without the bursary at the first uni, then do the same with a bursary but with less hours at the second uni. In other words, you may find out that financially you get to a break even point.

And if you do choose the one with a bursary, make sure you aren't going to look back going "what if..." That's a tough one, believe me!