Hello :-)

I applied for quite a number of PhDs in January and early February - all fully funded and in physical sciences - but have not heard anything back from any of these regarding an interview or declining my application. How long should I wait to hear back from these? Most state that it takes 4-6 weeks, but surely interviews must already be underway? I don't want to come across as impatient, but also don't want to seem as if I've forgotten and don't care about my applications.

Any advice or knowledge about this is much appreciated, thanks.

Thank you all for your comments and advice :-)

To be honest, I think a big part of this is the location (in addition to everything else I mentioned) - I am finding it very difficult not being able to see my family and partner whenever I want to. I just wish I had chosen a different university in the first place, and now I am left with a choice of continuing with a PhD which is making me completely miserable, or to drop out of what could be my only chance of getting a PhD and with nothing else PhD/job related to go into despite the many applications I have sent off.

Hi TT3, I feel exactly the same way as you, I really dislike the place I am living in and regret choosing to do my PhD here instead of some of the other offers I had in different cities, where I would be closer to family and friends.

This quote from TreeofLife in particular sounds very familiar, like I wrote it myself!

I also feel like you, about the fears of what will happen after I quit (would I even get accepted into another PhD?), and that is the main reason why I am still here now. Anyway I hope it works out for you, people very rarely seem to mention how important it is to choose a country/city you will be happy living in for 3 years when deciding on what PhD to do. Please keep us updated with what you decide. :-)

Hi all :-)

Looking for advice/ if anyone has been through a similar thing.

I am on the verge of quitting my PhD for a number of reasons - won't go into too much detail but here are the main points... I changed subject between my undergrad and PhD and have found that the new PhD topic does not match my expectations. It is very repetitive with little chance to get out of the lab or develop other skills, I feel like I am in completely the wrong department. On top of this, my supervisor is very difficult to talk to - condescending and always micromanaging everything I do - so I am feeling under a lot of pressure. I am only 5 months in and do not see myself still living here in another 3 years, away from my family and partner. I dread coming into work every day and it is starting to affect my overall happiness.

I still strongly wish to do a PhD since I have enjoyed all my undergrad project work and other projects. I have applied for various other PhD positions within the last few months but still have not heard anything back from any of them. Does anyone know what my options are for EPSRC UK funding, if I quit now will I be very unlikely to get another funded project? Is my current PhD likely to be the only chance I get to do a PhD? Or would it be easier to attempt to transfer funding between universities (although I understand this is very difficult to do, since an agreement must be made between the 2 departments)?

Thanks!