Hi guys

Im in need of advise. I am thinking of quitting my fully funded PhD program but i had to factor in possibility of repaying back the tuition fees and stipend. Its a lot, probably around 120K or more. Im paid stipend of quitr a sum and i dont think im capable of repaying back if need be. So my decision is based on whether i need to pay back the stipend.

The terms stated in the scholarship offer states is very vaguely. In one paragraph it states that if student is terminated, he or she may only be entitled to prorated amount for the days of month work and may be required to pay the excess days in which he she had already quit.

In another paragraph it is stated that if student quits he or she may be required to pay all the enoluments receive in candidature unless specified otherwise by school.

My question is in general are students required to pay back if they quit. And what kind of legal strings the school can play? I understand a scholarship is not a bond and theres no bond attached to the offer.

If its based on whether the reas
on is valid by the student, what kind of reason is acceptable?

Im severely depressed and the last thing i need is to be in huge debt at 31

Edit: i actually tried calling the school regarding this. The answer given is "generally dont have Requirement for repayment because this is not a bond." When pressed further for confirmation, the officer mentioned that it depends on the reason and i cant give a direct answer. I was then asked whether i hold a local Citizenship. Not sure if that will matter also but i again pressed on. The officer mentioned that he need to know my student ID and lodge a formal enquiry but i declined because thats risky. Like i mentioned i will quit only if i dont have to repay the financial part.

Any advise. ?

Where do you study and who are you funded by? As far as I'm aware it's very rare (in the UK) to be required to repay any funding.

Thanks for the input bongmaster. I study in singapore. And im a local there. Im funded by the university which get its funds from the government.

Difficult to answer if you're in Singapore. As Bong said, you wouldn't need to repay in the UK, unless they paid you in advance, and even then I doubt they bother.

Im left wondering for my case as well. I wrote in an enquiry to the school regarding this same issue and here is their reply,

''if the student voluntarily withdraws, the student is required to pay the total enoluments up to the total amount received. Unless for special reasons such as health, family, financial etc'

this sounds very vague. and im curious to know how the school will go about chasing the stipend money as stipend is not technically a bond.

If they were serious about it they will just instruct a debt recovery company who will take you to court if you refuse to pay and they believe you can i.e. because they know your employer (they'll do an attachment of earnings and deduct it from your wages), or because they know you have a property (charging order) or because you have expensive stuff they can sell at auction. If you don't have any of these things, then there's not much they can do other than register the default on your credit file.

How much work is left? Maybe you could take a break and then come back and finish it? Or just knuckle down and finish it (to any standard - as presumably you will not care about the outcome)?