Hi,
I am just finishing a 1-year Masters course, and this has gone well. However for a number of reasons I did not decide to apply for a PhD until around April/May, which I now definitely want to do. Now it seems unlilkely I will get accepted for a PHD this year. So it looks like I have to find work this year and wait till next year to apply, which I'm not too happy about.

So my question is, could / should I apply for a PhD for starting Feb / Mar 2010? I know this varies a lot, but some general advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for your reply, it seems that student loans are not available for postgraduate courses. Can I ask why would you not recommend a career development loan.

I have just been accepted for a 1-year MRes that starts in a few weeks, and applied too late to get funding so I'm looking at taking out a loan. Should I apply for a student loan or a career development loan. Thanks for any advice

Hey,
I'm thinking of applying for a masters in either nanomaterials or biomedical physical chemistry at Imperial. I am a chemistry graduate. Just wondering if any1 has completed either of these, could they tell me what it was like, and what are the career prospects.
Thanks!

In response to origignal post,

Hi I am in a v similar position at the moment, have just decided after 9 months that I cant do a PhD in my current area of research. I still intend to do a PhD tho probably at a different university, tho am worried what to put on my cv, since I cant just ignore it completely.
I hope everything goes well for you.

Hi,
I started a PhD last sept, in an area of research that was pretty new to me. I was getting depressed by the lack of progress but kept trying to convince myself that things would turn out ok. Then in the last couple of weeks I just got so frustrated that I decided I couldnt continue with it. I want to do a phd but feel that my I just cant do justice to my project. My supervisor has been really supportive and suggests I take time off to consider what resarch I really want to do. I feel ashamed at probably having to drop out, but feel I need to be honest with myself.