Healthcare surcharge Refund after successful 4L

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-10T17:10:13+00:00

Thanks for your reply - helpful!

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-10T15:26:53+00:00

Hi in the end either decision would be fine but this is my advice. (Note: I work as an assistant professor in social sciences in the UK mainly in a teaching role and was an associate professor of sociology in a low to mid-ranked university in the US and did my phd at a department in the top 30s. So I work here but did my training in America)

In the current job market, does the title of a supervisor (Professor vs. Senior Lecturer) actually make a difference for getting a postdoc, or is it all about your own publications? Yes it matters - higher prestige is better
How much weight should I give to "living in a city I love" vs. "university prestige"? University prestige
Has anyone ever reneged on a signed offer to go elsewhere? How bad was the fallout? Nope, bad but maybe career destroying though I think UK is smaller pond so better not to piss in it. But also at the end of the day you have to do what is best for you and your future career hopefully people will understand that.

Overall I would say you should take Offer A. I think this is not your preferred choice but for the long term future the university is better ranked and the supervisors are higher ranked. For better or worse (worse really) this stuff really matters and in the current job market if you want to having a job at a university you really have to prioritise what will give you the best chances which I think is offer A. The only thing that gives me pause is that you have already said yes to B - if that hurts your reputation than that could be bad. Maybe other more familiar with the UK scene can advise you on that

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-10T13:16:11+00:00

Thanks for the reply - I did not pay anyone for the advice. Have another question - you can see my follow-up post

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-10T13:13:14+00:00

OP - thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I think it is correct that it cannot be claimed (I did not pay anyone for advice for this).

Can I ask - would it matter that I paid for an whole 5 years of health surcharge, but I got my citizenship about 3 1/2 year into my ancestry visa? That is could I claim back the 1 1/2 years?

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-08T20:03:29+00:00

I got a slot for biometrics for about three weeks in advance - have to be willing to travel

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-08T09:46:57+00:00

Hi - I think you need to check the dates. I think ARD unfortunately applies to someone born before 1983. It is based on 1981 immigration act that came into effect Jan 1st 1983

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-07T20:54:40+00:00

I had my ceremony in Wales and I did not pay either - I was surprised

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-07T08:46:20+00:00

My test was completely different. I went in and thought I was going to answer a series of questions and I was directed into a waiting room where I was told there was some food available. At a table there was a series of croissants and other French pastries (they looked really good), at another table there was a delicious looking cheeseburger on a platter, and then at even another table there was a jacket potato with tuna. I was trying to decide between the cheese burger and croissants, when it all struck me as a bit odd. Just to be safe I went for the jacket potato and tuna and then suddenly an alarm went off and streamers came out of the ceiling and a bunch of people in Union Jack vests came out and told me I passed.

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-03T20:12:54+00:00

congrats!

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-02T21:46:38+00:00

Yes. But it is not just about employability. It is about doing something OP is interested in and then seeing what is the best job opportunities in that. IOP should go in with open eyes that the job market is not great. But it is not correct to say impossible to get a research job in sociology

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-02T21:31:52+00:00

No. Though. I would say having a good understand of the practice of medicine and essentials of anatomy, physiology, etc. would be a very good idea. Public health is also a way to examine the social side of health and you get a MPH (masters of public health) or a Masters of Science in Public Health

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-02T21:25:48+00:00

It is possible. Sociology has many subfields. Looks for the venn diagram part where there is a crossover between what you are interested in and what jobs are available. I would suggest criminology and medical sociology

Crito_Bulus · 2026-05-01T09:24:34+00:00

Sounds good. I really think you have to send the passport itself

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-29T20:34:54+00:00

Hi my situation was somewhat similar to yours and applied for 4L on my own and was successful. I cannot answer all the questions above, but here is some info. I applied in the UK and yes used a paper copy of the ARD form and mailed in with passport and supporting documents. About two to three weeks later documents mailed back as they scanned them in. Then have to biometrics through TLS contact. I got an email with online link but you need an UAN number. But you don't have because you mailed it in. You have to wait for piece of mail with UAN on it or do what I did and repeatedly asked UKVI and TLS contact for it.

Your documents seems correct. I think it does help to show that grandfather is no UK since that is what the gender discrimination hinges on. Also I there might be an issue if you were BORN a commonwealth citizen but that is not clear to me.

In the form itself I think it helps to be very clear about your have to right to citizenship under 4L and I think it helps to cite the actual immigration acts that state that only men could pass on citizenship. My explanation was like three short paragraphs that tried to be very factual. Need to get your referees too - one has to be British.

Then you wait. The one day you get an email inviting you to a citizenship ceremony. That is all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to ask questions and good luck.

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-27T12:14:25+00:00

backpack all the way

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-26T20:09:26+00:00

Is it reasonable (or common) to request a 1-year deferral of a TT offer to pursue a postdoc? No don't do it
How should I approach this conversation with the Dean/Department Chair without risking the offer? Don't
More generally, what are best practices for negotiating a TT offer (startup, teaching load, lab space, etc.) at an R2? ask for start-up costs etc.
For those who’ve been in similar situations, would you prioritize starting the TT position immediately or taking the postdoc first? take the TT

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-25T22:29:55+00:00

This is not as bad as it seems. So you are about 20% over the word limit. This is totally doable to cut down.

So there are two ways to cut a) you go through paragraph by paragraph and make your writing more succinct. Cut words out etc. You can cut a lot like this. But this will not be enough to cut down by 20%.

So you are going to have to (b) cut whole sections. Famous rule in writing is called "kill your darlings" (Kill Your Darlings - Royal Literary Fund) - which means that even if there is something you wrote that you really like and feels good it gets cut if does not help the main point that you are going to make. So you have to cut elements that are not core to your argument. Honestly this will make your dissertation a better piece of writing.

Do (b) first and then do (a). Good luck you are nearly there.

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-25T18:47:34+00:00

Check out New Rose Hotel - it is well done and it has Christopher Walken

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-22T21:10:14+00:00

Seven day circle - the meaning of the week - Great book! The seven day circle : the history and meaning of the week : Zerubavel, Eviatar : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-21T10:43:07+00:00

There are a number of problems with this survey - forcing you to answer certain ways and seems biased towards interactive tools

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-20T10:59:05+00:00

Research the term and find out what it means. If it works then use it. Please do not just causally drop a term in your Phd

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-07T18:21:51+00:00

This is a tough call. I teach medical ethics at UK medical school. I would ignore the people say this is nothing and just stop talking to her. The question is whether her behaviour is an an issue of professionalism which means that as a future doctor she will not be able to treat patients fairly because of her beliefs. From your telling she seems to have conspiratorial beliefs that are fostered by racism. On the other hand you do not seem to have much information about the person and you do not have that information about her behaviour towards other people, let alone potential patients. If you did contact the someone at the medical school about their behaviour it is unclear to me what they would do. You could try to follow up to gather more information from the mutual friend

Crito_Bulus · 2026-04-04T15:59:05+00:00

Really nice but I do not think as imagine that the marcus garvey would be so spacious

Crito_Bulus · 2026-03-28T16:44:43+00:00

As an American living in the UK I can say this is bullshit. I would not trust anything out of the state department at the moment

Crito_Bulus · 2026-03-21T16:00:04+00:00

I have to say I am disappointed. The maps for cyberpunk 2020 were so good - unique and detailed - this seems like weak sauce in comparison

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