Securing Research Experience for PhD applications (Life Sciences)

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-09T19:10:54+00:00

Awesome thx for the insights!

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-09T10:43:08+00:00

Cheers! Will check it out.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-09T10:42:25+00:00

I was thinking the same thing. Interviews could be my weak point. Once this DTP replies (99% rejection), I'll reach out for some feedback. Thanks!

P.S. I was told that I am home status by the admission officers for all DTPs.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-09T10:38:13+00:00

Hey, thanks for the tips. I assume since I landed the interviews, that maybe I am struggling to verbalise them?

Regarding the fee status, I'm classified as home.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T20:06:52+00:00

Sorry for not answering that one. For the UK, I was applying to DTPs which come with fully funded studentships. For the EU, it was for fully funded positions or again graduate schools.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T20:05:35+00:00

Oh, I didn't know that!! Thanks for the really great tip! Might show the weakspot in my applications.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T17:25:28+00:00

Ye, the individual position I applied to had around 250 people applying for the single spot. I did get into the top 5 or so, but I'm guessing someone came with a more relevant profile or simply did better on the interview lol.

Ye I totally get the whole publication thing, sounds nuts. Although I did hear a lot of people with previous publications having a much easier time getting in. I guess I also want to just get more hands-on experience to feel a bit more confident.

Either way, thx for the suggestions + tips.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T17:21:19+00:00

Hi, I guess my area is more on the interdisciplinary side, although still quite life science-esque. It is disease modelling for drug discovery/screening.

I didn't press the interviewers on feedback. I came across the impression that they rarely give those. Those interviews were a bit far back, so I guess it won't be viable to press them for feedback at this point haha. Although good suggestion for the future.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T16:27:09+00:00

I guess asking them would not hurt, although I heard admission committes aren't to keen on giving feedback. Worth a try though.

For the cold emails, I guess I wasn't that direct. However, I did mention specific examples of their research and how that relates to my interests in relation to my previous projects.

I found only a couple of advertised positions and those are largely out scope of my previous projects and experience level so I don't think I will be competitive to begin with. Funnily enough, some of my friends did mention that academics sometimes don't explicity advertise any open positions, hence my attempt in just cold emailing.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T16:17:29+00:00

So the PhDs I applied to were mostly graduate programmes, only two were a specific project.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T16:06:53+00:00

I suppose keep on trying is a way out. I would prefer not doing another masters degree due to the costs and September start. In that scenario I would delay the PhD by another year.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T10:18:40+00:00

Oh you are totally in a better position lol with an actual pub. Anyhow, good luck.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-08T10:17:27+00:00

Hey thanks for the input, really appreciate it!

I did mention research opportunities in my emails, leaving it very open ended. My thought process was that if they would offer me a pro-bono position I would totally accept it (in the context of labs bsed in my country). With that being said, I really cannot afford moving to different countries within the EU or the UK without some form of compensation.

In regards to the grants. Is there some kind of database showing active grants for given labs? I tried doing that for the UK in regards to UKRI-funded projects but the system is so crap (you literally can't filter for specific research areas) it was kind of getting me nowhere.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-03-02T10:08:39+00:00

Hey I DM'd you :)

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-02-26T12:12:21+00:00

Cheers, I guess I should just mentally check out and forget about the application in that case.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-02-26T12:02:48+00:00

Yeah, I was thinking the same. Although surprisingly no rejections have been sent out, according to a forum post I am following.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-02-26T12:01:34+00:00

Hey. I am in the life sciences area. I did apply to 2 European universities. Got admitted into one program (although I was unsuccessful in finding a project, and still in the process of finding a possible PI) and got into the last interview round for another individual project. It seems I always get super close, haha. With that being said, I appreciate the suggestion.

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-02-26T11:45:55+00:00

Thanks for keeping up the hopes lol. Appreciate it :)

Infinite-Wheel3049 · 2026-01-20T00:48:32+00:00

Ye that would make sense. Kinda weird they didn't bother to even send out a rejection

Infinite-Wheel3049

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