Advice wanted - for taking the Dphil in Oxford or not

Hi everyone,

I’ve got an unconditional offer reading for a 3 yr Dphil in Medical Science Division, Oxford last year. However, I deffered the offer by a year because of lack of funding.

I need to make up my mind now whether I should take up or let go the offer starting from Oct 2016.

The situration is that I only got money, mainly from my parents’ saving and myself, to cover 1.5 years of my overseas fee and daily expenses. It will be unlikely for me to get departmental based or govt scholarship due to the deferral status.

How likely would it be possible to find funding after starting the Dphil? Would it be too risky to start the course with only half of the funding I need in the 3 yers ahead?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Cheers
ox852

Hey

I've moved this post to postgrad applications as it may get more views

I'm not sure how it works for DPhil, but usually for Oxford they require you to demonstrate that you'll have the funds for the duration of your degree (so in this case 3 years). I would still look at any scholarships that they will allow deferral students to apply for. Have you also looked at any charities that can help with funding in general?

This page may be of some use too http://www.postgrad.com/editorial/fees_and_funding/funding/postgraduate_student_funding_guide/

You need to very carefully figure out what you will do if you start the course and don't raise additional funding. I'm not sure of Oxford's exact workings, but I know that at Cambridge if you start a course knowing you don't have enough funds - despite having signed a declaration that you do - you won't be eligible for hardship funds, etc. You may well be putting yourself in a situation where you end up having depleted your family savings and have nothing to show for it. In your situation, assuming you are unable to raise the extra funding before the start date, I'd suggest you work for a couple of years or whatever to save up the rest - assuming that you think the degree is worth the rather large amount of money it will cost, especially at international fees.

If you accept the place, your college will require a financial declaration to the effect that you can afford the full three years. You also need to provide evidence of being able to pay for the first year.

Are you really not eligible for any of the scholarships offered by the university, including the Clarendon Scholarships? http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/fees-and-funding/fees-funding-and-scholarship-search/search. If I were ineligible because of my deferral status, I would withdraw and re-submit the application next year. If you aren't eligible for (or can't secure) funding at the start of the degree, it seems less likely that you would somehow pull this off part way through.

I would not advise anyone to pay their own way through a DPhil, particularly if they had to pay international fees. It sounds as if this would be a significant financial commitment on the part of you and your family and not a very safe wager at all.

To my understanding, the Hardship funds in Oxford are with similar policy as you mentioned.

I have considered working for longer; however, I would only earn the rest of the payment gap in six and a half years ;(