PhD without funding

[brooks]

i have been accepted to PhD in materials science and engineering w/o funding. I talked to the faculty but they claimed they dont have fund to grant me an assistantship currently. I am considering to loan some money for the first 1-2 semesters than i hope to get assistantship position. However, if i cannot get such a position i cannot continue my PhD w/o funding. Do you think is it possible(big probability i mean) ?

I NEED suggestions, i'm confused :S

[engguy]

The only way to know this is to know the track record of people who have done this sort of thing -- come in with no funding and been awarded a TA-ship / fellowship later -- in your school and your program. It's different from school to school, and within schools, I'd venture to say that it could differ greatly depending on the program (some are much better funded than others). Can you get in touch with some of them, even via e-mail? Most schools are pretty good about passing along current student contact info. And the students, once contacted, tend to be pretty up front about internal politics etc. They should be able to tell you with much better authority whether this is possible or likely (and make sure to talk to more than one if you can).

That said, unless you have an absolute necessity to do it right now, I would hold off. That's just my opinion.

Good luck! :oops:

[materialgirl]

Personally, I would not recommend doing a PhD without funding. Here are your best options (assuming they are options):

1. Go somewhere else that offered funding

2. Work for a year (to boost your resume, but maybe you'll even find an employer that will pay for grad school)

3. Last resort: If you really want to go to grad school right away, make sure you can get an MS (as a safety net).

I know, it's very much frowned upon to get funding and quit after your MS. However, if you're going to pay for the first year, assuming you don't get picked up by a professor and you get no external fellowships, I think you should at least make sure you come out with an MS instead of nothing.

That being said, you should really think hard before accepting that offer. I think a school that doesn't offer you money for a PhD doesn't want you enough, and that doesn't bode well for your future attempts to be funded in that program. Good luck, I hope things work out for you.

[brooks]

i wiont go that university if i cant get any fund from them. By the way I hate the faculty who even dont answer my e mails about assistantship. its not that time consuming just saying "no".