I applied for a DPhil studentship at Oxford. The supervisor asked if I was serious about staying in research, and when I replied yes, explained that I was clearly good, she didn't have time to supervise a student, over 1/3 of Oxford postgrads never got their DPhils, and she was therefore recommending me to some of her friends rather than give me her studentship, which only existed as a condition of getting funds for the rest of the lab - she was looking for someone who didn't really want a DPhil who could essentially be a research assistant.