Been researching in AI Safety independently for 1.5 years and I have my own direction. But researching independently is getting pretty tough, especially since I desperately need some advice and funding.

Someone researching at UCL advised me to apply for a PhD, but after looking into it, I found out I might need a 4-year bachelor's since I'm from India.

Also, reaching out to professors usually means working on THEIR projects, whereas I want to continue working on my own.

Any advice on how to navigate this or what options I have?