Does accepting an offer later hurt your chances of receiving a fellowship/extra funding?

[MOR_embryo]

How much do schools give out in addition to the base stipend? I've read some things on this forum of students getting an extra $10k?

I'm still deciding and it may be a while before I choose. Would holding an offer until early April hurt my chances of being offered a fellowship?

Do schools do this to entice students to come or do they only offer extra funding after a student has accepted their program?

[BeatrizBear]

I think those are people that won special fellowships either by applying for them directly or being nominated for them by someone on the admissions committee. In one program I applied to there was the chance to win a special fellowship within the department and there was no extra application needed. You were just chosen by the committee as they were handing out acceptances. At another school you were given the option to apply to extra fellowships. Everyone within the graduate school regardless of what department they were from had a chance to get the fellowship and they were chosen by a special committee. It depends on the university and department if you'll get something extra. In your case, I don't think it will make a difference if you wait or not if you've already been given your financial aid package. You could try negotiating your package, but if there's no extra funds then there's nothing that can be done.

Edited March 6, 2015 by BeatrizBear

[rising_star]

This varies from one school to the next but my experience has been that when you accept the offer doesn't have an effect. YMMV, obviously.