So, I was admitted to two programs (among others), a European 3 year PhD (I have an MA) and an American 5 year PhD, of similar stature. The American one had a guarantee of (so-so) funding, a better location, and arguably a better fit, so I went with it, and sent my decision to both programs in March.
I just found out that I won an extremely competitive European doctoral fellowship which isn't valid in the states, and that comes with a stipend double what the American program is offering (in a cheaper location, to boot), and (great) guaranteed paid internship options. The European PhD program said that they'd still be happy to take me, even though I'd already said no.
I still prefer the American program, even with the much smaller funding package, and don't think that I'll back out, but I'm wondering if it's unheard of to try to leverage something like this. For what it's worth, having gotten this means that I could probably get a similar scholarship from the funder's American counterpart after my second year when I'm done with coursework.
Does bargaining like this ever work? If so, is it worth the somewhat disingenuous move of letting on that I might defect?
(I'm a semi-frequent poster under another name, anonymized here just in case)
