How important should funding be when making a decision?

[javajunkie95]

I have been lucky enough to been accepted to multiple programs, I plan on visiting four programs during March which will help make my decision but am not sure how much of my decision should be put on funding. In my case, the funding for school A&B is 7,000 more than school C&D. Any advice would be appreciated! 

[basketballfrost]

I guess it depends on a lot more than that. For example maybe C&D are cheaper cities to live in, therefore the difference in funding won't necessarily mean a lot more money for you.

7,000 more per year is equal to 580 dollars more, that sounds like a lot. Research the cities and their living costs and wheather those 7,000 less will make a lot of difference.

In my case I am deciding between my options by seeing a lot of factors, city it is located, research labs I would prefer, better fit for department, school prestige, funding and city cost. Make your own list of things that are a MUST and start ranking schools. Funding makes a lot of difference, but so do many other factors. 

[E-P]

Here's how I'm thinking of it.

 

Let's say I have two offers.  School A is offering me 31, and I have to teach 2 courses each semester, for a total of 16 courses over 4 years.  School B is offering me 24,000, but I don't have to teach the first year.  School A's city's cost of living is 20% higher than School B's city.

 

So, first I calculate the apples-to-apples rate based on cost of living differences.  If school B were the same "cost" as school A, I would be "making" 28,800 instead.  So, now my offers are effectively:

 

School A: 31,000 per year, 4 years, 16 courses total

School B: 28,800 per year, 4 years, 12 courses total (remember, no teaching the first year)

 

Then, multiply and divide to determine the amount of "work:"

School A: 31000*4 years/16 courses = $7,750 per course

School B: 28800*4 years/12 courses = $9,600 per course

 

School B wins.

HOWEVER....then negotiation happens.  I go to School B and say, "Hey, School A offered me 31.  I'd prefer to go to y'all, because I really like your program, but it's tough to say no to that much more money."

 

And hopefully school B makes me a better offer.   If they don't, I can still accept their offer; they don't need to know they were the better deal all along.

[WhyTry]

4 words

no money no honey. 

Lol but seriously, if the offer is enough to live on, don’t worry if one is less or more.

my offer at UT was 24k, my offer at UW was 32k. 8k more, but the amount is irrelevant. Both would afford me the same life style. Dont worry too much, enjoy the journey. 

[E-P]

@WhyTry Really, you think?  I used to live in Austin, and it seemed pretty significantly more expensive than Madison.  Although maybe the extra expense is negated by the lack of state income tax?

Wait.  I know.  You get TexMex and Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Nevermind, you're totally right, Austin was clearly the better choice.

[TakeruK]

I take the funding offer, subtract out estimate for rent (look on craigslist etc to get an actual good estimate) and other major *necessary* expenses. Look at what's left over and that's the discretionary part. If you can pay for the luxuries you want to have with this part (including things like travel!) then I wouldn't worry about stipend further than that. If you can't pay for the necessary expenses, then definitely not worth taking that offer. If you can't pay for all of your discretionary stuff, then it's worth thinking about whether you are willing to sacrifice. 

In my field, after adjusting for cost of living, the difference between a stipend that allows you to live a decent but modest life and the top stipends is only about a few thousand dollars per year. Over 5 years, this might be 10,000 to 15,000 total. I think that choosing a school that is a better research fit, more prestige, better chance of a good career after grad school etc. is worth much more than this. But I guess if you have two equally good offers from top schools that you are equally excited about then going for the higher stipend isn't a bad idea, either.

[WhyTry]

4 hours ago, E-P said:

@WhyTry Really, you think?  I used to live in Austin, and it seemed pretty significantly more expensive than Madison.  Although maybe the extra expense is negated by the lack of state income tax?

Wait.  I know.  You get TexMex and Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Nevermind, you're totally right, Austin was clearly the better choice.

 

My apologies, I didn’t clarify. 

University of Washington at Seattle. 

 

If not the texmex, the BBQ. Best bbq EVER!

[E-P]

@WhyTry  Haha, yes, that's quite the difference.  Yeah, I only know the approximate cost of living in Seattle, but from what I know, you'll end up with waaay more pocket change in Austin, especially depending on where you live.  If you need advice on that front, feel free to DM me.

[TakeruK]

There was only one school for me where the stipend factored into my final decision and it was U Washington! The stipend offer at the time was 18,000 for 20 hours of TA per week. Definitely not affordable so it was the only case where I had to decline an offer mostly for money reasons.

[Eigen]

CoL calculators can help a lot with this, but what I would rely on is asking current students how livable the stipend is. 

They're the ones that know whether it's doable, comfortable, or not. 

[khigh]

16 hours ago, E-P said:

@WhyTry Really, you think?  I used to live in Austin, and it seemed pretty significantly more expensive than Madison.  Although maybe the extra expense is negated by the lack of state income tax?

Wait.  I know.  You get TexMex and Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Nevermind, you're totally right, Austin was clearly the better choice.

Don't you mean Torchy's? I would kill for a good breakfast taco right now.

[E-P]

 

44 minutes ago, khigh said:

Don't you mean Torchy's? I would kill for a good breakfast taco right now.

 

I like Torchy's, although it's definitely a sometimes treat.  I could eat my weight in Chuy's, though...right after I drink my weight in Texas martinis.  

[khigh]

1 hour ago, E-P said:

 

 

I like Torchy's, although it's definitely a sometimes treat.  I could eat my weight in Chuy's, though...right after I drink my weight in Texas martinis.  

That's the one thing I don't like living in the North...the lack of good TexMex.

[rising_star]

So... I turned down a place that offered me $7K more than the offer I accepted when I was choosing a PhD program (similar cost of living in both places, btw). Why? The research fit wasn't as good, I wasn't excited about the location, and I just wasn't sure I wanted to be in that department after visiting. I actually picked a program I didn't visit because it offered me the best opportunity in terms of PI, program atmosphere, and research fit. My research interests did shift after I entered the program and it still ended up being a great fit. All of which is to say that, at least for me, funding wasn't the deciding factor once it hit a level where I knew I could live pretty comfortably.

[TheWalkingGrad]

Of course you have to take money into account, after all grad school is like a job and it's hard to focus on things when you're having a hard time making ends meet. On the other hand, it's awful to end up in a place where the research fit is horrible or the department sucks just because they offered more money. I'd say go to the visiting days in all the places if you can (even the ones you might now be thinking you'll never go), see the department, talk to the students and professors. Then research cost of living in each city, and calculate how far the money each school offered can go in each place. And finally, negotiate with the university you chose if you feel they can give you more (this may change from field to field, so I'd suggest talking to other grad students in the department you're interested in).

I was divided between two places, place A was offering 29k a year and place B was offering 20k, but place A was around 30% more expensive than place B. I met with my POI at place A and realized the fit was shitty, and the department seemed off to me, but the extra money they were offering was too tempting. I went to visiting day in city B and LOVED everything about the campus, the professors, the department. I was so torn about the money issue, but talked to a few of the grad students there, and they told me to negotiate, so I did. I told my POI that they were my first choice and I'd love to go, but I had this other offer. They upped the offer to 27k a year, and I accepted on the spot. 

 

PS: you weren't "lucky" to be accepted, you are a competent candidate who worked hard, deserves these opportunities and has a lot to add to your field, and the department you choose will be lucky to have you. It helps to remember this when you negotiate.

[TakeruK]

26 minutes ago, rising_star said:

So... I turned down a place that offered me $7K more than the offer I accepted when I was choosing a PhD program (similar cost of living in both places, btw). Why? The research fit wasn't as good, I wasn't excited about the location, and I just wasn't sure I wanted to be in that department after visiting. I actually picked a program I didn't visit because it offered me the best opportunity in terms of PI, program atmosphere, and research fit. My research interests did shift after I entered the program and it still ended up being a great fit. All of which is to say that, at least for me, funding wasn't the deciding factor once it hit a level where I knew I could live pretty comfortably.

I had a similar experience. School A offered $29k/year and School B offered $37k/year. School B was in a very low cost of living area (grad students owned houses) so if you converted School B's offer to the value at School A's location, it would have been around $50k/year. 

While both A and B were good quality schools that were very respectable in their areas of work, after the visit, it was very clear that A was a much better fit than B was. In fact, at that time, B was divesting itself of key resources I specifically wanted to use in grad school. In terms of non-academic reasons, there were all the reasons  to pick A and tons of reasons to avoid B (some of it was the program atmosphere but most of it was just personal preference for things like weather, geographic isolation, distance from family etc.). Also fewer work opportunities for my spouse at School B's location. So I chose School A.

Sometimes when I tell this story, people remark that "$50k/year" vs $29k/year is such a huge difference! And to be honest, the first year at School A was tough: both academically and financially. My spouse had not yet obtained work authorization, "Obamacare" wasn't fully in effect yet so we had to pay huge insurance bills, and $29k/year wasn't enough to support two of us with these bills. We had to dig into our savings a bit until my partner found work. This was part of the plan---we knew that we could certainly afford a modest life once my spouse found work so that's why School A's offer was still considered. 

But even knowing it was temporary, there were certainly many times where I questioned whether choosing all these other factors over funding was the right choice. However, it was only a temporary setback. Now that I have graduated, I am 100% sure I made the right choice. 

Also, these example numbers are also why I said above that when it comes to a surplus, you don't really need the cost of living adjustment. It's not like I would have been putting $20k/year in the bank if I had chose School B. It's only the absolute amount that matters.