Choosing between fellowships - need advice

[Tomstwins]

I decided to post here in this forum, hoping to get advice from experienced Ph.D grads.

I had been recently awarded of pre-doctoral fellowships from two different sources - one that is regional/industry vs one that is a nationally recognized foundation. 

Regional one is far more valuable, over $40,000 per year that covers my full stipend plus part of my tuition. National one covers only my stipend, $27,000, however it is more prestigious. I will have to choose between these two. 

I am leaning towards the later because of following perks of national award:

1. Greater network for long term job opportunities

2. Advantage in applying for Post doc or early career awards by the foundation; more competitive as a previous rewardee

3. National award that is recognized throughout the US

Final decision is up to me; however, my PI wants me to pick the one from regional/industry source because it offers more money (It won't change my stipend, but it will be less financial strain on my PI for my support) and he thinks it doesn't really matter whichever fellowship I choose since I can list both of them on my CV. 

I am not experienced enough to foresee what it's like in reality and practical sense. If I go with my preference and decide to go with the national award - Will it have big enough impact depending on which predoctoral fellowship I receive in my future? Is it big enough difference that outweigh the greater value in research fund I would be able to bring with regional/industry fellowship? Has your predoctoral or post doctoral fellowship had big impact on your networking and future grant applications? 

I would appreciate if you could share your advice on what would be the important factors to consider in deciding between fellowships.

Edited just now by Tomstwins

[Levon3]

I think I would go for the one that pays more, and definitely list both on your CV. My national foundation fellowship has not provided any networking opportunities, though I am sure this varies from fellowship to fellowship.

 

[Sigaba]

On 12/25/2019 at 8:01 AM, Tomstwins said:

I would appreciate if you could share your advice on what would be the important factors to consider in deciding between fellowships.

I would focus on the following.

On 12/25/2019 at 8:01 AM, Tomstwins said:

[M]y PI wants me to pick the one from regional/industry source because it offers more money (It won't change my stipend, but it will be less financial strain on my PI for my support) and he thinks it doesn't really matter whichever fellowship I choose since I can list both of them on my CV. 

Here's the thing. There are many threads centered around PIs relationships with their graduate students. I cannot recall one in which a graduate student talks about being treated better by a PI for doing the opposite of what the PI wanted.

In the event you still want to explore your preference, see if you can get a list of previous recipients of both fellowships. Does the prestige of the national fellowship appear to follow its recipients? (Keep in mind that correlation is not causation...)