WebEx meeting with faculty after admission offer

[sad pepe]

So I was offered admission to the PhD program in political science at a large public “R1” university in the Midwest. The DGS has arranged a WebEx meeting for me and my faculty of interest (2 of them) plus a current PhD student (potentially). The meeting will happen in a few days. It’s supposed to be help me learn more about the program and for them to answer questions I have.

I’m feeling very nervous about this meeting, and am not sure what exactly I should be talking to them about... I assume post-offer meetings like this should be pretty common, so I’d really appreciate some tips/suggestions/advice on what to expect and how to prepare for it.

And in case they pressure me, how should I go about telling them that I’m still in the process of deciding whether or not I’ll accept the offer (to not come across as impolite)? Though I’m quite interested in attending this school, I do have one other offer and am on 3 waitlists at the moment.

Also, the amount of stipend offered is not that great (the other program offered more funding), but is it not a good idea to ask for more funding unless I’m certain I will accept the offer?

Apologize if similar questions have been asked before. Thanks in advance!

[PumaDuty]

1 hour ago, jonliu said:

So I was offered admission to the PhD program in political science at a large public “R1” university in the Midwest. The DGS has arranged a WebEx meeting for me and my faculty of interest (2 of them) plus a current PhD student (potentially). The meeting will happen in a few days. It’s supposed to be help me learn more about the program and for them to answer questions I have.

I’m feeling very nervous about this meeting, and am not sure what exactly I should be talking to them about... I assume post-offer meetings like this should be pretty common, so I’d really appreciate some tips/suggestions/advice on what to expect and how to prepare for it.

And in case they pressure me, how should I go about telling them that I’m still in the process of deciding whether or not I’ll accept the offer (to not come across as impolite)? Though I’m quite interested in attending this school, I do have one other offer and am on 3 waitlists at the moment.

Also, the amount of stipend offered is not that great (the other program offered more funding), but is it not a good idea to ask for more funding unless I’m certain I will accept the offer?

Apologize if similar questions have been asked before. Thanks in advance!

I just had one this week. It was very laid back. The faculty just asked what questions I had. There was no discussion about when I would make a decision. I would suggest having a few questions prepared. 
 

I also had follow up questions about funding but didn’t ask on the call since another student was on. I just emailed after. I would want to know full details regarding funding before making a decision. Unless, you know that you’d accept the offer with no increase. 

[Dwar]

2 hours ago, jonliu said:

And in case they pressure me, how should I go about telling them that I’m still in the process of deciding whether or not I’ll accept the offer (to not come across as impolite)? Though I’m quite interested in attending this school, I do have one other offer and am on 3 waitlists at the moment.

Say that you have a few options on the table and are still deciding. They may ask for specifics and it’s up to you to provide those answers or not. If the faculty members are genuine they may provide honest feedback about some of the other schools you are looking at. If that happens be sure to take their advice to heart, but keep in mind that they are still trying to sell you on their program.

2 hours ago, jonliu said:

Also, the amount of stipend offered is not that great (the other program offered more funding), but is it not a good idea to ask for more funding unless I’m certain I will accept the offer?

ALSO, just wanted to point out that many places in the Midwest (outside of Chicago) have extremely low COL, do the lower stipend may actually turn out to be more then a higher stupiden in the coasts. With that being said, I agree that you should only try and get more money if you’re prepared to accept their new offer right as they make it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go through that process unless you are sure you’d accept their new higher offer.

[Paulcg87]

8 hours ago, Dwar said:

ALSO, just wanted to point out that many places in the Midwest (outside of Chicago) have extremely low COL, do the lower stipend may actually turn out to be more then a higher stupiden in the coasts. With that being said, I agree that you should only try and get more money if you’re prepared to accept their new offer right as they make it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go through that process unless you are sure you’d accept their new higher offer.

^This. Unless your definition of "midwest" is different than most, the only schools with what could be considered "high" cost of living would be those located in the Chicagoland area. Chicago is expensive. Rent, gas, groceries, etc., it's an expensive place to live. With that said, Madison, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and Columbus are very reasonable (compared to California, NY/New England/Mid Atlantic, Denver or Seattle) and some parts of the midwest are downright very cheap by US standards, including pretty much the entire state of Indiana, where you can buy a used 2 bedroom house near IU for less than $100k. You can't buy a closet space or a parking spot for that price in Boston, NY, Chicago, LA or the Bay Area. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by Paulcg87

[DrPepperGuy]

15 hours ago, jonliu said:

So I was offered admission to the PhD program in political science at a large public “R1” university in the Midwest. The DGS has arranged a WebEx meeting for me and my faculty of interest (2 of them) plus a current PhD student (potentially). The meeting will happen in a few days. It’s supposed to be help me learn more about the program and for them to answer questions I have.

I’m feeling very nervous about this meeting, and am not sure what exactly I should be talking to them about... I assume post-offer meetings like this should be pretty common, so I’d really appreciate some tips/suggestions/advice on what to expect and how to prepare for it.

And in case they pressure me, how should I go about telling them that I’m still in the process of deciding whether or not I’ll accept the offer (to not come across as impolite)? Though I’m quite interested in attending this school, I do have one other offer and am on 3 waitlists at the moment.

Also, the amount of stipend offered is not that great (the other program offered more funding), but is it not a good idea to ask for more funding unless I’m certain I will accept the offer?

Apologize if similar questions have been asked before. Thanks in advance!

I have an offer from one school but am on the waitlist for my top choice.  I was pretty transparent with the faculty at the school I'm accepted at.  I let them know what I was thinking and asked for their honest feedback.  I may have gotten lucky but for the most part people were pretty open and willing to provide their input and recommendations.  They were clear that they wanted me there but encouraged me to explore my options and consider all factors before making a decision.  One of the professors even offered to give me a call after the visit and follow up.

I say all this because I think a lot of departments understand that we have decisions to make and this is a big deal for us.  Honestly if a department isn't being respectful of your decisions I would be pretty disappointed and concerned how they'll treat me as a student.  I think being honest and inquisitive are never bad things and can only help you! 

[munch22]

You absolutely can ask for more money, especially if it is a potential hang up for you on deciding one school over another. Just make sure to be respectful about it. You don't necessarily have to mention the other offer. Something like "One thing I am a little worried about is the stipend amount. Is there any way to secure additional funding from the department or the university". This way you are putting it out there without directly asking and coming off as just trying to squeeze the department for as much as possible. Because grad stipends are low. You don't need to use a competing offer to increase your stipend amount. 

As mentioned above though, do your homework on the school: Go to phdstipends.com and see the following 1) how does my stipend at X school compare with stipend at Y school? 2) Do students in the political science department (search for your school and then sort by major) receive different amounts or is everyone on the same stipend? This will give you an idea of what the actual difference is, and whether or not it is likely for you to get more money. In the same vein, make sure to consider conference money as well. 

[sad pepe]

@munch22 Thanks, I'm actually not aware of this site.

And thanks to everyone else for the input, they were all helpful! Hopefully the web meeting goes well!

[sad pepe]

Hey guys, OP here. So the DGS of the program (the one mentioned above as well as in a couple other posts, some of you may be aware) just emailed me and told me she had nominated me for a fellowship award designated for incoming grad students. Not sure how competitive it is but it's still great news nonetheless. The thing is, I have not accepted my offer yet as I'm still waiting to hear back from another program. So what should I write to her in response besides thank you? It's just a bit awkward considering I haven't committed myself to the program yet...

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

[SHS]

19 hours ago, jonliu said:

Hey guys, OP here. So the DGS of the program (the one mentioned above as well as in a couple other posts, some of you may be aware) just emailed me and told me she had nominated me for a fellowship award designated for incoming grad students. Not sure how competitive it is but it's still great news nonetheless. The thing is, I have not accepted my offer yet as I'm still waiting to hear back from another program. So what should I write to her in response besides thank you? It's just a bit awkward considering I haven't committed myself to the program yet...

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

May I ask which schools you are considering atm?