Fellowship awarded but not admitted to a program??

[Social Psyc Researcher]

I am sure this doesn't happen too often, but I am wondering if anyone knows what happens if a student is awarded an external fellowship but not admitted to any graduate programs?

Can awards be deferred until the next application season or do you just loose the award?

What about contacting programs where you were denied as a result of insufficient funding, is that appropriate?

(by the way this has not happened to me -- I am just curious)

[enginerd]

I have heard of students being rejected at their top schools then receiving an outside fellowship and then contacting the school of rejection and then getting in. Let me be more specific, the story I heard was of a student who applied and was rejected for Phd in engineering at MIT. Said student was then awarded funds from NSF and then MIT changed their mind and admitted the student. I kinda think it's crap and would maybe feel insulted if it was me, after already being rejected, but we do what we must. Also, I did not see tangible evidence of this, I heard it second hand.

[modernity]

I have heard of students being rejected at their top schools then receiving an outside fellowship and then contacting the school of rejection and then getting in. Let me be more specific, the story I heard was of a student who applied and was rejected for Phd in engineering at MIT. Said student was then awarded funds from NSF and then MIT changed their mind and admitted the student. I kinda think it's crap and would maybe feel insulted if it was me, after already being rejected, but we do what we must. Also, I did not see tangible evidence of this, I heard it second hand.

I wouldn't necessarily be insulted. This sometimes is department politics and does not reflect on the student at all. IE if MIT could only accept 5 new students because they only had funding for 5 but they had 10 they really liked - the five that get in are likely to be the ones that wanted to be attached to professors with the most money and the most sway in the department. If they're the type of school that only admits students with funding (as many are) they might reject student 6 but really want him - if student 6 can convince someone else to give him the money - that's all it will take so that they can accept him.

This does happen. Some people on this board have recommended in the past, that if you are in the negotiation phase of acceptance, and they seem like they want to accept you - but don't seem like they have money, and you have outside funding secured it can be advantageous to mention it.