Why apply for fellowship if given a stipend??

[Immuno]

I wasn't really sure to which board this topic should be posted, so I stuck it here. My question: One particular program I am applying to gives a 26,000 stipend to every doctoral student, no exceptions. However, during the application process, I am asked to fill out a form applying for fellowships/RA/TA/etc. Why would I need to apply for fellowships if I am guaranteed a stipend? The form also asks for a "a brief essay about any additional qualifications you may have for the appointment you are seeking. In-clude details about such things as employment experience, teaching experience, laboratory experience, research writing, artistic creation, in-ventions, travel and other relevant skills. Also provide a brief description of your plans after completing your graduate education" These instructions pretty much explain the content of my personal statement, so would it be safe to leave this part blank since my personal statement will be attached to my application?

[runonsentence]

Stipends either come in the form of fellowships (which are usually very selectively awarded at any school, as you're getting paid to do nothing but your own research), RAships, and TAships. When your potential program says that all admitted students are guaranteed to earn stipends, that means that all admitted students are guaranteed to be awarded a fellowship, RAship, or TAship.

You'll need to take that portion of the application seriously for two reasons: the first is to get the award you prefer, and the second is because at some programs, competition for assistantships and fellowships can come into play during admissions decisions.

EDIT: And no, I'd definitely fill out this section in full, even if it overlaps with some portions of the SoP. Different committees could possibly read each document, so you'll not want to leave anything out, just in case.

Edited August 4, 2011 by runonsentence

[Strangefox]

Oh, these online applications can be really weird

I remember I was buffled by some questions in them but then I figured out that, as I've explained all of it in my SOP anyways, I don't need to answer them again in these forms. I think this is your case as well. But to be sure you can always ask grad coordinators.

Good luck!

[Immuno]

Hmmm....yes, I'm quickly learning that these applications can be confusing. On the program's website, it states that being a TA is not required and that all students receive a stipend. Are you saying that in reality, TAing is not required ONLY if I'm awarded a fellowship, and being admitted doesn't automatically mean a fellowship? Yuck.

[Strangefox]

Are you saying that in reality, TAing is not required ONLY if I'm awarded a fellowship, and being admitted doesn't automatically mean a fellowship? Yuck.

Better ask a grad coordinator. All programs are different so we are basically making assumptions.

[Guimauvaise]

My first response to your question: why wouldn't you want both? Then again, your stipend is more than double what PhDs here get (in my program, at least). As Runonsentence said, fellowships tend to be more competitive, and, since they often require applicants to be in the top tier of their class, they are usually considered more prestigious than TA/RA positions. Both would look great on a CV.

I have both a TAship and fellowship coming into the PhD program this month. Do I really *need* the fellowship? I can scrape by without it, but if I want to pay off student loans, keep up with bills and credit card payments, and start saving money, and still have a little mad money left over so I don't feel flat broke...then, yes, from a financial standpoint, I need the fellowship. Fellowships here are nomination-based, though, so I'm not sure how well this compares.

Regardless, fill out the entire form. You definitely don't want to make a bad impression by leaving some sections blank, even if you do think that the information is already available in your SOP.

[runonsentence]

Hmmm....yes, I'm quickly learning that these applications can be confusing. On the program's website, it states that being a TA is not required and that all students receive a stipend. Are you saying that in reality, TAing is not required ONLY if I'm awarded a fellowship, and being admitted doesn't automatically mean a fellowship? Yuck.

I mean, I could be making an assumption about your program, as Strangefox reminds me. But in my experience, in order to get a stipend, you need to do something to earn it—this means teaching, assisting a faculty member with research, or impressing the committee with your smarts and research ideas to receive a fellowship.

So, yes-ish. Definitely check with the DGS.

Edited August 4, 2011 by runonsentence

[newms]

I agree with Strangefox - ask the grad coordinator at the department.

I know some programs encourage grad students to apply for fellowships (external and university wide) even if they already have stipends, because fellowships do a few things:

1) gives you prestige and looks good on your CV

2) will usually provide you with a higher (if even slightly higher) stipend than a TA/RA

3) the department will now have the funds they would have given you in stipend to support another grad student, so you gaining a (non-departmental) fellowship will allow your department to accept more students.

[starmaker]

In addition to what everyone else said, fellowships provide you with financial independence. It's easier to get out of, say, an exploitative or abusive situation with an advisor, when the money that you live on doesn't come from your advisor (through an RAship or TAship). And even if your advisor is awesome, a fellowship may give you more latitude in what you work on - if you are being funded by your advisor's grants, you may be restricted to working in the specific topics of those grants.

Edited to add: Oh, and it may give you more choice of advisors. Your dream advisor, who supposedly wasn't taking on new grad students, may be more willing to take one on that they don't have to fund (depending on whether they were not taking on new grad students for financial reasons or because their adivising powers are overextended).

Edited August 4, 2011 by starmaker

[jendoly]

Edited to add: Oh, and it may give you more choice of advisors. Your dream advisor, who supposedly wasn't taking on new grad students, may be more willing to take one on that they don't have to fund (depending on whether they were not taking on new grad students for financial reasons or because their adivising powers are overextended).

Yes yes yes and yes. My fellowship helped me switch to the advisor of my dreams, who hadn't even read my application prior to my arrival at the school because he had no funding until after application season. The latitude to switch advisors or labs is amazing.

[juilletmercredi]

1. Sometimes fellowships are more money than stipends; fellowships also do not require any service from you, and so you have more freedom. My fellowship meant that I got to work with my advisor of choice and I didn't just get placed with someone who needed an RA. I also got the freedom to take up a non-academic internship this summer in a corporate field I wanted to try (I don't like it, but now I know, right?), whereas my friends on RAships are doing that this summer (which isn't bad if your advisor has close interests to yours). In addition, fellowships make both you and the school look good. Internal fellowships free up departmental resources for other students, and external fellowships free up university resources and look really good on your CV. You should always apply for fellowships.

2. The program realizes that you will write a personal statement and that there will be overlap. They wouldn't ask you to write the essay if they didn't want you to write it, so write it. Everyone else will write one too. It will be a bit different from a personal statement and will be more directed towards trying to get a specific funding position.