How to Negotiate Assistantships

[xxcheshirecatox]

Hi all, this is my first post, so forgive me if this has been asked before. To make a long story short, I have a very strong application and I am being aggressively recruited by multiple programs. I'm currently trying to choose between two strong programs, we'll call them program A and program B.

Basically, I really like program A, but they have offered me funding for only 3 years and I'm not sure how much the funding is for, yet.

In terms of program B, I also really like the program, and I am not sure about their funding, either.

I guess my question is, is there any room for negotiation with graduate stipends, or are they pretty set in stone? This is obviously not the only consideration that is going to affect my final choice, but if I can pick an awesome program and also not leave with debt, that would be ideal. I feel like there might be some negotiation potential for Program A because they literally called one of my advisors and asked them what they had to do to get me into the program. However, I also don't want to piss them off or come off as being an ingrate.

Thanks for any advice.

[blaspheming]

My assumption is that there is always someone standing behind you waiting to take their offer.

[purpledinosaur]

Actually, in terms of everything I have heard, good programs will fight to keep their top applicants by admitting them as early as possible and offering competitive funding. I'm not sure what kind of school or program we're talking about here, so it's hard to give specific advice, but I have heard of many funding packages being negotiated by students who say, "Program A offered me this funding package with these benefits. Would you be able to make a competitive offer?" and then going from there. Sometimes they will not be able to compete with the other school, and that is okay too (maybe you want to go there anyway for other reasons). Sometimes they will up their package if they know that they have a competitor who is similarly ranked and will appeal to you. You say that you are being aggressively recruited, so I would say that unless you are talking about schools with less funding, you have a pretty good chance of negotiating a better deal.

Good luck and congratulations!!

[blaspheming]

Actually, in terms of everything I have heard, good programs will fight to keep their top applicants by admitting them as early as possible and offering competitive funding. I'm not sure what kind of school or program we're talking about here, so it's hard to give specific advice, but I have heard of many funding packages being negotiated by students who say, "Program A offered me this funding package with these benefits. Would you be able to make a competitive offer?" and then going from there. Sometimes they will not be able to compete with the other school, and that is okay too (maybe you want to go there anyway for other reasons). Sometimes they will up their package if they know that they have a competitor who is similarly ranked and will appeal to you. You say that you are being aggressively recruited, so I would say that unless you are talking about schools with less funding, you have a pretty good chance of negotiating a better deal.

That's good to hear, I always thought it was a crap shoot

[once]

Just from my extremely limited experience, it seems like in some disciplines it's a very small world and they usually have an idea of what another school is offering you and how their offer compares.

I would just relax, bask in the fact that you have options, and wait to find out definitively what kind of package they put together for you. Additionally, you might not be able to just compare the offers numerically anyway- for instance, $15,000/year will go a lot further in, say, north dakota than in new york city.

[Eigen]

Most schools have competitive offers relative to their cost of living, in my experience. That said, I've also found there's very little room for negotiating the actual stipend- our department, for instance, requires that all stipends be equal for the same task (TA, RA) to keep things "equitable".

The flexibility comes in the use of smaller fellowships, moving allowances, and intangibles- maybe they'll offer you a computer, etc.

Granted, this is all for the sciences- I think things will be somewhat different in the social sciences/humanities, but I didn't see you mention which you were.

Length of funding is definitely a concern- several schools gave me short initial offers, but made promises that they would find me another source of funding when that ran out (ie, 2-year university fellowship, but that they would definitely transfer me to an RA after that).

I would advise against the "School A is offering me so much, can you match it?" line of negotiations. Most schools have set their stipends at what they can afford/what they feel is reasonable to live on. And there's a strong sense that a stipend is supposed to be a just-comfortable wage, not something you're making bank on. Even places that are aggressivley recruiting someone probably won't respond well to this tact, since you're ostensably supposed to be caring about the academics, not seeing who's giving you the most money. I've heard (through the grapevine) of schools completely rescinding offers to some students who tried similar approaches in my discipline.

Edited February 1, 2012 by Eigen

[purpledinosaur]

I should note that I'm in the humanities, and that in my experience many non-private schools have different funding for each student.

[rising_star]

I think this varies by department more than anything else. My department explicitly pays everyone the same wage for the same work, as Eigen said about his. That said, other social science departments at my university do NOT do this.

FWIW, I never tried to negotiate a stipend. Instead, I focused on understanding whether I would be able to afford things based on the stipend provided. And what I figured out is that $13K in the middle of nowhere and $18K in a medium-sized city were about the same, meaning that money didn't really figure into it. And, fwiw, I took an offer in between those, explicitly turning down more money in the form of a fellowship and freedom from TAing to work with a particular POI and I don't really regret that decision.

[DBP]

After you get the details, I suggest consulting with graduate students in the program through email asking them what the cost of living comfortably is within the area.

When you have a good idea of this information, I would contact my POI/admin and thank them for the offer (showing your appreciation) and that while you are excited to attend the program, the major factor will be finances. I would ask them to forward you information about university fellowships or funding opportunities in addition to their offer.

This way, you directly get information you'll need - is there more money available?. And it gives them the opportunity to offer you better funding if available.

Best!

Edited February 1, 2012 by DBP

[Eigen]

After you get the details, I suggest consulting with graduate students in the program through email asking them what the cost of living comfortably is within the area.

When you have a good idea of this information, I would contact my POI/admin and thank them for the offer (showing your appreciation) and that while you are excited to attend the program, the major factor will be finances. I would ask them to forward you information about university fellowships or funding opportunities in addition to their offer.

Again, I'll disagree with the approach- by stipulating that the major factor is finances, you're implying that the pay is more important than the program, the research, the facilities, etc. And that's a bad way to start things off.

If there's some really defined reason that you can't live off of what's being offered, then there might be a tactful way to bring it up, but otherwise tread carefully in how you come across.

[DBP]

Again, I'll disagree with the approach- by stipulating that the major factor is finances, you're implying that the pay is more important than the program, the research, the facilities, etc. And that's a bad way to start things off.

I replied assuming, all other things being considered (mostly) equal.

I'm not advocate of pay being the main factor in making this decision! This was just a suggestion for a way to phrase a negotiation, while asking for more info.

[long_time_lurker]

Be honest: tell your contact that you're weighing your offers and that while you like the program you are hoping for more $. The Profs in the program were grad students once also and know that money is an issue. While it may be that let's say, all TA/GA/RA assistantships have a standardized stipend, you may be eligible for an additional supplement or be able to be paid from someone's grant. If they really have no money you can ask if they can set you up with a job - your department should have connections to employers - or if your school has a "no additional work" rule (many do) for accepting a stipend, ask them to waive it.

If you approach it like any salary negotiation you will do fine. If you go in like an entitled hotshot or someone trying to pound blood out of a rock, it won't.

[ktel]

As said above, I will agree that this discussion has to be done very tactfully. I see absolutely no harm in asking them to confirm what your funding will be, as that is something that you should expect to know. When I was applying to my programs, one program offered significantly more money than the other program. I had several questions about how the funding would be distributed at the lower funding school, so I e-mailed them to clarify. In my e-mail they must have sensed that I had received more money elsewhere (they're not stupid, they know where I was applying and where they stand) and apologized for not being able to provide more. The fact is most schools have a set, equitable stipend for all students.

[xxcheshirecatox]

Thanks, guys! My problem has sort of solved itself (basically, school B offered me a really... bad assistantship that I wouldn't even be able to live on with roommates), while the other program offered me a fantastic funding package (which helps, as I already wanted to go to this program in the first place!).

[long_time_lurker]

Congratulations!

[ktel]

Thanks, guys! My problem has sort of solved itself (basically, school B offered me a really... bad assistantship that I wouldn't even be able to live on with roommates), while the other program offered me a fantastic funding package (which helps, as I already wanted to go to this program in the first place!).

Sounds like my situation exactly. It makes the decision a lot easier to make.

[anonaccount]

Most schools have competitive offers relative to their cost of living, in my experience. That said, I've also found there's very little room for negotiating the actual stipend- our department, for instance, requires that all stipends be equal for the same task (TA, RA) to keep things "equitable".

The flexibility comes in the use of smaller fellowships, moving allowances, and intangibles- maybe they'll offer you a computer, etc.

Granted, this is all for the sciences- I think things will be somewhat different in the social sciences/humanities, but I didn't see you mention which you were.

Length of funding is definitely a concern- several schools gave me short initial offers, but made promises that they would find me another source of funding when that ran out (ie, 2-year university fellowship, but that they would definitely transfer me to an RA after that).

I would advise against the "School A is offering me so much, can you match it?" line of negotiations. Most schools have set their stipends at what they can afford/what they feel is reasonable to live on. And there's a strong sense that a stipend is supposed to be a just-comfortable wage, not something you're making bank on. Even places that are aggressivley recruiting someone probably won't respond well to this tact, since you're ostensably supposed to be caring about the academics, not seeing who's giving you the most money. I've heard (through the grapevine) of schools completely rescinding offers to some students who tried similar approaches in my discipline.

I'm confused. My adviser strongly recommended that I very subtly mention that I am considering the financial offers of other schools when communicating with my top choice. I have one base level offer and 2-3 significantly "enhanced" offers from other comparable schools. I have applied to chemistry PhD programs and he is a tenure track chem prof.

[Eigen]

I'm not exactly sure how that contradicts what I said.

I recommend against saying "School A is offering me so much, can you match it?"... That's a lot more blunt than subtly working into the conversation what other financial offers you've received. I actually got asked about other funding offers during a couple of my visits.

I have to say, however, that I know our AdCom know's who the competitive applicants are that they want, and they're going to offer them as much as they can as early as they can, and there isn't a lot left they can do about it later on in the season.

Just make sure that you're comparing your financial offers on even grounds (ie, relative to cost of living), and don't make it seem like your primary concern, and you'll be fine.