How common is it to not get funding?

[OhioStateStudent]

Hey guys,

 

I was accepted to Ohio State's Statistics PhD program, and I am wondering about funding.

 

So far, I have not heard anything. A check on the website has also not revealed anything about if all PhD students get funding.

 

I am wondering, how common is it for students admitted to a PhD program to not get funding? I was thinking it would be very uncommon and unexpected, especially at such a well funded school like OSU.

 

Thanks

[Quantum Buckyball]

I think it has becoming more and more common nowadays. One of the programs I got accepted only supports 50% of the incoming students, the other 50% had to pay out of their own pockets.

[SenhorJose]

Keep waiting -- OSU was a little delayed getting to me about funding as well

[OhioStateStudent]

Can you say how delayed they were?

[SenhorJose]

About a week after the decision appeared on appstatus.osu.edu, I was contacted about being nominated for a fellowship. I'm under the impression that TA/RA funding hasn't been decided yet (but I can't say for sure)

[OhioStateStudent]

I just received an e-mail telling me I was nominated for the fellowship competition. This is odd though, since my GPA is below the requirement. (3.56, req is 3.6).

 

 

The scary thing about the e-mail is that it said if I am not selected for the fellowship competition then I will be put in the pool for "possible" TA funding.

 

Looks like funding at OSU isn't so secure after all.

[33andathirdRPM]

If you've been accepted and nominated for a fellowship, it would seem that they want you there. At this point, I would think that it's highly unlikely that you won't receive funding.

 

Have you received acceptances from any other programs? If you're extremely concerned about your outcome, those other offers could have utility as bargaining chips in negotiating with OSU.

[OhioStateStudent]

That's what I'm hoping, but I'm still weary. A nomination is by no means a guarantee of receiving the fellowship. My thought are similar to yours though. Each department only has a certain number of new applicants they can nominate, and I figure if I do not receive a fellowship, I should likely receive a ta ship or something since I was a "top" enough applicant to be nominated for a fellowship.

[TakeruK]

I think just knowing that you "will get funding" is not enough. You're in a STEM field, so you should expect a full tuition waiver and a stipend you can live comfortably off. If they are not offering you that, then compared to other STEM field PhD students, you are getting the short end of the stick! 

 

However, it's still early in the season and they aren't asking you to decide without a funding package offer, right? For now, enjoy the fact that you got in and are one of the top applicants! Congrats! I would really recommend waiting to know the exact value of all your funding packages before making any decision though! I found that the funding packages varied wildly -- my highest offer was double that of the lowest one and the amount of TA work per week ranged from 5 to 20! There was no correlation between the amount of work required and the value of the package too. So I would not just be happy with a funding package that said "you will get a TAship". Make sure you know how much the total value of your package is!

[crazystat]

I know that OSU statistics is not such kind of program. But in US, few stat programs indeed don't provide financial aid at first. But after you finish the qualify exam, then they will provide financial aid... That sucks