top choice with late fellowship notices vs. great package at school B

[MerlotMonday]

School A is my top choice. School A gave me an interview and unofficial acceptance 10 days after submitting my application. I received my official acceptance not long after. Fellowship interviews aren't until the first week of April and they notify people about TA positions first week of May. However, I have to confirm that I'll attend by April 15th. 

 

 

School B is close to home and a small, but decent program. School B is offering me a tuition scholarship + TA. They would prefer if I accept/decline their offer by the end of March so they can give it to another student if I decline, but they can work with me some on the deadline.

 

 

I would hate to do this, but can I accept both and decline one when I find out in May? Should I bring up my other offer during the fellowship interview (assuming I get one)? I don't want to put myself in a risky situation, but I also don't want to burn any bridges because I'm planning on going into academia. These are both studio art MFA programs.

[aberrant]

I don't think you're allow to accept both offers. On the other hand, if your school is on this list, then technically you don't have to make your decision until April 15.(See http://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf).

 

If both schools accepted you, but the funding situation has not been figured out. Why don't you tell school B about the situation you have with school A? I don't think school B can revoke their admission offer based on your circumstances.

[MerlotMonday]

They are both on this list. What happens if I get an interview and it goes well at School A. When April 15 rolls around, School A needs to know whether or not I'm going to attend, so I should probably say yes. Can I really expect school B to wait until May for me (after I've already said yes to attending A)? To go to either school I need to have aid.

[aberrant]

If I need to have financial support for my program, and:

 

School A offering TAship is 50/50, and the worst scenario is I would be notified that I do not get the TA'ship in early May while school B's offer has "expired". And assuming school B won't reconsider my acceptance, that means I'll have to reapply for next year.

School B guarantees my TAship. Only problem is it has a decent program.

 

Assuming you're only applying and accepted by school A and B, the risk for school A is a lot higher. Unless you're confident that you can get into a better school next year (with financial support) and you can wait for another year to get your MFA degree, I would choose school B over A.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[phku]

No question, take the school that offers the funding+TA if it is 11:59pm on April 14th.

[MerlotMonday]

That makes me really sad because I am a strong candidate and I really feel like I have a very good chance of getting either a TA or PA. If I get one of those positions it comes with tuition remission, stipend, and health insurance. Why do schools offer aid after April 15?

 

Do you think I can use this as a bargaining chip during my interview and ask for some kind of security?Do you think I can use this as a bargaining chip during my interview and ask for some kind of security?

Edited February 22, 2013 by MerlotMonday

[aberrant]

unfortunately, imo, most of us normal students don't have the bargaining power / we're not in a position to bargain. It's unfortunate that the infrastructure of a school and economy making TA'ship more competitive than before. Therefore, you just have to evaluate your risk of choosing one option over the other.

 

On the other hand, you may ask for honest opinions / comments from adcom / interviewers from school A regarding your chances of getting a TA'ship @ school A after your interview (.e.g if they are in your shoes). Let them understand that you're sort of in a hurry to make a decision between school A and B, by 1) express your desire to choose school A but money is an issue, and 2) providing the TA'ship offer info from school B (but not in a bragging way) and see how they response.

 

That's the best that I can do. If the response I get is something like "sorry, but we can't really decide until May" or "it is really tough to say", then I'll just go for school B (or you can reevaluate the risk I kinda mentioned above).

[monkeytreerocketship]

Hey MerlotMonday,

 

Sorry to disagree with just about all of the above posts, but you actually DO have some power in this situation. Simply put, it is entirely reasonable for you to ask School A to commit to giving you funding by April 15. I suggest you inform School A of the following:

 

You have been offered a generous financial package elsewhere and need to either accept or deny their offer by April 15 at the absolute latest. Since school A is your top choice, if school A will match the funding offered you by school B, you will definitely attend school A. However, if school A is not able to make a funding offer comparable to that made by school B by April 15, you will regretfully have to attend School B.

 

Here's what will happen--either school A will come through in time and you will attend school A with full funding or school A will not come through and you will attend school B with full funding. If you want to go to school A with no funding or partial funding, well...that's up to you. If you have some secret reserves of cash somewhere or don't mind taking out loans, then that's your decision to make.

 

Under NO circumstance should you inform School B that they are your second choice, nor should you ask them to wait around for you until May. That's stupid. There are plenty of people who would LOVE to go to school B. Don't jerk them around.

 

AND before you do anything else, find a faculty mentor at your current school--maybe someone who wrote a rec letter for you--and ask them to help you negotiate this. They've been through this process, they know more, and some of them even really like to do this negotiation kind of stuff. 

 

Good luck, MerlotMonday.

[Guest |||]

It is likely a better choice to go with the better package, if it results in greater freedom and quality of work.