Two more tasteless questions

[firefly85]

I've never played the grad admissions game before so I don't really know how all of this funding stuff works. I'm going for an MA in IR so I know it's different than PhD candidates who seem to get more money. Anyway, I've got a pretty decent funding package from one school but I've seen people post more in the results forum. If those people should turn down their acceptances and I accept could I be in line to get more money from the school, would it go to someone on the waitlist they're going to let in, or to no one?

Also do people actually "play" schools against each other for (more) money? Since I have this one funding package from school X and I'm still waiting for funding news from school Y is there anything I can do to let school Y know I've gotten this funding that might encourage them to give me funding if they really want me (obviously not sure if they do yet)? Or if I get better funding from school Y can I tell school X in hopes that they might give me more money?

I know these things sounds horribly selfish but as we all know grad school is expensive and I want to get the best "deal" I can! The reason I'm asking is that I'm really bad with negotiations and stuff so I just wanted to know what other people have done. Thanks guys!

[blah2009]

Grad schools don't care about how much money other schools have given you. This is true for ph.d. students also. They will not all of a sudden increase fellowship money if a competitor school accepts you. However, they can potentially give fellowship money turned down by others to you, but its not your position to ask for this money, as it is distributed at the department's discretion. I know some SAIS and KSG IR Masters folk. While not happy, most of them are paying loans due to limited funding at these schools.

[thepoorstockinger]

Grad schools don't care about how much money other schools have given you. This is true for ph.d. students also. They will not all of a sudden increase fellowship money if a competitor school accepts you. However, they can potentially give fellowship money turned down by others to you, but its not your position to ask for this money, as it is distributed at the department's discretion.

This is certainly not true, or at least not true in every field at every school. I played all the MA programs I was accepted to off of each other in order to get more money from them. If schools want you at their school some of them will match or exceed offers from other schools.

I say ask politely, but only if you have a larger offer from another program.

[blah2009]

I'm talking about engineering grad schools and US IR MA program schools (which the OP is applying to)

[thepoorstockinger]

Your initial post suggested that you were talking about all MA programs and PhD programs (since y'know... that's sort of what you wrote). Even if you're only talking about MAs in IR, I still find it hard to believe that no program cares about recruiting their top choice candidates and are willing to spend money to do so. There is absolutely no harm in the OP asking "Hey I am interested in your program but have a larger offer elsewhere. Is there any chance that addition funding is available?"

[rising_star]

There's certainly no harm in asking, unless you don't do it tactfully. Given the tough economic times, schools may not have any room to negotiate.

[twocosmicfish]

Don't just ask for more money!!! This is bad salesmanship! There are dozens of reasons to pick a particular grad school, and the size of the stipend is one of the worst. Generally, the lower stipends come from the better schools, and they know that - UIUC engineering will not care that Johns Hopkins engineering is offering more, but Hopkins would probably worry about being outspent by UIUC. If you want to ask for more money, you need a coherent reason better than "school A is offering more". Also, remember that right now departments are hurting for money - they often lack additional funds.

[blah2009]

My statement might still be true for other humanities programs. Your experience comes from Canadian grad schools, which can have completely different policies altogether. I have friends that went to SAIS, KSG, and other IR grad schools. So in that regard, I have first knowledge of how "negotiations" don't work. I'll try to get some of them to come here. Additionally to the other poster posting about JHU and MIT. JHU probably cares that MIT is outpaying in stipend amount, but they will not adjust aid just to enroll a particular applicant. The Ph.D. stipend amounts are set by the university and cannot be increased randomly by the department, even if a competitor is paying more. Ullinois might have a lower stipend simply due to the fact that it is a state school in a lower cost of living area, not because it is a "better" school. I can tell you, with offers in hand from top engineering schools when I applied, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, had negligibly different stipend amounts relative to lesser engineering schools like JHU, and Columbia. Only UT-Austin provided substantially less (about 10k less) in stipend due to Austin being a cheaper place to live.

[blah2009]

Regardless, to the OP:

I do suggest you contact faculty you are interested in, and ask about additional funding. I know this hasn't worked for friends in the past for SAIS, KSG, GW, or SIPA (all expensive schools who are stingy to most), but things might have changed. Your best bet would be to get a Professor interested in having you do research for them in policy or other areas of interest. Also, talk to your professors and see if they have contacts.

[fuzzylogician]

It's been my experience that lesser ranked schools are throwing money at me, while better ranked ones are not. Some simply have a fixed stipend that they're giving all of their grads, to prevent competition among the admitted cohort. I rather like that idea, even though it means a lower stipend for me if I choose to go to one of those places (which is very likely). I still asked, just to make sure. There was no harm done, but it didn't get me anything either.

[Minnesotan]

I'm not sure what Blah has invested in this debate, but in my experience most departments are susceptible to finesse. You just have to use what tiny bit of power you have, once you get an offer in hand. At this point, they just want everyone to accept and be done with it. Both my MA and PhD schools offered me more money to decide early when I asked for an extension to decide on other offers.

It can't hurt to ask.

[fes_alum]

Also do people actually "play" schools against each other for (more) money?

For a master's program it's nearly impossible to get schools to "bid" against each other, especially if it's professional degree program. Master degree students are a dime-a-dozen and there are many talented students who would be willing to pay full-price for a degree from a top tier school. However, if it's a program that requires faculty sponsorship, you can always contact your sponsoring professor to let them know that you can't attend their school unless you get more money. Often times they have some authority or sway to get your financial aid package increased. The sponsoring professor for my master's program was able to get me an additional $10K.

PhD programs on the other hand are quite different. If a professor wants you as his or her student, they can be very creative in finding you additional money. In addition to the standard tuition waiver and stipend, I was offered substantial scholarships by two different programs. I should also note that both PhD programs were in the sciences where there tends to be more funding available. However, as a couple of folks indicated in this forum, some school simply can't compete because of limited funding. Then you have to ask yourself, "if they can't afford to offer you more money, do they have the resources to support your research?"

P.S. I should note that even with the substantial support I received, I've withdrawn from my PhD program and have opted to pursue another master's degree. While I anticipate receiving some fellowship support, I'm expecting to bear a significant portion of the program costs because it is a professional degree.