Admitted ONLY if funding can be found. Freaking out!!!!!

[Sofi dlS]

I received the weirdest acceptance letter. First of all, I got it as an email attachment (not in the mail as I was expecting). It says that I would be admitted ONLY if funding can be found. They gave me three options: My advisor gives me a graduate research assistantship; I get a teaching assistantship; I come up with the money somehow.

 

My advisor said he has the money for the project but he hasn't figured out yet how is he going to spend it. First freak out!

 

I am already on a wait list for a TA, I just need to wait and see. 

 

I don't have the money to support myself, but I feel I should be doing something to get it. Is it too late to get a scholarship? Anybody knows of anybody that got a grant this way? (I mean with very little time left). Any other idea????

 

Please helppppp!!!! I don't know what to doooooo!!!!!!!!!

[rustledjimmies]

I do not have any experience with your issue, but my intuition is that 1. getting your own funding in terms of grants or scholarships can be very difficult from sources outside the school, and 2. it may well be too late for this process, even if you were to be successful.

 

If I am correct then I wish you the best of luck in receiving funding this year, and a strong application season next year (should you choose to reapply if this year doesn't work out).

[juilletmercredi]

It's too late for a fully funded fellowship for a PhD program.  Most of those applications come due in October and November.  The next grant deadlines may be in August/September, but you can't hope to get a grant by throwing something together over the summer (and few people get funded on the first try).

 

Really, your best chances now are the TAship and the GRAship.  Just be patient and see what your advisor comes through with or whether you get a TAship.  If not, you may just want to reapply next year.

[saklfjasdf;jasdkf]

Similar thing happened to me. I was called up with an offer of admission. Caller goes on to say, "Ok, now I just have to see if I can find funding for you. I can't guarantee anything...". Naturally that threw me for a loop. An hour later she calls back and tells me she found funding. It was all kind of bizarre. 

[KindaHardWorker]

Hey buddy, don't know if you're still there but I JUST got my TA offer this past Monday (5/13).  My guess is you're in the same boat I am: good candidate but not a priority.  My admittance letter did say accepted but I still had to wait for the offer nearly 2-3 months later.  Some schools are weird.  My advice: keep in light contact with your professor to show maintained interest and wait to see if TA offer rolls in.  Sometimes they have people drop or change schools, in which case they'll need to pass that position onto someone else.

[groverj3]

Depending on how badly you want to go to this particular program, is it possible it may be easier to be funded in future years? If you'd be willing to take out student loans to cover the first year, and then could get funding after that it may be worth doing.