2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[sqxz]

Hey guys, 

 

How does everyone here feel about stipend negotiations? There are some threads on it in "The Bank," but I'd like a perspective from people as close as possible to my field.

 

Basically, program A has made me a very generous stipend offer. I prefer program B in terms of research fit, but program B made a less generous stipend offer. The difference is 3k a year for the entirety of the program, so over 6 years, it'd be close to 20k! To be fair, it's not like I would have trouble surviving on either stipend, but it would make a significant difference in terms of my quality of life above the baseline. 

 

Is it a no-no to talk to program B about whether they could raise my stipend? If I tried and they said no, would it be really awkward / would they dislike it? 

 

Any advice is much appreciated (: 

 

I don't have any advice, per se, but my opinion is that it seems that the dollar amount of a stipend is generally quite fixed. My impression is that the amount of money a program gives you can be increased through scholarships or fellowships, but, beyond that, their hands are probably tied by the university or department administration. I think it probably looks bad to have different students earning different wages when they are all part of the same program and all doing (roughly) equal work. Additionally, I think it could potentially create a difficult working environment for students in the program if they knew certain people were making more or less than they were. Finally, as @persimmony mentioned, it is common for your thesis advisor to pay your stipend after you join his or her lab, which means you could be at a disadvantage when it came time to join a lab if the PI you wanted to work with disliked the arrangement you had made when you were admitted. For all these reasons (and more, I'm sure), I feel that any program will likely be disinclined to negotiate your stipend. I think it's safer for them to stick to scholarships and fellowships.

 

Having said all that, you are obviously an exceptionally qualified and highly desirable candidate. Program B may well be willing to do anything (within reason) to get you to accept their offer. Then again, all of the programs to which you applied likely have many exceptionally qualified and highly desirable candidates they would like to join their program, so maybe this will not be the case. I don't think you'll ever really know unless you ask. The problem with this, of course, is that such a request could very easily be taken the wrong way. I'm inclined to think that this question pops up from time to time within every program, so it's probably safe to ask. However, I think you should keep in mind that whoever you ask may have a different perception of you after you ask the question. (E.g., "@elanorci is smart to try to get the best out of an offer before accepting it," or "I'm surprised @elanorci seems to be more concerned about money than research.") This may or may not matter depending on who the person is and whether he or she is ever in a situation where he or she may act on his or her perception, but I think it is something to consider.

[ERR_Alpha]

Hey guys,

How does everyone here feel about stipend negotiations? There are some threads on it in "The Bank," but I'd like a perspective from people as close as possible to my field.

Basically, program A has made me a very generous stipend offer. I prefer program B in terms of research fit, but program B made a less generous stipend offer. The difference is 3k a year for the entirety of the program, so over 6 years, it'd be close to 20k! To be fair, it's not like I would have trouble surviving on either stipend, but it would make a significant difference in terms of my quality of life above the baseline.

Is it a no-no to talk to program B about whether they could raise my stipend? If I tried and they said no, would it be really awkward / would they dislike it?

Any advice is much appreciated (:

I would be honest and say something like "I was very impressed with _____ program, but my primary concern at the moment is finances. Are there any scholarships/fellowships/additional funding oppurtunities available?" That way, they know that you like their program, but you're not sounding needy or saying "another program gave me more." When I visited UConn the secretary asked me about my Penn State offer and said she wished they had more money to offer. I find they're pretty up front with this sort of thing.

[MiniMicro]

Still waiting on my 3 top schools. One top-waitlist, the other two "application is still in consideration" as the directors of the program are saying when I emailed. I am wondering how likely it is to actually be admitted this late.

I am technically waiting for one school, but have already committed to another program.  However, I just heard back from being on the "top of the waitlist" at one school Thursday...so no, it is not too late to be admitted In fact, more people should hear from schools once others decline/accept.  Best of luck to you!  Waiting is the worst...

[Science_Nerd]

I just sent a decline-email to one of two schools to which I need to say no.

I know it has to be done, especially for the sake of other applicants on the wait-list. But it just isn't an easy thing to do....

[Monochrome Spring]

For what it's worth, I asked a professor at Pitt Bio and he said that negotiating stipend would be seen as rude, and that he would not recommend doing it. This is just one professor/department, but I thought I'd share.

 

I recommend asking your POI what kinds of funding opportunities are available to students who find the stipend offered too low. This could open up a communication about increased stipend with RA or TA, without directly asking for more money.

[No Coffee Plz]

I just sent a decline-email to one of two schools to which I need to say no.

I know it has to be done, especially for the sake of other applicants on the wait-list. But it just isn't an easy thing to do....

I feel you. I have been accepted to five schools, which means I have to say no to four schools... it breaks my heart a little. Especially for some of the smaller programs, it was difficult for me to say that I am not going because of the bonds that I have created with the professors, current students, etc. I felt like they were genuinely interested in me not only as a potential student but as a person. Sucks that I have fallen in love with more than one program. But my decision has been made, and I sent all the necessary emails as to be courteous to the other students and the schools. Feels weird.

[zebura]

I feel you. I have been accepted to five schools, which means I have to say no to four schools... it breaks my heart a little. Especially for some of the smaller programs, it was difficult for me to say that I am not going because of the bonds that I have created with the professors, current students, etc. I felt like they were genuinely interested in me not only as a potential student but as a person. Sucks that I have fallen in love with more than one program. But my decision has been made, and I sent all the necessary emails as to be courteous to the other students and the schools. Feels weird.

However, you can only attend to one program. So everybody knows that will happen. No need to feel sad about rejecting other schools since they will have enough students for their next semester. Yet, I will say spend more time to compare which school is your best fit since this will affect your future so much

[nns91]

What did you guys usually say in emails turning down programs? I find it quite hard.

[zebura]

What did you guys usually say in emails turning down programs? I find it quite hard.

I saw 1 interesting suggestion from other forums. That guy says use the rejection letter that you received as a module and throw away those useless word like "we have lots of potetial applicants bah bah bah" Add the fact that you decided to attend other school and that should be good enough

Edited March 19, 2014 by zebura

[wishfulthinking2]

Hey guys, 

 

How does everyone here feel about stipend negotiations? There are some threads on it in "The Bank," but I'd like a perspective from people as close as possible to my field.

 

Basically, program A has made me a very generous stipend offer. I prefer program B in terms of research fit, but program B made a less generous stipend offer. The difference is 3k a year for the entirety of the program, so over 6 years, it'd be close to 20k! To be fair, it's not like I would have trouble surviving on either stipend, but it would make a significant difference in terms of my quality of life above the baseline. 

 

Is it a no-no to talk to program B about whether they could raise my stipend? If I tried and they said no, would it be really awkward / would they dislike it? 

 

Any advice is much appreciated (: 

 

Well, everything is negotiable, especially if they want you. So, I'd just be very nice about it. Say, I really love B, but A has offered me XY. Is there anytihng you could do?

Also, check whether there is subsidized grad student housing, which may make up for the difference.

[Science_Nerd]

I don't think negotiating for better stipend is a good idea.

Sure, we all want more money. But the amount of stipend is decided based on the budget that the graduate school or department has to do what they do. Stipend isn't the only money that comes from it. If they agreed to raise your stipend, then they have to raise stipend for all the other students in the same class as well, if not all the classes. That would mean a significant readjustment of the entire budget.

Usually, I mean "usually", stipend is set so that we can live a reasonable life as a graduate student in that particular area the school happens to be in.

Also, many graduate schools have current students as part of steering committee or similar organization. And determining whether the current stipend is really reasonable at current economy is one of many things that they do.

So.... I don't know... I just don't feel like stipend negotiation is a wise thing to do.

But like others said already, they might provide housing or whatever to compensate for lower stipend. And I know many programs will award you extra money (like 3-5k/year) if you get external fellowship or grant awarded. So there are ways to improve your stipend.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Science_Nerd

[username1824]

I don't think negotiating the stipend is at all a good idea. And I also don't think that they'd give you more, because that creates a precedence. If other students find out that you got more money, they could also ask for more money. And if the school doesn't give them more money, it creates favoritism. There wouldn't be a fantastic incentive for the school to give you more money unless you're the Lebron James of science.

[Orims]

Just got placed in a wait list list of international students for MIT Biology. If you are an international and planning to not attend MIT please let them know! 

[jean21]

Still waiting on my 3 top schools. One top-waitlist, the other two "application is still in consideration" as the directors of the program are saying when I emailed. I am wondering how likely it is to actually be admitted this late.

 

Funny, I am in the exact same position!  I've really been freaking out though cause I have no other admits.  I just want to know!!! 

 

Good luck and I hope you hear good news soon

[toxicgirl]

Funny, I am in the exact same position!  I've really been freaking out though cause I have no other admits.  I just want to know!!! 

 

Good luck and I hope you hear good news soon

 

I hope you do too, I am also waiting for UNC. A professor there told me that they have a ranking system, and they move down their list until everyone they can take has accepted their offers. It looks like we are lower down on their list, but because we are not rejected yet it just comes down to whether enough people decline to move to our numbered spots. The professor said you can call Jeff at the school and ask what your ranking may be and if they will be able to get to your spot on the list this year, but of course it would just be a guess on his part. He is hard to get a hold of. I left a message but will call back later today again.

[elanorci]

Thanks for all the feedback re: stipend negotiation, all. While I don't agree that paying one person more would mean that they'd have to pay everyone more (isn't this the nature of the special fellowships we get?), I've decided not to bring it up to the program myself, because it seems that many people might perceive it negatively. I'm going to sit on these two offers for a while as I think about whether the money is worth it to me, look more closely into these programs, ask grad students about the cost of living, etc. I might ask current students or the program itself about possible avenues for stipend supplementation that aren't a straight-up bonus that the program or my PI would have to be responsible for, like whether I would get extra money if I got an NSF grant (as in many programs) or if I could teach more - these are great ideas, so thanks to everyone who suggested them!

 

Thanks again!

Edited March 19, 2014 by elanorci

[obaka]

There's nothing wrong with negotiating for more $$. One program gave me $5000 on top of my stipend and my current PI says I should definitely let the other programs that I'm considering know. I think if the stipend itself is larger at one school than another there isn't really room for negotiation, but if one school gives you extra money in the form of fellowships then it doesn't hurt to mention it to other schools.

[Orims]

Did any other international who interviewed at MIT during their last week (March 10) also get waitlisted?

[Piedwerp]

Did any other international who interviewed at MIT during their last week (March 10) also get waitlisted?

 

 

I did too!

[Orims]

I did too!

It seems like they accepted many internationals from the first two weeks so maybe they really want us but are waiting to hear back from all the other internationals they accepted.

[biograd2012]

Hey everybody,

 

I've narrowed my top choices to UC Berkeley's MCB program and Harvard's BBS program.  Berkeley seems very graduate student oriented (more so than Harvard), but Harvard's BBS program has so many labs that I can do just about anything I want.  Any thoughts regarding these two programs?  Any advice would be much appreciated!!

[jean21]

I hope you do too, I am also waiting for UNC. A professor there told me that they have a ranking system, and they move down their list until everyone they can take has accepted their offers. It looks like we are lower down on their list, but because we are not rejected yet it just comes down to whether enough people decline to move to our numbered spots. The professor said you can call Jeff at the school and ask what your ranking may be and if they will be able to get to your spot on the list this year, but of course it would just be a guess on his part. He is hard to get a hold of. I left a message but will call back later today again.

 

Yea that's what I heard too.  I sent Jeff an email early last week and he never responded so I called him last Friday.  He just said that they're hoping to have all responses out by this Friday....  I never thought to ask where on the list I was though. 

[toxicgirl]

UNC called back. They are going to email statuses to every applicant by the end of this week. At this point, he said it's pretty likely that it's either a rejection or a wait list. There are a handful of offers that will still be sent out by the end of this week, but not many at all.

[sys88]

Just got back from Cedars. I feel like on paper it's the best program for my career, but I feel like I didn't fit/belong. It's just awful, because the logical side of my brain says that it would be a great opportunity but my heart says absolutely not. I think I need to follow that gut feeling and look at my other options.

[No Coffee Plz]

There's nothing wrong with negotiating for more $$. One program gave me $5000 on top of my stipend and my current PI says I should definitely let the other programs that I'm considering know. I think if the stipend itself is larger at one school than another there isn't really room for negotiation, but if one school gives you extra money in the form of fellowships then it doesn't hurt to mention it to other schools.

I can ask my PI about this too. She's served on the admission committee for several years and gave me countless advice, so she'd know.