I just got accepted at Clemson University, how do I approach the director to discuss funding?

[Architecture-Queen]

Hi everyone,

 

I just got accepted for PhD at Clemson University, my POI informed me that I'm considered for funding and if I want to get more details about my funding package I should contact the program director because he is in charge of allocating available funds between new PhD students. Now, should I contact the director or should I wait for him to send an official funding letter, If I contact him explaining my financial situation, I'm in desperate need of enough income to raise 3 kids, will this increase my chances of getting a good funding package, or will I seem like I'm begging him for money?. Is there anything I can do at the moment to increase my chances of getting a good financial package. My POI recommended that I study  a specific computer programming language because he intends to use my help oversee undergrad students for a small coding project, so I already started last night and I intend to do the best I can to master this coding language before the fall, do you guys think if I mention this to my POI I will have better chances of getting a good funding package? I apologize if this question seems silly , I just want to do my PhD at Clemson really bad and have a good funding package at the same time. 

Edited February 12, 2014 by Architecture-Queen

[fizzberry2]

I don't think that there's any harm in contacting the program director, or even the director of graduate studies, about funding. They might even be able to nominate you for fellowships that you might not have even known about, or point you towards nontraditional sources of funding. Contacting them before receiving your funding letter certainly doesn't make you seem desperate--it means that you're being proactive! I imagine that, if you explain your circumstances and let them know that you need as much time as possible to plan out your finances, you'd be putting the fire under them to get their funding letter together a bit faster.

If you haven't already, start applying to external fellowships before you enroll. 

Good luck!!!