Why am I hesitating?

[AvatarPsych]

Hello All,

I received acceptance to my very top, dream program. It's a JD/PhD program. Right now I have a generous scholarship to the law school, but if I retake the LSAT and score 2 points higher I'll have a full ride.

On the PhD end, the program is fully funded for all 6 years plus my internship year with a guaranteed stipend for at least $13,000, and I've been nominated for "several fellowships" that will boost my stipend. I've also been told there are numerous earning opportunities as I go through the program such as working on grant funded projects, etc. The graduate school will also pay for my insurance premium all 7 years.

This is my dream program - but I'm hesitating to press send. I'm worried about the financial aspect because I will have to take out loans for rent and such, and I do have some undergrad debt I'll be carrying with me.

I should also say the PhD is in clinical psychology.

What do you guys think? Should I just press the acceptance send key?

Edited February 20, 2014 by vicstory

[Lisa44201]

It sounds great. I'd hit accept. Many places that offer full funding do not offer enough to cover cost of living - there have been a few articles about this on some of the academia journals lately, and a few lawsuits as well. I'd take the offer and run with it.

[VirginianFeminist]

If you foresee getting a full ride to any of the other law schools to which you applied, you might wait and then use those offers to encourage Drexel to pony up the rest of the law school tuition. Law schools are unlikely to negotiate unless you have a better scholarship at a higher-ranked institution, but it could be worth a shot. 

 

If not, the only other reason not to hit "send" is if you are willing to retake the LSAT and reapply next year. Even with a significant amount of preparation, you are not guaranteed to increase your score by the requisite amount. Moreover, the Drexel JD/PhD program only takes two students each year, so it's possible that you would only get into the law school your second time around.

 

This is your dream program at your dream school with a good, if not perfect, financial package. If you're ever going to hit "send", now is the time.

[seeingeyeduck]

If you have time before the deadline why not wait and let it sink in more? You can still ultimately accept but obviously you are not quite mentally ready yet. Finances are a big deal. Can you wait to see how the fellowship nominations turn out?

[AvatarPsych]

Thanks, everyone for your responses. It's slowly becoming more of a reality and I will be speaking with my current mentor tomorrow about the offer. Hopefully she has encouraging words to say!