Sealing the deal for a GRA position

[henryclever7]

Hi!

 

Accidentally posted this in the applications forum, didn't get any responses-- Maybe the administrator could delete the other?

 

So I was accepted at a school in a bioengineering program I really wanted to attend and I flew halfway across the country on my own dime for the open house. I set up an appointment for a potential PI and had the interview. It went extremely well and the professor gave me an offer for a GRA position within 20 minutes. Then he took me for a lab tour and a campus tour and we talked for another hour and a half. My dream school was Stanford and I told him that I would need a couple weeks to decide if I would take his offer because I hadn't heard from Stanford yet. He said that was OK and said there would be full funding available for me starting in the fall if I committed. So I got rejected from Stanford 2 weeks later and proceeded to call him and commit but I couldn't get through so I sent an email. This past weekend I found his business card while cleaning and found that the number I called on the website was incorrect by one digit so I called and left a voicemail and another email today. It's been 10 days and still have no response yet. I have the link to commit to my application decision but the administrative assistant said i had to work out the funding with him separately because I didn't apply for or get offered department funding. Getting kind of worried but I have till April 15th to officially commit. 

 

My question is: How does funding for GRA positions work? Do I just go ahead and commit now and worry about the funding with him later? Or do PI's give out an official GRA offer in writing? I'm just intimidated by this because I had no money for grad school and I really, really want to work with him but just haven't gotten a response to this yet.

 

 

Thanks for the help! Good luck to everyone else!

 

-Henry

[Vader Was Framed]

Henry. First, congrats on being accepted to the program.

 

Typically GRA opportunities and funding opportunities are managed through 1:1 relationships with professors, which seems to be the case for you. Unlike offers that come from the department, from what I read/hear these are generally more informal.

 

It sounds as if your PI verbally offered you a position when you met in person. However, if it were me, I would do everything to get that offer formalized in writing (via email at a minimum) before I accepted the program admit offer. I would try him again via phone. If you do not have luck, try giving the graduate director a call (or staff person) and explain that you are hoping to make a decision soon but you are attempting to connect with your PI to follow up on a GRA position he mentioned previously. He could be at a conference, traveling, who knows.

 

This is certainly understandable, and well within your right to inquire about. Hope it works out soon!

 

May I ask why you did not apply for department/program funding? 

[henryclever7]

Henry. First, congrats on being accepted to the program.

 

Typically GRA opportunities and funding opportunities are managed through 1:1 relationships with professors, which seems to be the case for you. Unlike offers that come from the department, from what I read/hear these are generally more informal.

 

It sounds as if your PI verbally offered you a position when you met in person. However, if it were me, I would do everything to get that offer formalized in writing (via email at a minimum) before I accepted the program admit offer. I would try him again via phone. If you do not have luck, try giving the graduate director a call (or staff person) and explain that you are hoping to make a decision soon but you are attempting to connect with your PI to follow up on a GRA position he mentioned previously. He could be at a conference, traveling, who knows.

 

This is certainly understandable, and well within your right to inquire about. Hope it works out soon!

 

May I ask why you did not apply for department/program funding? 

I applied for a fellowship through their program and I did not receive it. I don't think the state of California has a lot of extra money on the table and perhaps this is why. To be honest, this school wasn't even really on my radar when applying and I sent in my application a day late and my transcript to the wrong address. Go figure. It is an excellent school though. Only after my application was sent did I find this lab and I was immediately interested--the primary reason I attended the open house on my dime. I had 2 other interviews there with my 2nd and 3rd lab choices and I was really turned off by them. Also got into NYU's MS biomedical program ($7000/yr scholarship) and although their ranking isn't that high, they have a lot more work I'd be interested in and I really like NYC. I play piano also so a move to NYC would be fantastic for my development as a musician. I'd probably just consider taking out loans for and going to NYU if this doesn't work out because it would likely be less intense and I could focus on music. I really hope this school in question works out. BTW, I am friends with one of his PhD students on facebook and she said he prefers email over phone. He has an office phone (no caller ID?) so maybe I could try calling but it's against her advice.

 

By finalized in an email, do you mean a breakdown of all the costs? Or just a "yeah you are funded" answer.

 

-Henry

Edited April 3, 2014 by henryclever7

[henryclever7]

Still nadda.