Funding - What % Of Applicants Get It?

[IR2015]

I am now in the fortunate position of deciding between a few acceptances for IR Masters degrees, and have been given some funding at a few of the schools. I'm just wondering - what percent of applicants at the top schools usually receive any funding? What are average amounts of scholarship funding? Any insight into this would be helpful. Thanks!

[Gov2School]

It's an impossible question to answer, as there really is no average award and no way to know what percentage of students receive funding.  If you have multiple offers, or if you are really interested in a school but need more funding to make attending viable, it's always ok to try to politely negotiate. It never hurts to at least ask, and just see what they say.  You're unlikely to go from a $5,000 scholarship to a full ride, but every bit helps!  

[Bombaygunner]

I would be curious to know from folks here (unscientific poll) what fraction of their acceptances came with aid? Maybe there's a pattern which will emerge.

[kaseyleigh]

I'll contribute, then, that both of my acceptances came with funding, but they were not a significant portion of tuition. One school gave $5K a semester, one gave 6 credits a year + a stipend. I didn't take the GRE though, since it was waived with my previous advanced degree, and I think that the GRE is a huge factor for funding, yes?