A school made a late game counter offer. What do I do?

[Zenty_Apollodorus]

Hey guys!

Long time lurker here with what seems like a thorny problem.

I was accepted to two PhD programs in political science (theory) this fall. I think that I would be pretty happy at either school, but here is the problem:

School A is a middling ranked school that offered me an $18,000 teaching/research assistantship. I think the curriculum and faculty interests are somewhat more attractive on the face of it, but the program’s director and another important professor will be retiring (though sticking around on the fringes for a couple years apparently) this year. I am a little concerned about it, but the school has a track record of placement and delivering excellent teaching experience through its assistantship. I hope that won’t change.

School B has a very new PhD program which is going to graduate its first class this year. The school is highly regarded, though I would imagine the program will end up in comparable rank to school A when it is finally ranked, but who knows. This school offered me a $20,000 fellowship without any work obligation. The problem I saw with that is the school probably won’t let me teach undergraduate classes because it's a small school, so it might be difficulty to get teaching experience.

At any rate, I decided on school A and emailed everyone accordingly. However, this morning school B emailed me and offered to increase my funding considerably should I reconsider (though they did not give me an amount).

I should mention that both locations are fairly low cost of living areas, so the stipends will be adequate either way.

Holy smokes.

What do I do with this? Is it at all appropriate to reconsider my position? Can I decline after I have already accepted? Should I? Is it okay to email school A and see if they will beef up their funding package to match? Should I just suck it up and shoo school B away?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[GradSchoolTruther]

Which highly regarded school started a Ph.D. political science program in the past few years?

Edited March 29, 2016 by GradSchoolTruther

[COGSCI]

You can definitely ask school B about the actual amount and decide. However, you must've had a reason for choosing school A to begin with. 

If your stipend from school A can cover your living expenses, I would still consider school A.

Although it would not be ideal for, you can take back your decision. Just remember that academia is formed with a small small group of people, but I don't think you are kissing your career goodbye by changing your mind. They will understand 

[Zenty_Apollodorus]

 

@COGSCI Thanks for your response!

Edited March 29, 2016 by Zenty_Apollodorus