Funding: Negotiable or not?

[DBear]

I have had many jobs over the years but really am not one to aggressively negotiate when it comes to compensation and such, so when it comes to funding offers, I was just going to take what was offered. I didn't think that grad school funding packages were even negotiable until a few people I know talked about negotiating their way to better terms and conditions and even getting moving costs covered. 

I'm curious, how negotiable are funding packages? I'm sure this differs from school to school, program to program, and maybe even individual students. However, would it be considered completely out of left field should a student even attempt to negotiate for better terms? Or is this acceptable? Knowing my own personality, I probably won't negotiate, but I'm also worried that a little bit of negotiation is standard practice and that I'll miss out... 

 

[Evie95]

My old advisor (yeah, it's me again :P) said that as I wait to attend the visit weekend at my dream school, I should also negotiate a better funding package at her school. So I assume it's pretty common? But it seems like such a intimidating task...

[DBear]

@Evangeline95 lol hi again! ooh! ... I wish I knew how to to go about this! The thing is, for some schools, they post funding rates/ ranges so I'm not sure there's a lot of wiggle room.

[TakeruK]

Whether or not you can do this depends on each school's policy. At my school, everyone is paid the same amount unless you have a fellowship that covers all of your cost (then whatever excess is yours to keep, up to a certain maximum wage on campus). So, at a school like this, you can try but you won't be able to get more money. At my school and probably most places, it won't hurt you to try as long as you ask politely---you'll just get a polite no back.

I think you need to have some sort of reason/leverage in order to be successful. For example, if you have more than one offer, and the other offer is from a school that is comparable to your school (in terms of quality, fit and cost of living), you might be able to say that you really want to go to #1 choice school but this offer from #2 school is better, would #1 school consider increasing their offer? However, be careful how you do this. I would only do this if you really thought both schools are almost equal and that you would prefer to go to #2 school because of the money. It might be a little weird if you make this ask, they say no, and then you attend #1 school anyways. It may or may not be awkward, depending on how your interactions went.

Another way to "leverage" is having external funding. If you have some external funding source that reduces your cost to the school, you might be able to ask for more money along with something like another offer from another school. So now, you can say that school #1 is offering X but school #2 offered you $X+$3000, and since you are bringing in Scholarship XYZ worth $10,000 per year, would it be possible for you to be paid the same as school #2? This method is better because you are bringing something to the table instead of just asking for more. And it doesn't leave the implication that you would prefer #2 if #1 says no.

Having a good reason for more funding could be the key factor. If you can explain why you would not be able to attend their program (or would be severely disadvantaged) without additional funding, then you might have better luck than if you are just asking because you want to have more savings or to have a more competitive offer. For example, you might have some extra costs for health maintenance that make the current offer not enough to survive on. 

Finally, the most important factor is something you can't really control, and it's whether or not the school even has a means of increased funding. Some departments have "funding tiers" where some students might get a few limited fellowships and get paid a little more than those without (paid as TA/RA, for example). If this is the case, having at least one of the reasons above might convince them to bump you up to a higher funding tier. Even if they already offered fellowship spots to everyone they have room for, you might convince them to draw from a future year's budget to fund you. Or, maybe they know someone is about to decline their fellowship so you can have their spot.

On the other hand, some schools (like mine) believe that their funding offer is enough to survive on (I would say yes it is, and with a few thousand to spare each year too!). In that case, you are very unlikely to get a stipend boost in order to match the competition. I think that your best bet in a school like this is to combine reason #2 (external funding) and #3 (a demonstrated need).

To end on a personal anecdote. I had an external fellowship from my home country's government and asked if I could keep any part of it. I didn't make this part of a "negotiation" though, I just wanted to know out of curiosity since it's common in Canada for these fellowship holders to get a little bonus. Also, the fellowship results come out much later than admission decisions so I had already accepted my place. I got a polite "no, sorry, we don't do that" from my school. A few months later, for various personal reasons I won't get into here, I ended up having to pay almost $10,000 in medical costs. I asked for help with this and they decided to retroactively give me a first year stipend bonus to cover these costs since I am bringing in external funds (the total value of my outside award was about $60,000).

 

 

[DBear]

Thanks @TakeruK, I'm not even sure I'll be comfortable negotiating but if the situation becomes dire, or I become a bit more comfortable, I'll definitely keep what you said in mind

[RBspkRuP]

From my understanding, some universities do not negotiate. What you see is what you get. I had a friend that negotiated at one university and they said she was the first one that ever tried! She ended up going there, so no harm done. However, this year as I apply I just got one offer which did actually say to contact them if I felt the offer was inadequate or if I got a better offer elsewhere. So I think it definitely depends on the school, seems to be no harm in trying especially if you got a better competing offer. Worst case? They say no!

[Le Chat]

That is very helpful to know. I have health needs and can't comfortably take on a lot of debt. I have no idea if the school in mind could possibly adjust the funding, but I am definitely sad that it's the one thing holding me back.

I will bring it up and see what happens. My reason is pretty clear, but I'm not sure if the school can add to it.

[TMP]

It is possible to negotiate, especially with multiple offers in hand. Offers tend to be negotiated on the basis of more academic year funding, another fellowship, and/or summer funding.  It just depends what would make the offer more appealing than others.

[indigopierogy]

Do you think it depends on what department you are in? I come from departments that typically are not well funded (though I did get in to much better funded programs than the one I'm in now). Like would a hard sciences person have more leeway than a humanities person?