Negoating stipend (?)

[elsueñodelretorno]

Hey there!

I have been admitted to various universities for a Ph.D. Among them, University A offers me 15,000$ per year and University B offers me 26,000$ per year. Both universities are well ranked, good programs, similar cities... But I like better A, for the professors. Now, do you think that is somehow possible to try to negotiate a little bit the stipend and get some more money? The difference is shocking! 

Thank you! 

[meggied]

Is the cost of living different for the two cities? I know you said the cities were similar but just figured I would ask directly.

[elsueñodelretorno]

16 minutes ago, meggied said:

Is the cost of living different for the two cities? I know you said the cities were similar but just figured I would ask directly.

Hi! Yes, not much of a difference between the two of them. So in University B I could save some money and splurge from time to time. 

[Neist]

You could probably ask, but it might leave a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe it won't, but personally, I doubt that I'd ask.

The school offering less probably has tight budget constraints. So, even if you ask for more, I'd imagine it at least highly likely that they won't be able to offer anything close to what school B offered.

My two cents.

 

[elsueñodelretorno]

2 minutes ago, Neist said:

You could probably ask, but it might leave a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe it won't, but personally, I doubt that I'd ask.

The school offering less probably has tight budget constraints. So, even if you ask for more, I'd imagine it at least highly likely that they won't be able to offer anything close to what school B offered.

My two cents.

 

 

Thank you!

[meggied]

13 minutes ago, elsueñodelretorno said:

Hi! Yes, not much of a difference between the two of them. So in University B I could save some money and splurge from time to time. 

If the cost of living is the same then I would say it doesn't hurt to ask. Just be polite and be clear the money isn't the only deciding factor. It could be taken the wrong way if you make it sound like it's all about the money.

[TakeruK]

My opinion is different than some of the above. If you prefer University A over University B, It will not hurt you to ask University A. But this is more common to ask in my field. If you ask politely, you will get a polite response back! It will most likely be a "no" but you never know. The best way to ask is to tell them that you would like to accept their offer but the funding is too low for you to be able to meet your needs. Tell them that you have another offer from University B and tell them the dollar amount. Then ask if there is any way to have your offer from University A increased to match University B (of course, you may not expect them to match exactly, but if they can come partway that would still be good). Say that you can send the University B offer letter if that helps make a case, and say that you are willing to provide whatever other info that's available. 

Then you just have to wait and see. If University A really doesn't have extra funds, then they will just say no. I don't think it should reflect poorly on you---$15,000 is very little money no matter where you are in the US. They can't fault you for trying, especially if you have a much better offer. Usually I don't recommend applicants go for an offer just because of the money. However, in this case, $11,000 per year is a huge difference. Given how you have described the two schools, if University A doesn't increase their offer, personally, then I don't think I would take their offer, if I was in your shoes.

[elsueñodelretorno]

42 minutes ago, TakeruK said:

My opinion is different than some of the above. If you prefer University A over University B, It will not hurt you to ask University A. But this is more common to ask in my field. If you ask politely, you will get a polite response back! It will most likely be a "no" but you never know. The best way to ask is to tell them that you would like to accept their offer but the funding is too low for you to be able to meet your needs. Tell them that you have another offer from University B and tell them the dollar amount. Then ask if there is any way to have your offer from University A increased to match University B (of course, you may not expect them to match exactly, but if they can come partway that would still be good). Say that you can send the University B offer letter if that helps make a case, and say that you are willing to provide whatever other info that's available. 

Then you just have to wait and see. If University A really doesn't have extra funds, then they will just say no. I don't think it should reflect poorly on you---$15,000 is very little money no matter where you are in the US. They can't fault you for trying, especially if you have a much better offer. Usually I don't recommend applicants go for an offer just because of the money. However, in this case, $11,000 per year is a huge difference. Given how you have described the two schools, if University A doesn't increase their offer, personally, then I don't think I would take their offer, if I was in your shoes.

 

Thank you very much! I´ll ask them politely, then. You were very useful!