Asking for more funding -- when to ask?

[RBspkRuP]

I have received 3 offers so far. 1 for a PhD and 2 for masters (not sure if it makes a difference, but I am applying directly from undergrad) 

• The first question I have is that if I am not sold on which school I want to attend quite yet, is it awful to ask for higher funding to a school if it is possible I don't end up choosing the university? On the flip side, finances do affect my decision so if they can't offer higher funding I might not attend.
• The second issue is I have actually been offered higher funding for my masters offers than my PhD (one school was very generous in their funding)! However, does it look ridiculous to ask for a higher funding to the PhD school by sending them the offer from the masters school? Problem with the PhD school is they have like tiered funding meaning I get paid better in year 1 but the amount given declines each year. The other thing is the cost of living at the PhD is much higher than my other offers so it is barely livable the amount.

Edit: Third question if I sent my offer of PhD admission to one of the university's I am actually considering over the PhD, do you believe that is a good bargaining power for higher funding or is sending the higher masters offer better since it is equal bargaining tool? 

Edited March 11, 2017 by RBspkRuP

[rising_star]

You can and should ask if there's any chance that you would attend the school if they offered you more money. I'm not a huge fan of sending out the exact offer unless it's requested, especially in your case where you're trying to negotiate between master's and PhD admissions. Before asking, I'd seriously think about the ranking of the programs as well as the cost of living in each location, using these to come up with an acceptable amount (to you) for funding.

[RBspkRuP]

15 hours ago, rising_star said:

You can and should ask if there's any chance that you would attend the school if they offered you more money. I'm not a huge fan of sending out the exact offer unless it's requested, especially in your case where you're trying to negotiate between master's and PhD admissions. Before asking, I'd seriously think about the ranking of the programs as well as the cost of living in each location, using these to come up with an acceptable amount (to you) for funding.

I wish I saw this a bit earlier, but I sent both offers to a school and was basically told no additional funding would be possible despite having an offer that dominates theirs by 4K. To me, this does seem like a lot since that would essentially cover moving costs. Was a bit confusing since prior I received multiple emails from the school stating I was the top applicant and that they would anything possible to address any concerns I would have for not attending. Their response to no funding was that the department at the moment was overextended with offers. They may be able to offer a small scholarship but not guaranteed at the moment. I am just a bit confused I wasn't offered an additional entrance scholarship given it is one of the top schools. Or is this the norm? I guess I am just confused given they even said to notify the school if you had a better competing offer, but it seems like there was no point. I can understand that the department could be overextended, but honestly quite shocked given the tone of previous emails.

Edited March 13, 2017 by RBspkRuP

[rising_star]

On 3/13/2017 at 4:28 PM, RBspkRuP said:

 am just a bit confused I wasn't offered an additional entrance scholarship given it is one of the top schools. Or is this the norm? I guess I am just confused given they even said to notify the school if you had a better competing offer, but it seems like there was no point. I can understand that the department could be overextended, but honestly quite shocked given the tone of previous emails.

Honestly, this varies from one department and university to the next. My PhD program believed that everyone should be paid the same so they didn't offer extra funding to anyone unless that person came in with external funding. And, as far as I know, the university didn't even have any entrance scholarships available. Other programs aren't like this, obviously, but some are. It could also be the case that they don't view the other program as serious competition, particularly if it comes down to you choosing between a master's program and a PhD program.

[TakeruK]

On 3/13/2017 at 1:28 PM, RBspkRuP said:

I am just a bit confused I wasn't offered an additional entrance scholarship given it is one of the top schools. Or is this the norm? I guess I am just confused given they even said to notify the school if you had a better competing offer, but it seems like there was no point. I can understand that the department could be overextended, but honestly quite shocked given the tone of previous emails.

Entrance scholarships aren't that common in grad school, as far as I know (unless you are talking about Canadian programs only, in which case they are more common than in the US!). Like rising_star's program, my US PhD program also pays everyone exactly the same unless you came in with an external fellowship that paid for your costs and your stipend. The University does have a limited number of University-level fellowships, however, they are 1 year only and they are not used for "topping up" awards. Instead, they are used when the department wants to accept a student but is short on funding for some reason. Departments apply for this funding and are granted on a merit- and needs-based evaluation.

Also, my school does have a fairly generous "minimum" stipend. It's definitely more than enough to pay for expenses for most people. So, requests for more funding aren't taken very seriously unless you demonstrate an unmet need. 

As for the $4000 difference: Making a case for more money based on another offer is only effective if you can attend an equal or better program for more money and the school thinks that you are actually going to pick the other program over them. So as rising_star said, maybe the schools are very different in calibre? Your sidebar says "Canada" and I don't know if you are only applying to Canadian schools. In my experience with Canadian programs, the biggest/top schools generally offer less funding than the smaller schools because they know they can attract the best students with their quality. Other schools may be more generous to make up for the fact that they may be less desirable in other ways.

Finally, when the school said they would address your concerns, they might not have meant money. 

[Eigen]

On March 13, 2017 at 3:28 PM, RBspkRuP said:

I wish I saw this a bit earlier, but I sent both offers to a school and was basically told no additional funding would be possible despite having an offer that dominates theirs by 4K. To me, this does seem like a lot since that would essentially cover moving costs. Was a bit confusing since prior I received multiple emails from the school stating I was the top applicant and that they would anything possible to address any concerns I would have for not attending. Their response to no funding was that the department at the moment was overextended with offers. They may be able to offer a small scholarship but not guaranteed at the moment. I am just a bit confused I wasn't offered an additional entrance scholarship given it is one of the top schools. Or is this the norm? I guess I am just confused given they even said to notify the school if you had a better competing offer, but it seems like there was no point. I can understand that the department could be overextended, but honestly quite shocked given the tone of previous emails.

Also, I'm not sure if this meant you sent your offers from the masters programs to the PhD program, but having a "better" offer for a masters program will do almost nothing to sway a PhD admissions committee. They're not the same type of program, and it's assumed that a really competitive applicant might be able to get a particularly well funded masters (which is a less competitive program), but not a PhD. 

There's also a good chance that if you sent them other offers and both were for masters rather than PhD programs, they don't view the chance of you not taking their offer as very serious, since very few people would want to take a masters over a PhD. 

[RBspkRuP]

41 minutes ago, Eigen said:

Also, I'm not sure if this meant you sent your offers from the masters programs to the PhD program, but having a "better" offer for a masters program will do almost nothing to sway a PhD admissions committee. They're not the same type of program, and it's assumed that a really competitive applicant might be able to get a particularly well funded masters (which is a less competitive program), but not a PhD. 

There's also a good chance that if you sent them other offers and both were for masters rather than PhD programs, they don't view the chance of you not taking their offer as very serious, since very few people would want to take a masters over a PhD. 

Yeah, I sent the one masters offer and the PhD offer to another masters program. I guess I should have just sent the masters offer since that alone topped their offer. Definitely see now it now as the wrong move, but I am truly considering the masters over the PhD since I didn't apply to many schools this year (got psyched out thinking I wasn't competitive enough since I heard so many 'horror' stories) so I feel if I do a masters, especially at this school which is higher ranked than my current school, that if I reapply next year I would do even better and have more competitive offers.