Range of funding in top 15 programs

[erckle]

I am curious as to what sort of range (if any) exists in the funding offered to the admits for the top 15 programs or so. Perhaps this differs between the very top 5 or whatever and the next 10 or so. I am primarily talking about funding by the university or department itself, although perhaps it is the case that those admitted to the very top programs have a much easier chance getting external funding? Does anyone have some insight? Cheers

[startz]

The key breakdown is public versus private. In general, private pays noticeably better.

Other than NSF fellowships, there isn't a whole lot of external funding for American students.

[erckle]

Right I see I wrote very ambiguously. I meant to ask: what is the range of funding WITHIN some of the top 15 programs or so. That is, what is the difference in offered funding between the admit, say, Harvard likes best, and 40th best (or however many they admit).

[startz]

I believe that most of the better funded programs make pretty similar offers to everyone. This is less true of less well-funded programs. Also, MIT is a bit of an exception as they have historically admitted some students without funding.

[erckle]

Could you expand a little more on the MIT situation if possible please? I was vaguely aware from reading past year's results threads that funding information is often not released for a while after admissions decisions in MIT's case, but I didn't know some portion of the class didn't ever end up getting funding. Are TA/RA jobs made available?

[startz]

The MIT web site says

 

Does the program offer financial aid? Are international students eligible?

Yes, financial aid is offered, and international students are eligible. Scholarship offers include full tuition for the academic year, twelve-month individual health insurance, and a stipend/salary to cover living expenses for the nine-month academic year. Continuation of financial aid for years two through five is dependent on satisfactory academic progress. In the third through fifth year, financial aid typically takes the form of a Teaching or Research Assistantship.

 

Does the Economics department fund all graduate students?

No, the department does not have sufficient financial resources to fund all admitted graduate students. We admit some qualified applicants without providing them with funding. We hope that students in this situation are able to find other funding sources, but recognize that unfortunately this sometimes does not happen.

 

That's all I know about current practice.

[chateauheart]

At most departments, the first funding offer for all admits will be identical in amount. At a subset of these departments, there's room for upward negotiation, which usually requires you to have a competitive offer from another program. I've heard of increases in anywhere from 5k to 20k per year after renegotiation. Business schools programs seem to have more flexibility for increasing their stipend. Edited November 27, 2018 by chateauheart

[erckle]

At most departments, the first funding offer for all admits will be identical in amount. At a subset of these departments, there's room for upward negotiation, which usually requires you to have a competitive offer from another program. I've heard of increases in anywhere from 5k to 20k per year after renegotiation. Business schools programs seem to have more flexibility for increasing their stipend.

 

This is very helpful. Would you mind sharing, if you know, which econ programs have room for renegotiation, and which resolutely don't?

[Zubrus]

There are so many variables involved and differences across programs that can also change depending on who is on the committee. There's not much that can be definitively said about this matter. If you have competing offers, you can try negotiating upwards. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

[tm_member]

This is very helpful. Would you mind sharing, if you know, which econ programs have room for renegotiation, and which resolutely don't?

 

I echo what Zubrus said.

 

Moreover, this shouldn't be something you worry about until the situation presents itself (which is unlikely). Even then, the value of negotiation is questionable. You might get an extra 15-20k before taxes over a five year period. If that happens to be at the school you'd prefer to attend then that's great for you. However, if the extra money is being offered by a lower ranked school it should be ignored - the rule is "go to the best school that admits you with funding" (the amount of that funding is not important).

[laborsabre]

I support what everyone else has said here: from talking to other people in my program (top 15) the range of funding seems to be either $0, $20,000-$27,000 for the first year, with little variability afterwards. I have heard of some people negotiating this, but I think most negotiations resulted in movements within the $7,000 range, and these movements only impacted the first year. So not much to quibble about in the long run (and very unlikely to be something that would change your decision).

[tutonic]

Based on what's reported on Gradcafe, Penn State is offering a 30k + health care. Quite a tidy sum, especially when you consider living costs in University Park.

[tm_member]

Based on what's reported on Gradcafe, Penn State is offering a 30k + health care. Quite a tidy sum, especially when you consider living costs in University Park.

 

PSU pays pretty well, but my understanding is that you'll have a job (mist likely a Teaching Assistant for 10-20 hours per week) in the first year.

 

Moreover, you can think of the 30k as a compensating differential for living in the middle of nowhere! :-)

[MobileRichard]

PSU pays pretty well, but my understanding is that you'll have a job (mist likely a Teaching Assistant for 10-20 hours per week) in the first year.

Yes, it's a half-time TAship in Penn State, including the first year, unfortunately. 30k + health care (health+dental+vision).

[startz]

The range of funding in top 15 programs ranges from close to $40k/year+tuition, with that requiring perhaps 2 or 3 years of TA work during the program, to no funding for the first year at all. For example, Berkeley says "Over 50% of our new admits receive some form of university or department financial support." UCSD says "Approximately 75% of admits are offered a first-year financial aid package (e.g., teaching assistantships, tuition & fee scholarships, fellowships)."

 

A lot of the difference in offers across departments reflects the wealth of the department or university.

[nimrod06]

Just a side question... when you guys are taking abt stipend, does it include sth like "summer fellowship"? That's a seperate item in the offer, while works very similar to stipend and is of decent amount.

I wonder if other schools have this as well?