sargeras23 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 (edited) Hello all, I was lucky to be a winner of a competitive funding prize for students from over 15 countries in Europe. The prize is quite restrictive (only 1-2 students get it), awarded purely based on academic merit and is meant to be an addition to schools' funding. I have communicated this info to the all the places I applied to right away in hope that it may provide the adcom's with some external validation. Do you think this has an impact if the committee members know about the prize? It is quite known in Europe. I am unsure about the USA, but that is where most of my schools are, as they are in the top 15. Edited January 19, 2019 by sargeras23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 How much funding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargeras23 Posted January 20, 2019 Author Share Posted January 20, 2019 As it would be very easy to find my name if I give the exact amount, I hope it is okay to say that it is enough to cover living expenses only for a couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 As it would be very easy to find my name if I give the exact amount, I hope it is okay to say that it is enough to cover living expenses only for a couple of years. So you're saying it's worth 2-3 years of a grad school stipend? That's a lot of funding, so I'd definitely notify schools about that (in fact, many applications explicitly state that you should update them on such info). I guess the only exception would be schools that explicitly say on their website "We will only consider info submitted with your application. Do not e-mail us with any updates after that, including your fall grades." Curious to hear what the faculty on this forum have to say about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargeras23 Posted January 20, 2019 Author Share Posted January 20, 2019 That's right! Perhaps not three, but it indeed is a generous prize. Of course, it is conditional on me getting admitted, so I hope it may increase my chances slightly. I notified the schools about it in the meantime. (didn't receive responses from all though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaysa Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 It is not that helpful. If the award covered tuition expenses than it would be helpful, but living expenses is not that attractive because most students cover their living expenses with activities that generate the department money, such as teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargeras23 Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 Thank you for the reply. I was hoping that it might be a signal of value of some sort since it is quite a difficult prize to get and it is given mainly based on current research. But, oh well, it certainly won't hurt to have it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubrus Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 It definitely won't hurt, but I also don't think it will help that much -- especially if the award is not that well known. Now, if you had won something like the NSF (which covers both tuition and stipend IIRC), then that would be a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaysa Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Thank you for the reply. I was hoping that it might be a signal of value of some sort since it is quite a difficult prize to get and it is given mainly based on current research. But, oh well, it certainly won't hurt to have it. :) Well, it might. Unfortunately, we cannot answer that because you cannot tell us what it is heh heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 living expenses is not that attractive because most students cover their living expenses with activities that generate the department money, such as teaching. I thought most 1st and 2nd year students get stipend funding "for free" without any teaching obligations. In the program's perspective, is it not attractive for applicants to bring in funding for 1st & 2nd year stipends rather than using up university fellowships that they could give to someone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 This varies widely across programs. Definitely not “most.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaysa Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 As startz said, things vary considerable across departments. However, from what I know about department budgets, and this is by no means comprehensive, fellowships do not always pay for things like tuition and other fees. The problem then is that adding on another student, even if they can pay their living expenses, can eat away tens of thousands of dollars in tuition for the department of their award does not cover tuition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubrus Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Another anecdote that may not be relevant to OP's case. I know a person who was rejected frim MIT, won NSF and was then admitted. But MIT is known to use the NSF as a signal for their American applicants. Anyways OP, if you give us more information about the award then we can probably provide a more accurate assessment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startz Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Chiming in with what Zubrus said, it is well-known that MIT pays attention to the NSF. However, in addition to the prestige of the NSF, there is also Kaysa's point. The NSF pays a very nice stipend ($34,000/year) and makes a modest payment to the university ($12,000) to cover tuition. So it's quite a bit of money saved from the university's budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathenomics Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 This varies widely across programs. Definitely not “most.” As startz said, things vary considerable across departments. However, from what I know about department budgets, and this is by no means comprehensive, fellowships do not always pay for things like tuition and other fees. The problem then is that adding on another student, even if they can pay their living expenses, can eat away tens of thousands of dollars in tuition for the department of their award does not cover tuition. Thanks! This is interesting info. I guess I've been biased based on programs that people around me attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargeras23 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Thank you for the replies! I believe most of you understand that since I am the sole winner, any potential member of the admissions committee who visits the forum can easily identify me and my posts. I know that this need not be negative, it might as well be seen as positive, but I just don't want to risk it. I know that curiosity is strong among you and I am sorry for keeping it a mystery. :D Anyway, the award will allow me to have an easier life for the first two years, not necessarily lessen the load on funding offered by the program. I have applied only to top 20 programs, all of which have some form of funding, given that I would not be able to study otherwise. My point was, will they take this award into consideration while reviewing my app? It was awarded after the deadline, but since it is restrictive, and some schools have by know confirmed that they know what it is through the congratulatory mail for it, I hope it may give some additional external validation to my application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.