How to Survive the Ph.D. Funding Waiting Game
You’ve applied for various Ph.D. programs and for funding
packages. You have possibly heard back
from some of them and interviewed…now what?
Waiting to hear whether the school of your choice is going
to offer you a scholarship, teaching assistant position, or any kind of
financial award, can be a grueling game, over and above the waiting that goes
on before one is notified of acceptance.
During my own funds waiting game, I often asked myself the question, “if
they were so quick to offer me a spot in their program and want me there so
badly, then why are they being so stingy with the ‘moo-lah’?”
Unfortunately, this is the part of the process which
separates the scholars from the weekenders, and by weekender I mean a person
who applied to all these programs, but did not put their whole week (or self)
into the process. Scholars look at the
application process as a full-time job and treat it as such. It is difficult to find oneself in either category
with either set of implications. A scholar
has been able to do nothing else since the beginning, but realizing one is a
weekender is a bit crushing, especially as those application and funding
deadlines go whizzing past, mistakes are made, and things cannot be done over
again.
Most schools in North America, especially the United States,
offer a funding package, including a stipend and tuition coverage, along with
an offer of acceptance. Countries
outside of North American often do things a little differently. The application process for an overseas
program is completely separate from the application process for funding, and no
package is guaranteed with an offer of acceptance. Many times, if one is applying to an overseas
school, the international tuition is quadruple the amount of the home-country
tuition (the same concept as in-state and out-of-state tuition in the U.S.),
but the funding packages which offer tuition coverage only cover the amount of
the home-country tuition, even for international students. If you really want to go international, you
may have to supplement your funding with student loans or grants and
scholarships outside of the institution to which you have applied.
A mentor of mine gave me some advice for the funding process,
which was to go for anything that can even possibly
fund the program. Apply for all funding
options, not just some. Apply for
anything that might assist you in paying for the program you really want to
attend. Treating it like a full time job
will not only allow you to apply for more scholarships and packages, but it
will also help you keep your mind off the time as it passes, waiting to hear
from your prospective schools.
There are plenty of scholarship websites which offer free
services locating scholarships and grants for doctoral students. If you have been a weekender in the past and
want to change to 'scholar-status,' then hop on several of these websites and put
everything you have into finding and applying for as many scholarships as you
possibly can, even if they are small…they add up. You may also open a crowd-funding page and market yourself
on social media as a prospective Ph.D. student who just needs to get over the
financial hump to pay for it. Consider
applying for teaching positions within the college (become an employee), or
departmental teaching assistantships and research assistantships which pay out
as part of a package toward your tuition.
If you are staying local and you already work, see if your company offers tuition
reimbursement. Talk to the financial aid
office at your prospective schools, but dig into the resources of the
individual department for additional opportunities. Fellowship and Scholarly programs are also
available from outside companies in a variety of fields.
Put your whole-self into this process and you should have
great success, putting your mind at ease and your worries to rest.
-Christine Ratzlaff © May 14, 2018
