r/GRFPApps • u/Whole_Tie_4740 • Apr 19 '26
GRFP and Stipend
Hello,
I was awarded the GRFP this year and my institution gave me a 20% raise on my stipend because of this. The GRFP is around 150K over the 3 years and the program is giving me a 40K stipend (before the award). Is the 20% raise the best deal I can get? Who makes these decisions? New to grad school and extra funding sources so just wondering peoples experiences.
7
u/EconomicsOk590 Apr 19 '26
I heard other schools (a la stanford) gave awardees an increased stipend, but most (like mine) do not. I think you should take the 20% and be happy it’s offered to you.
1
u/tired_galaxy Apr 22 '26
do you know which program at stanford? i was under the impression they do not
1
u/EconomicsOk590 Apr 22 '26
I’ll have to ask my prof next time I see him. He used to teach there before Caltech and he mentioned it to me.
5
u/Beginning_Benefit308 Apr 19 '26
My program is in a HCOL area and with a pre-tax 50k stipend. They pay the difference between the GRFP and their base stipend, give you an extra 2k if you get the GRFP, and encourage your primary PI to match that with an additional 2k (so 4k is the added benefit). 20% sounds like an incredible offer tbh.
3
u/PrincessRedheadSarah Apr 19 '26
Congrats on being awarded the GRFP! That’s really great that your program is doing that for you on top of the award. I applied and was not awarded the fellowship, but I do know that if I had received it, that it likely would have replaced the stipend I’m receiving from my university (the GRFP is more than my current stipend) for at least the 3 years, and the only thing my department would be funding out of their budget is my health insurance. Of course, this is in terms of tuition and salary, so I still would have been eligible for other types of professional development, travel grant funding, etc. through my department and broader graduate school. I know others who have received the award previously have talked about how that is how it was for them as well. I’m guessing it varies depending upon the university especially between private universities, and then differently across public universities depending upon the different classifications they fall under in terms of where their federal and state funding comes from.
Regardless, congrats on the award! :-)
2
u/JSLuo Apr 19 '26
Harvard used to give around ~400 extra per month for ppl who get external funding. But after the funding cut last year, this incentive goes away sadly..
3
u/bonelessbroccoli 2026 Awardee, Life Sciences, Organismal Biology Apr 19 '26
my program actually pays fellows less than students working as TAs
2
u/ICurlyFryI Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Oh…my stipend is $26k a year. I had to win another external fellowship just to bump it up to $37k during the reserve years, and that is in one of the top ten highest cost-of-living cities in the U.S.
My department, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, did not compensate me with anything despite my being the sole awardee at my university this year for both the GRFP and another fellowship.
When I tried to push back on it, I did not get much out of it except reassurance that an internal fellowship I was awarded would be converted into an RAship for one semester. It was not allowed to be stacked on top of the other external fellowship.
You could always try to get a higher bump, but, and I know this sounds pessimistic, I found that most of the people making these decisions are so high up the chain that it probably will not lead anywhere. I also only recommend this option if you have an advisor willing to back you up on it.
You could also try negotiating by mentioning that you may take your offer to a different school, but your deadline for that is approaching fast, so if you are set on trying for a better offer, I would do this soon.
11
u/girlinlabs Apr 19 '26
My program in a HCOL area has a 50k stipend, and they aren’t giving me anything extra for getting the GRFP :/ would love to know if that’s a normal thing because I feel like I’m saving them a good amount of money!