<p>I suppose the decision rests with whether or not you will be happy with the fact that you shelled out the money for your first year of graduate school (and possibly more than that, depending) regardless of whether you earn a tenure-track position upon graduation.</p>
<p>Is it easier to get admitted without funding than with funding? I’m from Singapore, and the government is dangling a nice huge PhD scholarship carrot for professor wannabes, which includes tuition fees and a USD 4200/month living allowance on top of travel, thesis, conference, book and laptop allowances, so if I get the scholarship and get accepted the professor essentially has to pay me nothing except for the lab materials which I will be using.</p>
<p>sporadic, having outside funding, like your Singapore scholarship, will improve your chances of being accepted, as you will cost the university less. (as far as I know)</p>