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Thanks for the reply! Also I must apologise, reading over my original question, it sounded a bit incredulous. I didn't intend for that. You raise some good points. I think the cost of living in Oklahoma is fairly low, but the offered stipend still doesn't leave me with much comfort. The offered stipend is for $1600/month during term, and then $1800/month for the summer months, so the $19,600(accidentally put 200 above) was for a whole 12 month period. The letter also mentioned that once I become an RA the stipend will increase to about $21,600 a year, but this isn't until I pass the qualifying exams, which I would hope to do as soon as possible anyway. As far as I'm aware there aren't any scholarships available to me, as I am as you said an international student, so it would pretty much just be living on the stipend. I'll definitely inquire about your 3rd point though. It isn't very clear if they offer any expense towards conference travel and things. I'm not too worried about equipment cost, as I'm applying for particle physics, and I've got my own laptop and pc to work on anyway. Although, also, at the end of the day this was my least favourite place to go anyway, as I applied more on the suggestion from a current professor, as he suggested the research they do there would be a good fit for me (which I realise now was a bad reason to apply, but oh well). Thanks again for the help!

So I'm a student from the UK applying to some US unis for a PhD in physics. About a week or so ago I received an offer from the University of Oklahoma, which offered a $19,200 stipend for being a TA. The offer also stated the department gives a full tuition waiver and a health plan, however it says I will also need to pay about $4,000 in fees still, or at least I think it does. I'll copy and paste the bit about the details they gave me for the tuition, fees and health plan. Financial details for the tuition, fees, and health plan. We provide this information to assist you in comparing offers from different universities. While we have made an effort to be as accurate as possible, the numbers for the 2016-2017 academic year have not yet been announced. We can provide you with the numbers for the current academic year. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education charge tuition on a two tiered system. Oklahoma residents pay only the resident tuition. Non-Oklahoma residents pay the non-resident tuition in addition to the resident tuition. The typical course load is three 3 credit hour courses per semester. All graduate students receive a full tuition waiver from the Graduate College, consisting of non-resident tuition ($549.00/credit hour) and resident tuition ($190.70/credit hour). Until you complete the qualifying exam and our specialist exam, the Department requires you to register for 9 credit hours per semester. After you have completed those requirements, you are only required to register for 5 credit hours per semester. All first year students also enroll in a 1 credit hour Introduction to Research course your first semester—thus your first semester will be 10 credit hours. The value of the waived tuition is $15,058 in your first year. The University assesses fees from all students; the breakdown is $191.50 per semester plus $203.20/credit hour for classes within the College of Arts & Sciences. For your initial 19-credit-hour year, your fees total $4249/yr, but will drop to $2415/yr after you pass your specialist exam. A student health plan (worth $1200/yr) for graduate assistants is available to you at no cost. In summary, the typical first and second year Physics and Astronomy graduate student will receive waivers of tuition and health insurance worth $15,058/yr and pay $4249/yr in out-of-pocket fees. Am I understanding this correctly, that they're basically offering me effectively $15,000 as a stipend? I mean, that seems like a ridiculous offer, and I couldn't understand why anyone would ever take that.

Hey, sorry to hear about the situation you're in, it seems like a sticky one. I agree with what ExpontentialDecay has said in their last 2 points. You never know how the rest of your application will look to the schools you apply, and if you do really well on the GRE, then that will always help your case. However I am concerned for your path to moving to the US. I apologise if you already know what I am about to say, but I would hate for you to go through all the effort of applications and then fall at the last hurdle. What I am talking about is your plan to obtain the F1 visa, and then have that converted to a H1B with a sponsor. When you apply for your F1 visa you will need have an interview at the US Embassy in Turkey. During the interview they will asses your 'intent to return to your home country' once your studies have concluded. This means, that if you do not show adequate proof, through familial connections and things like that, that you intend to return to Turkey after the completion of your studies then they will deny you your visa. I am no authority on this, however, I can see you being from Turkey already making it harder for you to obtain the F1 visa :(. The current situation in the region may well make the burden of proof for intent to return after completion a lot greater. America is very strict about its security and the issuing of visas, and what is going on where you are will not help. I don't wish to dissuade you from applying though! I highly encourage you to fully research all your options for study in the US (or other places, the rest of Europe is also a great place to go study!) and wish you the best! But please keep in mind the stipulations of applying for the F1 visa. Best of luck