KimchiRamen

Hey! I found this link in an old post. It's a database that maintains stipend information from many different users. I find it really helpful! Hope you and others who are interested can make use of it too.
https://gradpay.herokuapp.com/results/table/
Except I could have sworn there is another website that I came across with similar information but more robust user input. If someone else knows of another website out there like this, please share! 
Edit: Ah! Found it! Here is the other website!
http://www.phdstipends.com/results
 

News for my fellow applicants waiting it out for Hopkins:
I reached out to their amazing program director to inquire about their hopeful timeline and was informed that they are still working though the final list and will be notifying folks near the end of the month.  So my earlier prediction -- based on years past -- that the first round would go out this Friday (tomorrow) looks to be incorrect. In any case, I hope this is helpful and will take some pressure off of their program admin in case some of you were also thinking of inquiring. 
I've played this waiting game 4 times now: one failed attempt during last year of undergrad, one for an MA that I ended up leaving, another for the MA I recently finished, and now. It never gets any easier.  The anguish is almost too much to bear. With that, I give my utmost condolences to those caught up in the Columbia debacle. That really is inexcusable. Folks in this forum know the desperation of this process and how just one acceptance can be a nothing short of a life boat in a stormy sea. I am so sorry. Whoever was responsible should be held to account. 

Hi, friends. On (why) money matters:

So I spent some time really investigating what exactly the UC Irvine package meant: in tangible, in-pocket terms. I will share with you the results and, along the way, give some useful sources. 

Givens: min. 5 years' tuition, healthcare, guaranteed on-campus housing (not sure if it's subsidized); the first year of out-state fees is covered. Since I am focused on lived experiences on the PhD wage, I will not translate the value of these givens now even though they are necessarily part of any compelling offer.

Since Irvine is no elite school, "stipends" usually come as work like teaching assistantships (req. teaching) or research assistant ships (req. researching), but sometimes also as fellowships (free money). I basically got at least 5 years of 3-quarters of teaching at 20hrs a week. This amounts to, then, $19,280 per year before taxes.

But my letter said I also had to pay $260 per quarter in some kind of fees. That means $780 per year. 

To learn what happens to that sum above after withholding, I found this really nifty state tax calculator (https://smartasset.com/taxes/), which then gave me an approximate picture of my state and federal income tax and social security withholdings based on my salary and location. This amounted to $2,580 per year.
So what does that leave me?
$19,280
-$780
-$2,580
= $15,900 in pocket per year (based on 9 months' wages)

= $1,300 in pocket per month
This "bottom line" is kinda tight for food and accommodation and textbooks and transportation, in my opinion, especially given the 20 hours a week 9 months of the year for five years alongside PhD work. I suppose one could also work in the summers and add a sizable increment to the in-pocket per month sum (say, $400). But that raises the question whether there develops a trade-off between TAing and the quality of one's learning and research.

New poster (long-time lurker) here...
Interested in hearing from the folks waiting it out for Johns Hopkins. I suspect we'll be hearing something by Friday. Please keep me posted if any of you hear before then. Good luck to you all! There are only 6 spots for 2 concentrations -- so we'll need all the luck we can get.  

Both of the programs I have been accepted to is giving me enough money to cover my international flight and domestic flights as well. Or at least they've stated they intend to. So just try to negotiate with them. Good luck!

All my fellow Harvard applicants, I think the chance of us getting into Harvard has gone from slim to almost non-existent. To save myself the anxiety, I am already counting Harvard, along with Indiana, as rejections. Good luck to us all on the remainder of our schools!
 
Base on your signature, I'm assuming you can't apply to all the schools you want to because of financial reasons. I'm really sorry that it turned out that way. I hope everything is ok. And I wish you the best of luck on the schools that you are applying to. 

Hey @goofylemon, for me, I think, the thing that probably makes this a bit unpopular is the reality that most folks with lower GRE scores (especially quant ones) are well aware this is a limitation in their application. So, as lovely as it is for you to point it out, it can really begin to rub people wrong when you make statements like:
"One should note out of fairness, a person with that kind of promise entering a highly-ranked program like UW is, in fact, truly devastating to many better-deserved applicants."
I find that pretty interesting. So, what we're saying here is, I don't think it's fair that someone would get in above me (or others like me) as we have higher GRE scores, which make us more deserving. You also equate GRE scores with promise.  Sure, in many cases they represent ability or 'potential ability.' But let's be honest, if an applicant makes it to a finalist round or acceptance at a school, you can pretty safely assume they have this "promise" you speak of.
Last time I checked, for example, journals didn't require GRE scores for article submissions and publications. Nor do great mentors require them before you begin to work on their projects, which is pretty common if you've come from an undergrad with RA positions, or been in a master's program.
All this to say is that for the most part, this forum has been pretty positive. I think it's fairly mean-spirited, assuming that's not the "troll" acceptance you think it is, to speak as if that person is less worthy of their acceptance than another person because of one portion of their application.
 
 

BROWN ADMITTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I HAVE TO MAKE ALL CAPS.
Contacted by POI and said looking forward to working with me. Funding information has to be waited until it is official.
SO EXCITED!!!
My application ends. Once my offer is official, I will withdraw all other applications!

ACCEPTED AT DAVIS
INTERVIEW AT RUTGERS
ALLTHIS NEWS CAME IN WITHIN 20 MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

i have to say your profile pic is evil. Fortunately im not a big fan of ramen (glad it wasnt kimchi bibimbab)...

Wisconsin emailed me about my personal statement 6 times and they all went into my spam box. The 7th time it went into my normal email and I got it all squared away. I haven't really worried about it since, but I was pretty pissed initially.

That same thing happened to me!!! Except it was for a writing sample. They admitted that their system was backed up though. Still haven't heard from them......
But....is it late in the game?Nervous about not hearing anything other than one rejection. 
P.S. - Your username is priming me to eat ramen for dinner tonight, on top of the dinner I already ate. 

Welcome! Looks like we've applied to a couple of the same schools (Harvard and UMass). Boston is an amazing - albeit expensive city- to live in. Good luck with your admissions, and keep us posted!

Sorry, lurker here too. I just didn`t have anything to contribute. Just waiting around like everyone, I suppose. Also, I live half way across the world so I guess everyone is sleeping when I`m active.

My experience was that schools had a fixed sum that they would reimburse international students, usually in the $500 range, so that clearly wasn't enough for an international flight. However, I was admitted to multiple schools and was able to get those schools to all participate in the expenses, so together I had 4 schools share the costs of my travel between them, which then was basically enough. You could ask the school you've been admitted to if it could cover your expenses, but I think in all likelihood it'll be too much for them. There is harm in asking, though, as long as you are polite about it. 
ETA: Oh! I had this window open for an hour but it took me a while to finally finish the post, and now I see TakeruK has basically said the exact same thing...

Most schools do not fly international students (except for nearby countries like Canada, Mexico, etc.) for visits. My school has a reimbursement limit of $300 for flights. Most schools offer somewhere between $300 and $500 for these trips. The only international students that visit are from these nearby countries, or if they are already in the US (e.g. they are at a US undergrad school), or if they are combining multiple school visits in one trip.
What I would recommend is first ask. They will probably say there is a limit of X dollars. Then, see if they are open to the idea to splitting costs with multiple schools (the schools don't even need to be in the area, as long as they are on the same coast, it would probably save money). Then, see if you can move the visits so that they are all back to back. You might have to pay out of pocket for a few days in between visits but you can make it into a vacation. You might also have to visit on days other than the official visit days. No harm in asking!!

Hey there. I actually asked if there is "wiggle room" in the budget for support above and beyond that which is given for domestic flights. No answer yet. But I think it's s reasonable thing to ask: flights based from Europe (as is my case) are 2.5/3x longer & more expensive than cross-country domestic flights. Not exactly apples to apples  
Alas! Skype is infinitely cheaper and friendlier to our dear planet.

Got that official email from Ohio State! Feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!
Hopefully this is the start of a week full of good news all around!

Hi, Katastrophe! Ive been lurking around here since yesterday. Yeah, I was the first to post that I got into OSU and was waiting for someone else to post to get some reassurance that it's not a error. So I'm glad you came along! And thanks! I was one of the ones who got into Irvine as well. Congratulations to you too!

Hi, Katastrophe! Ive been lurking around here since yesterday. Yeah, I was the first to post that I got into OSU and was waiting for someone else to post to get some reassurance that it's not a error. So I'm glad you came along! And thanks! I was one of the ones who got into Irvine as well. Congratulations to you too!