How much (total) did you pay for applications?

[jeanxxlqz]

Not my application season yet, but I'm wondering how much I should be putting aside specifically for apps in the meantime. So, I'm wondering how much you all paid in total, how many programs you applied to, what sort of unexpected fees you ran into, etc. Any and all info is appreciated.

Obviously saving up as much as possible is ideal, so I'm looking less for advice about how much I myself should put aside as I am looking for others' experiences and maybe what to expect. 

Thanks in advance!

[soproperlybasic]

I paid roughly $2k total to apply to 16 schools+take the GRE twice+have my scores sent out to the places that needed them (which was almost everywhere) The unexpected cost for me was really the GRE. I didn't really study much either time I took it and I wish I had, but there was just no time, and I figured if I had to choose between that and improving my writing sample, I'd pick working on the sample. Hopefully, you will only have to take it once in the best case scenario.

Edited February 10, 2018 by soproperlybasic

[bridgephil]

I applied to 13 schools. Application fees ranged from $50 to $120, on average it was like $75 per school. It cost me $10 per school to send electronic transcripts, and one school I had to send in paper transcripts, which was $30. And it was $27 per school to send them your GRE scores. So on average, it was like $110, $115 maybe per school. It came out to like $1500 in total.

If you count how much it cost to take the GRE ($160 I think?) and the test prep book ($30), we're talking closer to $1700 in total. Would probably be more than that if you took a GRE prep course or something fancy like that.

Edited February 10, 2018 by bridgephil

[Derrida]

Something like $1600-$1800 on 11 schools. 

[Neither Here Nor There]

I spent around $130 per school with the transcripts and GRE score. I applied to 13. 

[coffeepls]

Probably around $1800-2k. 11 applications, had to send GRE scores to most of them since I chose other ones when I was taking the test (lol), GREx2 + some test prep books and whatnot. Luckily my school doesn't charge for transcripts if it's for an application, so I saved some there.

[genderphage]

way way too much bleh

 

$200 for GRE (just used free prep material and luckily was fine on the first go), $169 on sending 7 score reports out, fee for each of the 10 I applied to, averaging $80 each? So in total about $1200

 

I'd budgeted an upper limit of £1000 to pay for it and it took me a while to get a job but luckily my rent's very cheap and my family gave me some money to pay for the last few places for xmas

[duckshooter]

About 1300 USD, 8 schools (CS PhD) + GRE + TOEFL.

[iwearflowers]

I'm going through an insomnia cycle, so I went back and totaled up my costs so far. I applied to six schools - a mix of public health and sociology programs:

GRE prep materials: ~$100 (In retrospect, I went overboard on this.)

GRE test and score reports: $367 (I could have saved so much money by looking up the school/department codes before the test, but I was too stressed out.)

Application fees: $490

My transcript costs were <$10, but I know this can be very expensive depending on your school.

I'm still spending money on campus visits. Even the ones that are reimbursed aren't always fully paid for. One school in my time zone is only reimbursing $100 of my expenses to come interview, which is a little less than half the cost. Another school will only pay up to $300 of my travel, which is going to be $350-$400. Plus, most of these visits require me to pay the costs up front and be reimbursed. And you always end up with weird little extras. The school doesn't provide meals on your travel days, which you often end up eating at the airport or in restaurants. You forget something and have to run to CVS to replace it. Don't even get me started on how much I'm spending on dog sitting.

I'd put aside at least $2000 for application and travel expenses. If you're a student,you might also think about your interview/business casual wardrobe so you can shop sales between now and then.

[Philodoxia]

In total, I paid less than three hundred USD to apply to twelve schools. Nine of these schools waived my application fee. I was reimbursed for my GRE expenses by a third party, public interest group.

[SophiaIsBae]

I paid around $400 to apply to fourteen PhD programs, as I was able to get fee waivers for all but one program. 

So, you don't need to put aside a lot of money to apply to a decent number of schools; what you do need, in a timely manner, is the requisite documents  (e.g., an official letter from your home institution testifying that application fees would be a financial burden) to satisfy being a recipient of a school's fee waiver. Once those documents are attained,  applying to grad schools needn't be financially burdensome.

I can give more specific advice if you PM me. 

[Philodoxia]

40 minutes ago, SophiaIsBae said:

I paid around $400 to apply to fourteen PhD programs, as I was able to get fee waivers for all but one program. 

So, you don't need to put aside a lot of money to apply to a decent number of schools; what you do need, in a timely manner, is the requisite documents  (e.g., an official letter from your home institution testifying that application fees would be a financial burden) to satisfy being a recipient of a school's fee waiver. Once those documents are attained,  applying to grad schools needn't be financially burdensome.

I can give more specific advice if you PM me. 

Frankly, let's be more specific. If you're reading this, and you think you will be applying for graduate schools next cycle, I highly recommend you do these things:

1. . You want a federal tax return or status form that shows you didn't make a lot of money this year. You send these to schools and, in the hopes that the admissions officers won't stow away your information to ruin your financial identity in the future, you'll receive a fee waiver almost immediately.

2. Apply for an LSAT fee waiver. These are much easier than GRE fee waivers to acquire. Obtain this with your tax return, and use it as further evidence that you qualify for waivers from other reputable academic institutions. Some schools don't accept tax returns. Strangely, however, they provided fee waivers when I showed them this.

3. Earlier in life, I remember that my mother often mentioned or showed that she received food stamp benefits in order to prove that she was low income. For some schools that won't accept tax returns or fee waivers, but need other (government) documented proof, this often suffices.

4.  https://www.btaa.org/resources-for/students/freeapp/introduction

This one gets you fee waivers for a lot of programs. There's no verification process. And if you're worried you don't qualify, just lie. If this seems unpalatable, then just imagine being a professor and having to tell two bright students, one who got an A-, and another an A, that there's really a strong, robust reason for the minor difference in their scores that may impact their future. And then realize that we often lie.

Good luck all!

Edited February 12, 2018 by Philodoxia

[SophiaIsBae]

39 minutes ago, Philodoxia said:

Frankly, let's be more specific. If you're reading this, and you think you will be applying for graduate schools next cycle, I highly recommend you do these things:

1. . You want a federal tax return or status form that shows you didn't make a lot of money this year. You send these to schools and, in the hopes that the admissions officers won't stow away your information to ruin your financial identity in the future, you'll receive a fee waiver almost immediately.

2. Apply for an LSAT fee waiver. These are much easier than GRE fee waivers to acquire. Obtain this with your tax return, and use it as further evidence that you qualify for waivers from other reputable academic institutions. Some schools don't accept tax returns. Strangely, however, they provided fee waivers when I showed them this.

3. Earlier in life, I remember that my mother often mentioned or showed that she received food stamp benefits in order to prove that she was low income. For some schools that won't accept tax returns or fee waivers, but need other (government) documented proof, this often suffices.

4.  https://www.btaa.org/resources-for/students/freeapp/introduction

This one gets you fee waivers for a lot of programs. There's no verification process. And if you're worried you don't qualify, just lie. If this seems unpalatable, then just imagine being a professor and having to tell two bright students, one who got an A-, and another an A, that there's really a strong, robust reason for the minor difference in their scores that may impact their future. And then realize that we often lie.

Good luck all!

Yes, do all these things. 

One more thing to add, though: if a school doesn't accept your tax returns (e.g., USC), they may accept a letter from your financial aid office testifying to the financial stress of application fees. And at my home institution at least, to get this letter you merely have to fill out a FAFSA form and have yearly earnings under a certain threshold. 

[maxhgns]

~150 for 5. They were all in the UK and Canada, so there was no GRE and only a few application fees.

If I were redoing things, however, then I'd also apply to a handful in the US.