2020 Applicants

[meghan_sparkle]

I've finally made a big pro/con spreadsheet and one of the first categories is figuring out what my annual stipend is after taxes and university fees. However, trying to figure out federal and state taxes on any of these fellowships (which so far are all in different states) is proving near impossible, even when places like Yale have extensive GSAS tax information webpages, because I am stupid. I haven't taken a math course—haven't taken anything but English literature courses, actually—since the age of 17. In the UK my wages are automatically taxed and I don't really have to do anything, and I just have to fill out an IRS form for my US taxes saying that I live in the UK with income already taxed there and make way under the threshold of taxable income.

Is there an easier way of going about this? Like a two or three-step addition and subtraction-type deal...? Like really breaking it down, Taxes-For-Dummies style. Just for my Excel spreadsheet. 

[aussiekoala]

18 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:

I've finally made a big pro/con spreadsheet and one of the first categories is figuring out what my annual stipend is after taxes and university fees. However, trying to figure out federal and state taxes on any of these fellowships (which so far are all in different states) is proving near impossible, even when places like Yale have extensive GSAS tax information webpages, because I am stupid. I haven't taken a math course—haven't taken anything but English literature courses, actually—since the age of 17. In the UK my wages are automatically taxed and I don't really have to do anything, and I just have to fill out an IRS form for my US taxes saying that I live in the UK with income already taxed there and make way under the threshold of taxable income.

Is there an easier way of going about this? Like a two or three-step addition and subtraction-type deal...? Like really breaking it down, Taxes-For-Dummies style. Just for my Excel spreadsheet. 

Yes, I second this please. As an international student, I have no clue how to figure out taxes in the States.Actually since I'm still a student, I still haven't had to deal with taxes to begin with so if anyone knows how to deals with this or has dealt with it could you possibly please give us some basic pointers? Or maybe a helpful youtube video or something. I'll take anything, really...

[punctilious]

31 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:

I've finally made a big pro/con spreadsheet and one of the first categories is figuring out what my annual stipend is after taxes and university fees. However, trying to figure out federal and state taxes on any of these fellowships (which so far are all in different states) is proving near impossible, even when places like Yale have extensive GSAS tax information webpages, because I am stupid. I haven't taken a math course—haven't taken anything but English literature courses, actually—since the age of 17. In the UK my wages are automatically taxed and I don't really have to do anything, and I just have to fill out an IRS form for my US taxes saying that I live in the UK with income already taxed there and make way under the threshold of taxable income.

Is there an easier way of going about this? Like a two or three-step addition and subtraction-type deal...? Like really breaking it down, Taxes-For-Dummies style. Just for my Excel spreadsheet. 

This income tax calculator should make things easier for you. Personal Finance for PhDs also has a lot of great resources on this subject. Remember folks, your schools will most likely not take taxes out of your stipends, but you will owe income tax on them! You will want to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS. I recommend also setting up a savings account just for taxes, and putting funds away each stipend to pay your quarterly estimated taxes.

[CanadianEnglish]

12 hours ago, grace2137 said:

Who all are we expecting to hear from this next week? I know Johns Hopkins notified in early feb last year so they should be any time, princeton, nyu, UVA, possibly cuny... 

Brandeis started contacting last week and will *hopefully* contact the rest of us this week. CU Boulder was early last year, but usually they send out news in late February so they might come in this week. UNC Chapel Hill has sent out news around this week in the past as well. 

At this point, I'm not holding out for news this week - I keep getting disappointed that I don't hear back from anyone by the end of the week so I'm going to play it safe and say that this will be another 7 days of radio silence. Hooray for anguish!

[jm6394]

12 hours ago, grace2137 said:

Who all are we expecting to hear from this next week? I know Johns Hopkins notified in early feb last year so they should be any time, princeton, nyu, UVA, possibly cuny... 

I am really hoping to hear from CUNY and Michigan, and wondering if radio silence from UMD is a rejection because they notified earlier last year 

[alittlebitofthat]

UC Irvine should also be this week, I guess.

[WallaceShawn]

1 hour ago, punctilious said:

This income tax calculator should make things easier for you. Personal Finance for PhDs also has a lot of great resources on this subject. Remember folks, your schools will most likely not take taxes out of your stipends, but you will owe income tax on them! You will want to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS. I recommend also setting up a savings account just for taxes, and putting funds away each stipend to pay your quarterly estimated taxes.

This is sometimes even more complicated. Anything you're getting paid for as labor, being a GA, TA, PA, etc. will almost certainly be taxed. It's just down in the university as a regular job. Anything you receive as a fellowship may or may not be, but probably won't, so you'll have to pay estimated taxes.

[foreigncorrespondent]

2 hours ago, Indecisive Poet said:

someone just posted a Cambridge interview on the results page

Hello, that's me! I'll share how the interview goes on this forum, if that helps? And yeah, you are right, interviews are very spaced out so you should also be hearing soon enough!!

[foreigncorrespondent]

13 hours ago, grace2137 said:

Who all are we expecting to hear from this next week? I know Johns Hopkins notified in early feb last year so they should be any time, princeton, nyu, UVA, possibly cuny... 

I think Cornell is also due this week...

[caffeinated applicant]

3 minutes ago, WallaceShawn said:

This is sometimes even more complicated. Anything you're getting paid for as labor, being a GA, TA, PA, etc. will almost certainly be taxed. It's just down in the university as a regular job. Anything you receive as a fellowship may or may not be, but probably won't, so you'll have to pay estimated taxes.

That fellowships are taxable came as a surprise to me, but I'm recalling now a large dust-up about graduate student taxes in the debate on the 2018 tax reform bill. Is this only a recent change from that tax reform measure? Perhaps grad students who entered prior to 2017 may be able to comment...? 

(This, for me, goes in the bucket with discussions about health insurance premiums labelled "difficult to keep the discussion off American politics," but I'm doing my very best...) 

[meghan_sparkle]

Just now, caffeinated applicant said:

That fellowships are taxable came as a surprise to me, but I'm recalling now a large dust-up about graduate student taxes in the debate on the 2018 tax reform bill. Is this only a recent change from that tax reform measure? Perhaps grad students who entered prior to 2017 may be able to comment...? 

(This, for me, goes in the bucket with discussions about health insurance premiums labelled "difficult to keep the discussion off American politics," but I'm doing my very best...) 

It seems contrary to what I've read on gradcafe, stipends are taxed as income, even if they're not teaching fellowships ... looking at the chart here: https://gsas.yale.edu/resources-students/finances-fellowships/tax-information

After federal, FICA and state taxes, that brings Chicago's fellowship from $31k down to $25,145 take home, and Yale's from $32.7k gross to $27,097 take-home, estimated according to the calculator ... which, given cost of living in both Chicago and New Haven, is ... definitely an important consideration!

[punctilious]

2 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:

That fellowships are taxable came as a surprise to me, but I'm recalling now a large dust-up about graduate student taxes in the debate on the 2018 tax reform bill. Is this only a recent change from that tax reform measure? Perhaps grad students who entered prior to 2017 may be able to comment...? 

(This, for me, goes in the bucket with discussions about health insurance premiums labelled "difficult to keep the discussion off American politics," but I'm doing my very best...) 

So that was a whole debacle around proposed changes that would not only tax graduate students on their stipends/fellowships, but also on tuition remission. The proposal would have meant that your income wouldn't just be the $35,000 stipend you're getting from Harvard, but also the $47,000 in Harvard tuition. These together would be considered your income, so you'd be taxed on the $82,000 rather than the $35,000. Thank goodness that didn't get through because it's absolutely insane/ridiculous.

[punctilious]

2 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:

It seems contrary to what I've read on gradcafe, stipends are taxed as income, even if they're not teaching fellowships ... looking at the chart here: https://gsas.yale.edu/resources-students/finances-fellowships/tax-information

After federal, FICA and state taxes, that brings Chicago's fellowship from $31k down to $25,145 take home, and Yale's from $32.7k gross to $27,097 take-home, estimated according to the calculator ... which, given cost of living in both Chicago and New Haven, is ... definitely an important consideration!

Yes, everyone should hear this loud and clear: your stipends are taxable income (not just teaching fellowships!). You have to report them as such and pay taxes on them, which is why it's a really good idea to pay quarterly estimated taxes so you don't die when you see what you owe in taxes at the end of the year.

Cost of living as absolutely an important consideration. Many top universities are in super expensive cities (especially the Bay Area, followed by New York and Boston, those are probably the worst cost of living in the US) so make sure to factor that in when making your decisions. I believe @Warelin's spreadsheet has a cost of living column.

[caffeinated applicant]

1 minute ago, punctilious said:

So that was a whole debacle around proposed changes that would not only tax graduate students on their stipends/fellowships, but also on tuition remission. The proposal would have meant that your income wouldn't just be the $35,000 stipend you're getting from Harvard, but also the $47,000 in Harvard tuition. These together would be considered your income, so you'd be taxed on the $82,000 rather than the $35,000. Thank goodness that didn't get through because it's absolutely insane/ridiculous.

1 minute ago, punctilious said:

Yes, everyone should hear this loud and clear: your stipends are taxable income (not just teaching fellowships!). You have to report them as such and pay taxes on them, which is why it's a really good idea to pay quarterly estimated taxes so you don't die when you see what you owe in taxes at the end of the year.

Thanks very much for clarifying--I remembered expressly calling my senators about not taxing tuition remission, but couldn't recall whether at the time stipends were also not taxable (this seemed less important at the time, considering it's both less money and it's money that you're actually being paid, as opposed to the tuition remission you never see!).

Ugh, this is all such a nightmare--it's already so little money, and then it's carved up even more. I honestly don't mind paying my taxes at all right now when I'm working a regular full-time office job--I'm glad to pay for my neighbors' kids to go to school and my neighbors who are less fortunate than me to have health insurance! I like driving on well-paved roads and going to the public library!--but when I'm receiving what's expressly a "living stipend" because calculated hourly it would be below the minimum wage? I think I'm gonna be a bit salty! 

[punctilious]

26 minutes ago, WallaceShawn said:

This is sometimes even more complicated. Anything you're getting paid for as labor, being a GA, TA, PA, etc. will almost certainly be taxed. It's just down in the university as a regular job. Anything you receive as a fellowship may or may not be, but probably won't, so you'll have to pay estimated taxes.

Correct, teaching fellowships and such will make you an employee of the institution, so you will presumably have taxes taken out, but for stipends (where you aren't working, often the first year or two of your program), they will more than likely not take any taxes and may not even provide you any sort of tax document. The stipends without "employment" are what I am referring to, as people often think they don't need to pay taxes on those, but they do!

Edited February 10, 2020 by punctilious

[merry night wanderer]

I'd add UC Santa Barbara based on last year.

There is also one lone waitlist for USC's creative writing/lit PhD program in the results that is absolutely maddening. I honestly consider that my longest shot (Creative Writing odds are always brutal!) but I want to know what's going on-

Edited February 10, 2020 by merry night wanderer

[punctilious]

4 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:

Ugh, this is all such a nightmare--it's already so little money, and then it's carved up even more. I honestly don't mind paying my taxes at all right now when I'm working a regular full-time office job--I'm glad to pay for my neighbors' kids to go to school and my neighbors who are less fortunate than me to have health insurance! I like driving on well-paved roads and going to the public library!--but when I'm receiving what's expressly a "living stipend" because calculated hourly it would be below the minimum wage? I think I'm gonna be a bit salty! 

I completely agree with you. Which is why it's also essential that everyone here goes out to vote in this primary to support students and our unions.

[meghan_sparkle]

2 minutes ago, punctilious said:

I completely agree with you. Which is why it's also essential that everyone here goes out to vote in this primary to support students and our unions.

Hear, hear!!!!!

[caffeinated applicant]

1 minute ago, punctilious said:

I completely agree with you. Which is why it's also essential that everyone here goes out to vote in this primary to support students and our unions.

I've run out of reactions for the day but that's a big thumbs up from me ?

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

38 minutes ago, foreigncorrespondent said:

Hello, that's me! I'll share how the interview goes on this forum, if that helps? And yeah, you are right, interviews are very spaced out so you should also be hearing soon enough!!

I also applied for Cambridge's Criticism and Culture MPhil. I didn't think they typically interviewed for that program, though - now I'm extra nervous! Honestly I don't have very high hopes for Cambridge - I applied all the way back in October (long story) when I wasn't yet very well prepared for all the ins and outs of graduate applications, so it's definitely the weakest application I submitted.

Would definitely love to hear whatever you care to share about your interview when it's done!

Edited February 10, 2020 by The Hoosier Oxonian

[meghan_sparkle]

Just now, The Hoosier Oxonian said:

I also applied for Cambridge's Criticism and Culture MPhil. I didn't think they typically interviewed for that program, though - now I'm extra nervous! Honestly I don't have very high hopes for Cambridge - I applied all the way back in October (long story) when I wasn't yet very well prepared for all the ins and outs of graduate applications, so it's definitely the weakest application I submitted.

PhD is very different from MPhil/MSt when it comes to the Oxbridge applications process—I know many people that did the Criticism and Culture MPhil and none of them had an interview for it, so don't worry about it. Interviews when candidates are being considered for DPhil funding is a slightly different story, since unlike the US, funding is much harder to come by in the UK especially for humanities degrees and much more competitive. 

[The Hoosier Oxonian]

1 minute ago, meghan_sparkle said:

PhD is very different from MPhil/MSt when it comes to the Oxbridge applications process—I know many people that did the Criticism and Culture MPhil and none of them had an interview for it, so don't worry about it. Interviews when candidates are being considered for DPhil funding is a slightly different story, since unlike the US, funding is much harder to come by in the UK especially for humanities degrees and much more competitive. 

Thanks for the info! Didn't even notice the result on the board was for a PhD - that makes a lot more sense. Honestly, funding headaches are the primary reason I will probably turn down an Oxbridge MPhil/MSt offer if I get one (much as I loved Oxford during the year I spent there as an undergrad) in favor of one of my PhD offers.

[caffeinated applicant]

In other news, I finally caved and emailed UMD's grad coordinator to ask about a timeline. I'd already emailed with her about teaching in the fall, since I didn't see the teaching load posted obviously on the website (fwiw, grad students teach a 1:1 in years 2-5), so it seemed a little less awkward than emailing someone completely new. 

I'm pretty sure if I haven't heard anything by now it means I'm out, since the results page indicates waitlist folks were given the dates for the March open house, and they found out last week on the same day as the one acceptance on the board (which is a rhetoric concentration), and everyone here in the forum who's on the waitlist was interviewed. But if I happen to be given a timeline for when they'll be emailing all pending candidates, I'll be sure to post!

Edited February 10, 2020 by caffeinated applicant
typo

[jm6394]

4 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:

In other news, I finally caved and emailed UMD's grad coordinator to ask about a timeline. I'd already emailed with her about teaching in the fall, since I didn't see the teaching load posted obviously on the website (fwiw, grad students teach a 1:1 in years 2-5), so it seemed a little less awkward than emailing someone completely new. 

I'm pretty sure if I haven't heard anything by now it means I'm out, since the results page indicates waitlist folks were given the dates for the March open house, and they found out last week on the same day as the one acceptance on the board (which is a rhetoric concentration), and everyone here in the forum who's on the waitlist was interviewed. But if I happen to be given a timeline for when they'll be emailing all pending candidates, I'll be sure to post!

Thanks! I have no idea how to even go about emailing to ask schools for info like this. I’m grateful others do but I had no clue we could try to do that!

[caffeinated applicant]

1 minute ago, jm6394 said:

Thanks! I have no idea how to even go about emailing to ask schools for info like this. I’m grateful others do but I had no clue we could try to do that!

Emailing for program information or for timeline? I feel bad emailing about timeline, since it seems like it's a bother (if everyone emailed the poor grad coordinator, she'd be completely overwhelmed with emails!), but I couldn't help myself. I have no idea if it actually comes across as rude to department coordinators or not.

For program information, they're happy to help. I emailed the graduate coordinators at about half of my programs with specific questions about application process (questions like "Do I put my study abroad transcript as a separate school or fold it in with my BA transcript?" and "Is there a cap on the number of students that graduate students instruct in a semester?"). I chose to contact the coordinators and not the DGS because the coordinator's whole job is administrative, and they may well know the rules and regulations for those things better than the DGS, as the DGS is a professor and the position rotates. Also, frankly, the department coordinator isn't going to be on the committee, so if I sound like an idiot to them, it seems lower-stakes!