How much did this process cost everybody?

[ElectedSilence]

Here's a suggestion: as we make our way into academia as graduate students and, in many cases, professors, let's do our part to help lower the cost of applying. We all know it's ridiculously pricey, and filled with unreasonably high fees for things like score reports and transcripts. ETS is an object of special and deserved scorn. The only way to change things, over time, is to peep up, and make use of institutional forums like graduate student associations and admission committees.

In that spirit, I'm curious to get an anecdotal, general sense of what this has cost people.

I'll go first:

Applied to 13 institutions, totaling $2,020.

Breakdown:

$955 application fees

$695 to ETS for tests and scores

$235 for transcripts

$135 postal and portfolio services

Anyone else care to throw in a rough figure?

[eklavya]

Applied to 13 institutions, totaling $2,020.

Breakdown:

$955 application fees

$695 to ETS for tests and scores

$235 for transcripts

$135 postal and portfolio services

Anyone else care to throw in a rough figure?

$235 for transcripts? how on earth? i paid 14$ to send transcripts to 7 schools! my total cost including the app fees and GRE reporting was slightly under 700$. i took GRE about 2 years ago, so that isn't added in my total expense.

[waddle]

$235 for transcripts? how on earth?

Ditto.

[TheDude]

Tallied yesterday, 1112$ and counting if I have to resend transcripts via priority mail. GRE, Fees, transcripts, postage for 8 schools.

Ya, I definitely didn't save as much as I should have (only 600$) I'll be paying down new credit card charges for the next couple months.

[natsteel]

Application fees: $860

Transcripts: $128

GRE: $347

Mailing and copying: $50

Getting into a top graduate program: priceless.

Couldn't help myself... sorry

Total amount spent came to $1,385 to apply to 11 schools.

[katerific]

$927 total for seven schools

Breakdown:

$252: GRE (160 registration + 92 to be sent to other schools)

$80: Official transcripts (10/transcript, and I needed 8)

$595: Application fees

Yikes.

Edited January 4, 2011 by katerific

[Eigen]

Around $185 to apply to 3 programs.

The GRE, and the cost of sending an extra score report to one school (the first one got lost).

All the transcripts were free... All the apps were online, so no postage costs...

And either there were no application fees, or the fees were waived by the department on acceptance.

Slightly cheaper for my wife, she just had the GRE test fee, so $160.

[ElectedSilence]

My transcripts cost $15.25 apiece. Thanks, UC. I guess that's what happens when governors and legislatures collaborate to strip higher education of public funding. [side note for us Californians: Jerry Brown will sadly be no better].

[waddle]

$1.0 x 10⁶ (yay for significant figures and scientific notation!)

approximate breakdown:

1. $350: application fees for five programs (one was waived, though)
2. $300: GRE General & Subject Test
3. $15: something like six or seven transcripts (maybe it's because my transcripts are terrible quality, but they're only $4, less if you buy in bulk!)
4. $1,000,000: difference in life earnings vs. if I'd gone to med school (assuming a 20-year career at a $70k/year difference, minus the costs of med school ~$300k, and the grad student stipend ~$100k for five years)

edit: @ElectedSilence: I'm from a public system, too, but not the UC.

Edited January 4, 2011 by waddle

[wtncffts]

Alright, let's see - I've been afraid to confront the total costs until now....

1. Application fees: $521 (9 schools but 2 w/ no fee - 1 more school possibly still)

2. GRE reports: $207

3. Transcripts: $110 (thank god my current institution charges nothing for current students)

4. About $10 in various other costs

$848... more than I thought but I guess it could be much worse.

[balderdash]

$1.0 x 10⁶ (yay for significant figures and scientific notation!)

approximate breakdown:

1. $350: application fees for five programs (one was waived, though)
2. $300: GRE General & Subject Test
3. $15: something like six or seven transcripts (maybe it's because my transcripts are terrible quality, but they're only $4, less if you buy in bulk!)
4. $1,000,000: difference in life earnings vs. if I'd gone to med school (assuming a 20-year career at a $70k/year difference, minus the costs of med school ~$300k, and the grad student stipend ~$100k for five years)

edit: @ElectedSilence: I'm from a public system, too, but not the UC.

You forgot to discount the cash flow.

[BlueRose]

I had never tallied it up before. Roughly $1200. Ouch.

For nine schools over two years. Breakdown:

App fees: $745

Transcripts: $110

GRE+reports: $345

[fbh]

$732 for seven programs (3 MA, 4 PhD), about $105 per school

GRE: $160 (birthday present) + $23 for one extra score report (two didn't require scores)

Transcripts: $50 (from two institutions and two that I applied to didn't require official ones)

App fees: $496 (3 @ $225 was my Christmas present, $271 of my own money)

Postal: $3, since two schools required I mail in my app in addition to online

So, I didn't get any real birthday or Christmas presents from the family, but saving $385 was worth it.

[university99]

Application fees for 3 schools:

$60

$70

$140

Transcripts:

$15

GRE & GRE Subject:

$160

$140

So $585. I saved money by having the 3 schools I applied to already on the score reports for the GREs. The subject test being $140 and computerized general GRE being $160 is ridiculous, especially because it's paper and pencil vs. electronic!

[EricaMarie]

How much did it cost me, personally? About $20 in sending writing samples and such priority mail.

How much did it cost my father? A pretty f'ing penny, let me tell you. I'm lucky my dad was willing to pay the application fees (which total somewhere around $800) and GRE score reports (approximately $200), not to mention the $400 it cost him to get UConn to release my transcripts because of a hold on my account.

In terms of paying for transcripts, none of the schools I went to require me to pay for them, thankfully enough.

[lechatgris]

Fortunately, I don't do maths, but 10 different schools and multiple application attempts must come out to an ugly sum. Also, why is it that (for English deptartments, anyway) nearly everyone admits that the GREs are not a reliable indicator of an applicant's potential success, but nearly all still require it? Unfortunately, my degree will never earn me a substantial salary. Good thing my brother is pre-med.

[abolitionista]

A total of $984 for 7 schools...

Application Fees: $635

Transcripts: $161

GRE Scores: $138

Mailing additional items: $50

Now if I'm accepted to at least one school it will all be worth it!

[warpspeed]

Let's See

GRE (2x): $220

GRE Reports: $46

Transcripts/Mailing: ~$100

App Fees: ~$300 for 5 schools.

So just over of $600

[MoJingly]

I'm not sure. I stopped doing math after I took the GRE.

[NadaJ]

I'm not sure. I stopped doing math after I took the GRE.

I love this!

[wendychina]

Oversea applicant for 8 programs: total US$2000+, including test fees, transcripts, application fees, etc...

[TheDude]

This thread has been oddly therapeutic for me!

[tls]

my total is about $1300, the largest amount of money I have spent on any single endeavor (outside of purchasing a car).

this total includes GRE and GRE scores, transcripts, app fees, and travel costs to attend three open houses.

did other people travel to open houses?

[lea23]

This is one area which was positive for me because I am currently active duty so all fees were waived. Now all I need is to get accepted somewhere.

[Faraday]

1. $1,000,000: difference in life earnings vs. if I'd gone to med school (assuming a 20-year career at a $70k/year difference, minus the costs of med school ~$300k, and the grad student stipend ~$100k for five years)

edit: @ElectedSilence: I'm from a public system, too, but not the UC.

But when you win the Nobel Prize, everything will make up for itself.