How much money did you spend on your graduate school applications?

[DBear]

42 minutes ago, stereopticons said:

I think I'm at about $1200 now. I try not to think about it too hard. This is my fifth (!) round of applications and I've spent about that much each time.

I hope it'll be your last! Best of luck!

[stereopticons]

24 minutes ago, DBear said:

I hope it'll be your last! Best of luck!

Thanks! I really hope so, too! Best of luck to you as well!

[songofgallifrey]

I spent nearly $800 to apply to 5 schools. Application fees comprised most of that ($485), since I'm not eligible for any waivers. The rest was GRE study books ($50), the GRE itself ($205), and sending scores to additional schools ($54).

The hours I spent working on my application materials and stressing about my chances: priceless.

Edited December 14, 2016 by songofgallifrey

[DBear]

On 2016. 12. 15. at 3:02 AM, songofgallifrey said:

The hours I spent working on my application materials and stressing about my chances: priceless.

So, so true.. 

I spent a slight bit more than my original estimate because one school's application fee was higher in the actual online application than it had indicated on the admissions info page.

[EvelynD]

I spend: 40$ for the GRE book, 90$ for the Magoosh practice videos, 205$+90$ for the GRE itself and sending aditional scores, 245$ for the TOEFL, about 100$ in travel costs, and about 400$ to apply. In total it comes to around 1200$, a bit over the 1000$ budget I set for myself.

1200$, imagine how many shoes I could have bought....

 

[adorablepancreas]

I haven't finished applying yet but when I do, I'll have spent $1100-1200 just on applications (I'm insane and applying to 17 schools...) Plust $205 for the GRE (which only ONE school I'm applying to requires, and they only care about the analytical writing section.)

So total, that's $1305-1405 (I'm waiting to see if I'm eligible for a fee waiver for one of my apps.)

[fadedfigures]

My first time in grad school:

• 11 schools, all with fee waivers = $0
• GREs taken twice, once with a fee waiver = ~$300
• Score sending to 11 schools, minus 4 free sends = 7 x $25 = $225
• Transcript requests were free in my undergrad. 
• Final cost = ~$525

This application season:

• 4 schools with no fee waivers = ~$300
• I did not take the GREs this time around, as my scores were still valid.
• Score sending to 4 schools = $100
• Transcript requests from my old grad school = 4 x $20 = $80
• Final cost = ~$480

So around the same cost each time. Those fee waivers really make such a wonderful difference. 

[istanbulnotconstantinople]

No fee waivers for me unfortunately and a few extra charges as an international student too. In total I spent around 1200 dollars to apply to 6 PhD programmes (I took the GRE twice though). 

I think the thing that got me the most was UPenn who stipulated that I had to get my UK degree grades converted and the whole process of paying my universities to post transcripts plus the service was more than 200dollars extra. Other schools just charged me an extra 30 dollars to do this themselves and now that I have sent the application I doubt I will even be accepted to UPenn and that I will have spent a lot of money on them for nothing. I am not sure why they don't have the same system as other schools.

[Kaede]

I applied to 7 programs, and got fee waivers for all but two of them. I took the GRE a month and a half before the apps were due, and sent the GRE to 2 schools out of pocket.

$105*2 + $205 + $27*2 = $469

Though now I am spending quite a bit on interview outfits.

[ImHis]

Close to $4500. I applied to 6 schools, had my degrees assessed by a credential evaluating agency, traveling and flight fees to 3 of the schools to interview and visit, GRE scores, application fees, clearing house application centre, transcripts, mailing.

[Kilos]

This is my first grad school application season (nontraditional student graduating with a B.A. in May) and all-told I think I've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 to apply to six schools. I'm factoring in:

• My one GRE attempt ($205)
• A few GRE fees required to send scores ($81) 
• Six application fees (~$400 - fees ranging from $40 to $100 - no waivers)
• Postage for a manuscript ($8.20)
• A few odd transcript mailing fees ($15-20)

It's not a cheap process, but I feel that it was a good investment. I see some people applying to 15-20 schools, so you can take my ~$400 figure and multiply it by three to get a high end figure. Also, applicants who need GRE subject tests or who take multiple swings at the GRE general exam add significantly to this total. The time spent was the real cost, in my opinion, but I enjoyed most of it.

[avflinsch]

57 minutes ago, Kilos said:

This is my first grad school application season (nontraditional student graduating with a B.A. in May) and all-told I think I've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 to apply to six schools. I'm factoring in:

Another non traditional student here, but very different experience -

Masters program starting in fall 2014 -
GRE Book ~$40 (gave it to my daughter when I was done, so it did double duty)
GRE exam ~$200
Transcript fees $0 (same school as my undergrad)
I only applied to one school and sent the exam scores when I took the test
Application fee was $65

Finishing my masters now, and applying for a PhD for Fall 2017 -  
App fee - $70 (same school so they already had the scores, and transcript info)

So my total is $375 - which is at the low end of the range, the bulk of which was the GRE fees.

My daughter, on the other hand applied to multiple schools for her masters - total was about $1200 between GRE, application fees, sending scores and transcripts. She is also looking at around $1500 for her PhD (Fall 2018), so her total (or rather my additional expenses) is in the $2000 - $2700 range, depending on if she applies to some of the same schools again.

 

[SystemsBioYu]

International school, apply for 15 schools. $1500-2000.

[guest56436]

More than I want to quantify specifically. 

[pebs]

Three schools, GRE plus GRE prep, app fees, actual freaking *fax* costs to order transcripts since some schools insist that faxing a signed form is the only electronic option that satisfies FERPA (it isn't), and access to a couple of essential POI pubs that I couldn't get through school...about $700 altogether.

Edited January 11, 2017 by wet gremlin

[Kate_Boggs]

Too much, the bulk of it with Kaplan for GRE Prep ($1500 and worth every penny in my opinion). Applied to 5 schools and between GRE Scores, Transcripts from the 4 undergrad universities (thanks to studying abroad) and application fees the average school cost was ~$200. I don't want to do the final math but hopefully all worth it  

[sturdyelm]

I'm just now realizing how much money I spent.... I probably could have asked for application waivers (no schools had them outright), but it was a long process already and didn't want to deal with it. 

GRE Costs, incl Prep & additional score reports ( $390) and  6 Apps ranging from $55-90 ($375) = ~$765 total

Thankfully no costs for transcripts or anything like that (okay maybe a few stamps) as my undergrad sends for "free" ( I like to think that is was part of our tuition). 

Edited January 12, 2017 by sturdyelm

[THS]

On 1/11/2017 at 0:34 PM, Kate_Boggs said:

Too much, the bulk of it with Kaplan for GRE Prep ($1500 and worth every penny in my opinion). Applied to 5 schools and between GRE Scores, Transcripts from the 4 undergrad universities (thanks to studying abroad) and application fees the average school cost was ~$200. I don't want to do the final math but hopefully all worth it  

 

I agree it works out to around 200 per school.  Some a little more and some a little less after you send GRE, transcripts, and pay the fees.  

 

 

As for what I spent.....WAY TOO MUCH....

[magicsana]

I spent around $700. To the people spending over $1000, where are yall getting the money from ? I guess it's more expensive for me, since I'm paying in Canadian $, and the exchange rate just sucks!

Edited February 4, 2017 by magicsana

[stereopticons]

1 hour ago, magicsana said:

I spent around $700. To the people spending over $1000, where are yall getting the money from ? I guess it's more expensive for me, since I'm paying in Canadian $, and the exchange rate just sucks!

Credit cards, spreading out expenses as much as I can, cutting back on non-essential expenses. This round is easier because this time I have a full time job, but it's still hard. 

[french_historynerd]

Around $660.00 for 8 schools. This included  GRE Test, GRE sending fees, Application Fees, and Transcripts. Worth it thought! 3 admits so far, 1 rejection!

[OhSoSolipsistic]

GRE registration: $205

Magoosh prep: $99 (I guess this was a sale? it's normally $149)

Transcipts: $5

Application Fees for two schools: $145

Total: $454

 

[BlueNahlchee]

Let's just say I bid my farewell to a large portion of my hard-earned savings after I completed all my applications...  

I think I would have saved SO MUCH money if all those schools I applied to didn't request hard-copies of official transcripts from the respective schools (and most of them required transcripts from EVERY school attended, including those I didn't receive a degree, so I had to send transcripts from community colleges where I took coursework, etc - so annoying...). 

Edited February 14, 2017 by BlueNahlchee

[SocCog]

GRE Prep: $129 (2 book sets)

GRE: $205

Application fees: $1010 (Got one school waived...and then another charged me twice!)

GRE Scores: $297

Transcripts: FREEEE (So glad my undergrad sends them out for free. One school DID try to charge me $65 to upload my transcript! But I typed it all by hand, including things from high school it insisted upon, which made it free.)

Total: $1641

 

[Le Chat]

I wasn't the best at managing my money for this round. But by my estimate:

GRE prep: $79

GRE: $200

Send GRE scores: $200 ish

Applications: $750 

Background checks: $80

Transcripts: $50

It rounds out to about an even $1300. Fortunately I spent little on travel. It does bite a little that I got rejected to all doctoral programs, but that's to be expected.