Tonights Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Oh, crap. I picked the highest option, but I didn't even remember to mentally factor in the money I spent on a roadtrip to visit six of my potential schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jduds Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I really wish that the government would give some sort of tax credit for graduate admissions fees. After spending over $500 on applying to schools, I'm faced with the prospect that I may owe the government money. Not too happy about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astaroth Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've personally spent OVER NINE THOUSAND Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limeinthecoconut Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've personally spent OVER NINE THOUSAND Yup, we need a new scale for this poll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvyHope Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've personally spent OVER NINE THOUSAND What the hell?!?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astaroth Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtpyeLxVkI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfrost Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I've personally spent OVER NINE THOUSAND lol I've spent some amount in the 700s, I think. Ridiculous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miratrix Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 For organizing applications, I made one excel spreadsheet to help me decide between schools (categories: location, suitability for main interests A,B, and C, funding, and competitiveness...color coded, it was fun!), and one to keep track of each element of the application and when I'd sent it. I kept track of overall costs as part of the same program I use to keep track of all my spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ec86 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I've personally spent OVER NINE THOUSAND Was that what the scouter said? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tritonetelephone Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Ok, that exclamation mark symbol on the topics list is bugging me. What is that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydney Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Ok, that exclamation mark symbol on the topics list is bugging me. What is that?? hahah i came in here to try to figure this out as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadhelyn Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 hahah i came in here to try to figure this out as well I think it was stickied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeternalis Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Depleted my entire savings, but will have been worth it for even one fully funded acceptance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tritonetelephone Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think it was stickied What does "stickied" mean? :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadhelyn Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Means that it's stuck to the top of the forums topics listing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornell07 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I don't want to think about it. I was rejected across the board last year, so doing it twice is double the pain. Thank god my undergraduate institution does not charge for transcripts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coho Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 on the other hand, if you're lucky, it is possible to recoup this $$ (after a fashion) when schools pay your way to visit them. It still really sucked to be shelling out 1000+ when one's living at the poverty line. (and yes, I was another who forgot about GRE expenses, which would've pushed my poll vote into the next bracket). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgk Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Means that it's stuck to the top of the forums topics listing. Yeah. I stickied it, I was curious to see, if, with a bigger sample size, $1k+ was still the most popular choice! I'll unsticky it at some point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I was originally interested in applying to business school. I took a GMAT prep course, visited a few schools (across the country), took the GMAT, then decided I wanted to do urban planning instead. I bought a GRE prep book, visited a school for UP (across the country), took the GRE, sent out 9 sets of transcripts from 3 different schools, GRE scores to 9 schools, overnighted an extra copy of my personal statement from LA to Boston. Add all that up and it's probably over $3k. Then of course all the destruction it caused in my personal life :wink: Academia is a bitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycholinguist Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Wow. It actually all came to less than I expected, even including the Barron's book, the cost of the GRE, the GRE score-reports (including one copy that went to a program I didn't even end up applying to), two last-minute cross-border parcels, and all of the admission-fees. Oh, wait. I had to take the bus to the nearest actual city and stay overnight there at a hotel before taking the GRE, because even though I live in a university-town, there's no test-centre here. (Go figure.) That probably puts the figure higher than I thought. Darn. Now I don't want to think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattinboston Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 There's good news, you can write off these expenses on your Federal Taxes! Search for the IRS Form 8917 (Tuition and Fees Deduction) or ask the person that does your taxes. **If you already claim the IRS Form 8863 (Education Credits), you cannot claim the 8917**. I'm not a CPA, but it's worth looking into, I spent over $700 dollars applying to nine programs. Applied and Accepted: Syracuse MPA, Brown MPP Applied and Waiting for: Harvard MPP, William and Mary MPP, Chicago MPP, UMass Boston MSFA, Carnegie Mellon MPP, Georgetown MPP, Maryland MPP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadhelyn Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 No, the 8917 is for enrolled students paying tuition and fees, not application costs and GRE costs and such Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattinboston Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Upon second review, I think you may be right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDLee Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Oh, gadhelyn, what a cruel, cruel poll. I had not realized until five minutes ago that this has cost me $1,064. Sigh. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Between test fees, transcript fees, app fees, and postage fees I feel like I would've done better to take myself for a road trip and forget PhD programs all together. Here's the math break down for you: We pay them to get in. We pay them to go to school (occasionally they throw us a bone and pay for a bit) We pay them to take thesis/dissertation credits We pay them for the "publication" of said thesis/dissertation (which just means they bind it and rubber stamp our graduation app) We pay them for the privilege of the owning the work that we did while we paid them for the privilege of writing/publishing the stuff. We pay them to graduate. According to the latest stats we have a 20% chance of becoming a professor, assuming we've even finished our dissertation. Why are we torturing ourselves over this stuff again? Oh yah...because we're nutty and we actually like the subject. :mrgreen: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eget Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Is this over all time (i.e. including applying two years ago to 13 places, spending a year paying for an MA, then paying for another 11 this year?) Good god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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