The truth about living off of your Stipend

[Sahana]

I got an offer from Kansas - Social Psych PhD - a GTA of $11,000 for 9 months.. Is that sufficient? I've heard Lawrence is cheap but being an international student I can't figure out if this is enough!

[liszt85]

I got an offer from Kansas - Social Psych PhD - a GTA of $11,000 for 9 months.. Is that sufficient? I've heard Lawrence is cheap but being an international student I can't figure out if this is enough!

I was offered a similar amount for OSU (Columbus is cheap too but not THAT cheap either and I have to support my wife on my stipend). So the professor offered the highest possible stipend of $1610 per month for the summer months (3 months). So that made the total a respectable amount for Columbus. You should really ask about your summer funding!

[Sahana]

Well I'm kind of hoping to go back to India for a couple of summers so I'm not all that concerned about summer right now.

[pinkargyle]

With the offers that I have, I am trying to decide how much is actually necessary to survive comfortably.

The first is 20,000 stipend at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ. (this seems fair from what I have seen; rent is pretty similar to MD)

The second is 14,000 at U of Maryland in College Park, MD. (mad expensive COL, and this just doesn't seem to be enough to live off of at all)

So, that being said, what stipend or fellowship did you receive to attend a doctoral program? Is it enough to adequately cover you and in what city? Can you give a quick breakdown of your expenses, and are you able to save money? Do you have to work part-time (secretly)?

Regarding your original stipend question, I'm currently a first year student at Rutgers and living fairly comfortably on the stipend. While 20,000 isn't alot to live off of, you adjust pretty quickly and you will not need a second job (unless you want one). I am able to eat, pay my rent, bills etc. BTW. I love the university.

I've lived in the DC metro area and 14,000 does not seem like it would be sufficient (and I knew a few people there who made off hand comments about it).

To be honest, I'd be less concerned about your stipend and the schools reputation and more concerned with your mentor's status. Go to the school that you would have the better mentor. The one where you perceive yourself to be more productive and have a better relationship with faulty AND other students. Happiness is extremely important in making it through a long program. If you have to take out a few thou. in loans or work a couple hours a week for a better program, then do it.

[miratrix]

You won't live in luxury, but you should make out okay if you live with roommates. I lived in Brookline (city very close to Boston) and lived on a $31k salary. My rent was $780/mo, bills ~$70/mo.

Just want to add another number to this - I live just outside Cambridge, in a pretty nice area, and my rent is only $520, bills around $50. And I live on around $13K, I'm careful about money but not deprived.

[Morrius]

BC is offering me $27k a year, which works out to $2250 a month before taxes. I'm looking for a studio, which works out to around $900 to $1050 a month plus bills in BC's neighborhood. (I hate commuting.) I'm still trying to approximate a budget in my head. I'm anticipating $300/month food and other consumables, $100/month utilities, and $100/month cable, internet, and phone. Am I close?

[highhopes]

UCLA is giving me a 9-month $20k stipend. I'm an American citizen, but I haven't lived in the States for 15 years, so I've no idea how the tax system works. Does anyone have any idea how much taxes would eat into my stipend, and furthermore, whether that would be sufficient for living in LA?

I took a gander at the website mentioned above (http://www.wendychao.com/science/stipends/) which freaked me out sufficiently. Science PhD students have stipends of $30k+?!?!

[goose2009]

google "paycheck calculator" and the first hit should be to paycheckcity.com (or something like that). You should be able to figure out what your take home pay would be from that.

[Morrius]

Another thing to keep in mind is that stipends aren't taxed at the same rate as normal income. You'll probably have to pay into Social Security, and some states tax them, but I don't think there's federal income tax on stipend.

[Dontuse]

by Tritonetelephone

[kahlan_amnell]

Another thing to keep in mind is that stipends aren't taxed at the same rate as normal income. You'll probably have to pay into Social Security, and some states tax them, but I don't think there's federal income tax on stipend.

I don't think that's true about federal income tax. I'm pretty sure that stipends are taxed.

[Firled]

Living off your stipend depends on lifestyle too. I am a Ph.D. student in a small U.S. town with no social life. So despite my $900 monthly rent, I saved $8,000 from last year's $20K stipend. The bank actually called to advise me that since I had so much money in the account that I need to start investing it. I am from a big city and would normally spend lots of money on dining and entertainment but I am saving more by despite making less.

[Louiselab]

For fellow Minnesota people this is what I did...

On the OHR website, they provide information on taxes. While you definitely do not have to pay FICA taxes (so medicare and social security), you do have to pay federal and state taxes, as far as I can tell. If your stipend is like mine, ($15,000) you can factor in about $1,300 for taxes, with the possibility of returning $438 in the form of a refund (for single students, married I didn't look at).

Students fees that we have to cover total $636 for the academic year.

Health Insurance is $136 a year.

So subtract all of this from your total stipend and you can figure out how much money you have to work with. I spread it out over 12 months with the assumption that I won't have any added income during the summer (hoping this isn't the case, but I would rather end up with more money than less), and voila. I won't be wealthy and affluent, probably can't save as much as I would normally like to, but it seems that I could live. I'll just have to surrender the Russian caviar and bathing in Perrier. Ah, roughing it.

[RF237]

BC is offering me $27k a year, which works out to $2250 a month before taxes. I'm looking for a studio, which works out to around $900 to $1050 a month plus bills in BC's neighborhood. (I hate commuting.) I'm still trying to approximate a budget in my head. I'm anticipating $300/month food and other consumables, $100/month utilities, and $100/month cable, internet, and phone. Am I close?

You should be able to live decently in Boston on $27k a year. I'm not sure about the studio or your figures though. Especially since you're looking near BC, I'd make sure to see any place in person before committing because it's mostly an undergraduate area, so rent is expensive and the apartments are not nice. I'm not sure you'll be able to avoid commuting, maybe not to school but to other places (I'd check if there are any supermarkets close to BC), so you might also want to factor in money for a bus or subway pass. $300 a month for food etc. should be fine if you eat regular (not expensive, fancy, or organic) food. A BIG question to ask: will your rent include heat? Or any other utilities? 100 a month is reasonable for regular utilities, but if it doesn't include heat, you're looking at an additional $100-150 a month AT LEAST for heat, depending on the type, the size of your studio, (electric, gas, or oil) and how much you mind freezing. Keep in mind too that in Boston the heat usually goes on sometime in October and stays on until May (again, unless you don't mind being cold). $100 should be ok for cable/internet/phone, I believe, if you don't go for any big cable packages. That's a land line, though, so I don't know if you'll also want to factor a cell phone bill into your monthly budget. And, lat but not least, it's the law in Massachusetts that you HAVE to have health insurance, so if BC isn't paying for it, you'll have to factor that in too. Hope that helps.

Oh yes, and you might want to repost this in the Boston/Cambridge thread under the Cities forum--you'll get much more advice there.

[mo7aisen]

[quote name="Louiselab

[curious zygote]

I'm a science student, so I feel it is fair to say this- I really wish that humanities paid their students more. If you look on that website posted above (http://chronicle.com/stats/stipends/2008/2088.htm) and click randomly on schools, it always seems humanities gets the short end. Take University of Missouri at St. Louis: History = $5,500/yr for a TA, where as bio gets $15,808. I don't want to get paid less, I feel like the stipend I get is fair, but I don't feel like $5,500 or anywhere around there is at all reasonable. I don't even think $14,000 is very reasonable for the amount of time/effort you put in. I mean, you work your butt off, and your PI and the institution get a lot of recognition if you do a good job (pubs with their names on them etc). I've got some many super smart hard working friends in the humanities that are living on the edge of poverty. Really. I'm not a fan of the discrepancy.

Ok. Rant over.

[Stories]

I'm a science student, so I feel it is fair to say this- I really wish that humanities paid their students more. If you look on that website posted above (http://chronicle.com/stats/stipends/2008/2088.htm) and click randomly on schools, it always seems humanities gets the short end. Take University of Missouri at St. Louis: History = $5,500/yr for a TA, where as bio gets $15,808. I don't want to get paid less, I feel like the stipend I get is fair, but I don't feel like $5,500 or anywhere around there is at all reasonable. I don't even think $14,000 is very reasonable for the amount of time/effort you put in. I mean, you work your butt off, and your PI and the institution get a lot of recognition if you do a good job (pubs with their names on them etc). I've got some many super smart hard working friends in the humanities that are living on the edge of poverty. Really. I'm not a fan of the discrepancy.

Ok. Rant over.

I think it's really just indicative of how much money is in the respective field. Sciences and health students get paid more because there is simply more training grant money floating out there. Professor salaries also reflect this.

[efagerho]

University of Pennsylvania has given me a base stipend of $21,630 for 9 months and I can also get $3,605 for two summer months if I stay on campus. AFAIK it's also possible to register as a tutor at the math department, so I can tutor undergrads for a few hours a week and get paid about $50/hr. I was wondering what it costs to live close to the campus (meaning a few minutes walk)? Is that enough to live comfortably in Philadelphia?

I'm an international and I'm also wondering how much I'll actually get after taxes and such? I was also thinking about buying a car, so what do you pay for an OK car that's maybe 3 years old and gets you from point A to B without breaking, meaning a car that has been used a little, so that the premium of a new car is gone? Also, how much do I pay for car insurance?

Thanks.

[kahlan_amnell]

University of Pennsylvania has given me a base stipend of $21,630 for 9 months and I can also get $3,605 for two summer months if I stay on campus. AFAIK it's also possible to register as a tutor at the math department, so I can tutor undergrads for a few hours a week and get paid about $50/hr. I was wondering what it costs to live close to the campus (meaning a few minutes walk)? Is that enough to live comfortably in Philadelphia?

I'm an international and I'm also wondering how much I'll actually get after taxes and such? I was also thinking about buying a car, so what do you pay for an OK car that's maybe 3 years old and gets you from point A to B without breaking, meaning a car that has been used a little, so that the premium of a new car is gone? Also, how much do I pay for car insurance?

Thanks.

Sounds like that should be enough to live on in Philadelphia, but I'm no expert on the cost of living in that city.

The cost of a used car varies a great deal, you'll have to check what is available when you get there. The cost of car insurance also varies by the type of car, and by where you live.

[curiousgeorge]

If you don't mind living in a sleepier area that is in close proximity to the MOVE house, West Philly is quite affordable, provides easy access to Penn, and is honestly pretty nice (just don't act like an idiot, same as any city really). Philly in general isn't particularly expensive for a northeastern city, and you certainly won't need a car...

[canadiana]

I'll be starting at Brown in September. It's no secret that the stipend is $19,000 annual. What I am confused about is whether students are required to pay any tuition, or whether the Graduate School and/or department pay this on their behalf. I was just looking through my Brown financial account statement and am a bit perplexed.

[sinequanonsarah]

Other things to consider besides stipend amount and cost of living are the other benefits that may be connected with your package. I'm at a University where the graduate students are unionized - I get year-long health benefits (which came in great use when I had to have shoulder surgery this year), a staff discount at the bookstore, etc. This may be especially useful information for those international students who are used to national health care!

Also, I've never heard of anyone who was offered a stipend and NOT tuition remission. Your program at Brown likely just didn't mention it; I would contact the graduate secretary of your program to double-check. You'll likely have to pay some fees, but tuition should be covered. Best of luck!

[jasper.milvain]

I'm sure you're right about Brown, but just want to say that this:

Also, I've never heard of anyone who was offered a stipend and NOT tuition remission.

is the case for 99% of Canadian students. That's what we get for having cheap tuition (~$5000/year). So if any applicants to Canada are reading this in the future, don't freak out!