Yale FES Stipend - Survivability?

[ACM88]

Hi everyone,

 

I have a question about the graduate stipend at Yale FES. I know this is pretty specific, but I wasn't sure which forum was most appropriate. Here's my question: Does anyone know how reasonable/comfortable it is to live on the stipend provided by Yale FES (it's something like $28,000)? I've been doing a bit of research and I know that taxes are not withheld by the university, so students will need to file these themselves (which I've actually never done before) and I've heard that Connecticut taxes are pretty steep. In addition to this, I have a car that I have no intention of selling that I still have a good 3.5 years of payments to make on it. Finally, if I do end up at Yale, I'll arrive pretty broke and likely strapped for cash for the first month or so. Finally, New Haven is not cheap. In the area that's been most widely recommended, rent for studios and 1 bedrooms range from $900 - $1300 some with but most of them not including utilities. Yikes.

 

I know this is really specific and if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them! Otherwise, I might try to post in another forum and contact a few more current students to get their perspective. I'm just hoping to cast a wider net and get as much feedback as I can.

 

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

ACM88

[ak48]

The best place to ask would be to email some graduate students (preferably those in the lab where you've been accepted, if any) and ask them yourself.

[iowaguy]

My sister lived in New Haven during her grad studies, I have been there a couple of times.  Awesome area (IMHO) but very expensive.  Have you tried penciling in a spreadsheet with your monthly income & estimated expenses yet?

 

Why do you need a car (especially one that you don't own) to live/thrive in the Northeast?  Assuming you live within biking/walking distance of campus, you could easily bike down to the harbor, shuttle to the New Haven airport, take a train to Boston/NYC, etc...

 

How often do you think you would actually use your car?  Not having loan payments, property tax, car insurance payments (you probably have full insurance since paying off a loan) would save you hundreds per month (probably 20%+ of your after-tax stipend) and would make your stipend much more comfortable!

 

One way to look at your car payment:  how many times per month would you be using your car?  How much is your monthly auto ownership cost?  Then divide your auto ownership $ by your car usage and you can see just how expensive it is (in addition to gas) each time you drive your car in New Haven.

 

Just sharing some thoughts...  You're going to love New Haven!

[ACM88]

The best place to ask would be to email some graduate students (preferably those in the lab where you've been accepted, if any) and ask them yourself.

 

I've actually spoken to a few current students about finances; they make it work, but a few of them also have additional income to help with things (e.g. spouses or partners), which makes comparisons a little difficult. But believe me, I am reaching out to current students, I'm posting on here to get a broader sense from people that I may not be able to contact otherwise.

 

My sister lived in New Haven during her grad studies, I have been there a couple of times.  Awesome area (IMHO) but very expensive.  Have you tried penciling in a spreadsheet with your monthly income & estimated expenses yet?

 

Why do you need a car (especially one that you don't own) to live/thrive in the Northeast?  Assuming you live within biking/walking distance of campus, you could easily bike down to the harbor, shuttle to the New Haven airport, take a train to Boston/NYC, etc...

 

How often do you think you would actually use your car?  Not having loan payments, property tax, car insurance payments (you probably have full insurance since paying off a loan) would save you hundreds per month (probably 20%+ of your after-tax stipend) and would make your stipend much more comfortable!

 

One way to look at your car payment:  how many times per month would you be using your car?  How much is your monthly auto ownership cost?  Then divide your auto ownership $ by your car usage and you can see just how expensive it is (in addition to gas) each time you drive your car in New Haven.

 

Just sharing some thoughts...  You're going to love New Haven!

 

I have done some of the math and my car payments/insurance do suck up an unfriendly portion of the expected stipend, but I am a strong proponent of keeping it for a few reasons. 1. I've heard from several students that having a car is a great idea because although New Haven has a lot to offer, it is lacking in big box and chain convenience stores. Having a car provides mobility to get a broader range of goods and groceries, which will be really important, especially when I start to get tired of shopping at small markets. 2. With a car, I can drive home (Michigan) or on quick roadtrips without constraints that would be placed on me by train or air travel. 3. I would only be living on one income for the first two years (hopefully). After that, my partner will have completed a master's program and move to New Haven with me, which will provide some additional financial support.

 

So, aside from the emotional attachment I have with my car, I think that it'll provide more benefits than the tangible costs that I will lose as a result of keeping it.

[VAN144]

You can save a lot of money if you opt to live in East Rock rather than downtown (where I'm assuming you're seeing those prices), even if you're unwilling to live with roommates. If you did live with roommates you could easily find a place for less than $700, maybe even more like $500 if you live further out. Without a roommate it might be more like $800, but even then I feel like you could find something lower. If you're attached to living downtown, Elm Campus Partners (the Yale-affiliated rental company) rents cheaper studios than the prices you've quoted and they are really well run. Having lived both places though, I'd actually recommend East Rock. If you're at FES downtown is not much closer and most of your class mates will probably be in East Rock. East Rock is also more pleasant/kind of a better introduction to New Haven on the whole. You could also live on Mansfield St. if you wanted to be closer to FES-- prices might be more like those of East Rock but it's a bit closer to downtown as well. Only issue is that it's right on the edge of the part of New Haven that you might not want to venture into if you can avoid it...

 

All in all though, I think $28,000 is more than doable. I know lots of people who do it!

[ACM88]

You can save a lot of money if you opt to live in East Rock rather than downtown (where I'm assuming you're seeing those prices), even if you're unwilling to live with roommates. If you did live with roommates you could easily find a place for less than $700, maybe even more like $500 if you live further out. Without a roommate it might be more like $800, but even then I feel like you could find something lower. If you're attached to living downtown, Elm Campus Partners (the Yale-affiliated rental company) rents cheaper studios than the prices you've quoted and they are really well run. Having lived both places though, I'd actually recommend East Rock. If you're at FES downtown is not much closer and most of your class mates will probably be in East Rock. East Rock is also more pleasant/kind of a better introduction to New Haven on the whole. You could also live on Mansfield St. if you wanted to be closer to FES-- prices might be more like those of East Rock but it's a bit closer to downtown as well. Only issue is that it's right on the edge of the part of New Haven that you might not want to venture into if you can avoid it...

 

All in all though, I think $28,000 is more than doable. I know lots of people who do it!

 

That's a relief to hear! I've actually been looking into East Rock, which is where basically everyone I've spoken to has suggested. The prices I quoted in an earlier post are for East Rock 1-bedrooms (when searching through Craigslist). I might be able to get a better deal if I visit, which I won't be able to do until around May. In the meantime, I've been trying to predict what finances would be like. Based on what you and others have said, I think my best bet will actually be to visit and find the best apartment that way, in which case I think I might be able to find more reasonable monthly rents. We'll see. But thank you for your reply! It's definitely uplifting.