Total Cost of Applying and Initial Expenses

[Stiven]

Hey guys,

 

I'm an international student thinking about applying next year, but before I start the application process, I need to figure out if I can pay for it all. I'm not very familiar with how everything works in the US, so I apologize in advance if my questions are tedious.

 

1) Approximately, what would be the total cost of applying to, say, 5 PhD programs? Tests, applications fees, etc.

 

2) How much money would I need for initial expenses? Considering my financial situation, I'd be applying only to fully funded programs (no tuition, living expenses covered, with assistantships...), but I have no idea when do these funds become available? How long will I have to depend on my own savings? Besides the plane ticket, I guess I'd need money for a housing deposit, living expenses, etc.

 

I know all of this depends on a location/program, but it'd help me so much if I had an approximate total amount in my head before even contemplating applying to PhD programs.

 

I'd like to thank you all so much in advance! It has been really informative reading your posts these past few weeks. I'm so glad I found this forum.

[ridofme]

Most of this you could look up on your own, but for the basics, it costs $185 to register for the GRE in the U.S., and application fees range from $50-$100 in my experience, with the median being around $70-80.

 

Different programs "release" the fellowship money to you at different times...Usually a semester's worth is deposited into your checking account at some point before the term begins. It would be advisable to save up enough for a deposit on an apartment and moving expenses, because you certainly should not rely on your stipend for that.

[ridofme]

One more thing I just thought of: you have to pay $25/school to send your GRE scores after the first four. Your undergrad institution may or may not charge a transcript fee.

[cp13]

Also if you are international student depending on where you are from and what language you studied in you might need to take the TOEFL test. Perhaps not applicable since you are applying for english lit, but it is quite expensive.

[narcisso]

Here's a list of what I think will be your costs:

 

1) Preparation for GRE + TOEFL: depending on your level of English, you might need courses

 

2) GRE + TOEFL: check the cost at the ETS representative in your country

 

3) Sending GRE + TOEFL scores: Before the exam you mention 4 institutions where your scores will be sent. If you pick them correctly, you will only have to pay for any extra university (I think its 25 $ for the TOEFL and 17 for the GRE or vice versa)

 

4) Transcripts + translations: You will need some copies of your transcript and/or diploma, as well as translations if they're not in English

 

5) Applications: In most universities you pay a fee. Mine were 50 - 125 $

 

6) Sending documents with traditional mail: Some universities require some documents in hard copies, so you have to mail them

 

7) Interviews: Usually international applicants are interviewed by phone or Skype. In the rare case that they need to have an interview in person, they will cover some of the expenses

 

8) Passport + Visa: To travel to the US you will need a valid passport and a student visa. You also have to pay for the cost of mailing/receiving the required documentation from the university

 

9) Ticket

 

10) Housing: Depending on your contract, you might have a make a deposit.

 

11) Initial expenses to get settled until your first paycheck: This varies greatly, depending on whether your apartment is furnished/unfurnished and the area you'll be living in. There are sites that compare the cost of living in different places in the US that you can check out for this.

Edited April 22, 2013 by narcisso

[Stiven]

Thanks, ppl!

 

Different programs "release" the fellowship money to you at different times...Usually a semester's worth is deposited into your checking account at some point before the term begins. It would be advisable to save up enough for a deposit on an apartment and moving expenses, because you certainly should not rely on your stipend for that.

 

This sounds promising, if the money is deposited before the term begins. Is this also the case with assistantships, or you get a paycheck at the end of the month after the term starts?

[TakeruK]

Thanks, ppl!

 

 

This sounds promising, if the money is deposited before the term begins. Is this also the case with assistantships, or you get a paycheck at the end of the month after the term starts?

 

With assistantships, it is usually "employment", that is, you work as a RA or TA and then they pay you. So, like any other job, you don't get paid for this until after you've done the work. At my school, they told us in advance that our first pay period will arrive at the end of October. Most of us arrive in September so this means most of us don't get paid until after we've already been there for two months! 

 

Even if you are on a fellowship, you might still only get paid in monthly installments, especially if it's an internal fellowship (ie granted by the school). If you have an external fellowship (e.g. from your home country's government), then you should check with them on how it's paid. I have a Canadian fellowship and they pay me every 6 months (it was helpful that their first installment arrived in mid September).

 

However, some schools will recognize that there is a large startup cost and they will offer new students a "startup loan". These loans are usually no fees and zero interest. My loan was for $2500 and repayment begins 6 months after the loan date and payments are expected each month for 18 months until the loan is repaid (or you can repay the whole thing in full if you don't need the money anymore). If you pay according to the schedule, then you won't pay any interest or fees at all.

 

With all that said, you usually do not know this information until you've gotten an offer from the school. Although, if you are curious, now would be a good time to stalk the grad office webpages of the 5 schools you're interested in. Pretend (to yourself) that you've just been admitted and click through their webpage (they are rarely locked) to find out what an incoming student would be reading about. 

 

In terms of how much it costs to apply to schools, I would budget around $100 total per school. Most of this will be the application fee, which can range from $0 to $120. If you are only applying to 5 schools, then the cost of submitting GRE scores will be small since, as others said, you get 4 scores for free. If you don't live in a city with a GRE testing centre, then don't forget to budget for travel to a testing site as well.

 

For initial costs after moving, the biggest cost will be the first month's rent plus security deposit. Depending on the state/landlord, the deposit could be as high as 2 months rent (so you would be effectively paying 3 months worth of rent at the beginning). However, it's usually not this high, and you should do some research about the cities you want to move to if you're really worried. Many people choose to live in graduate student housing, if available, to avoid most of these extra startup costs!

 

Another big initial cost is furniture, initial supply of groceries, etc. Again, living in graduate student housing or a furnished apartment can help if you don't have savings to pay for these initial costs. At my school, most new students start in graduate housing for the first year, then move out on their own afterwards.

 

Finally, it also doesn't hurt to ask your new school about getting help with startup costs. You would wait until next year to do this of course, after you've been admitted and accepted their offer. If you don't have savings, they might be able to help you with a no-interest or low-interest loan. 

[Stiven]

I had no idea about startup loans. That'd be a huge lifesaver. But would it be inappropriate to ask the school if they offer these kinds of loans before accepting the offer? Or better yet - before choosing to apply to that school? If this (unfortunately) proves to be a deal breaker.

[TakeruK]

I had no idea about startup loans. That'd be a huge lifesaver. But would it be inappropriate to ask the school if they offer these kinds of loans before accepting the offer? Or better yet - before choosing to apply to that school? If this (unfortunately) proves to be a deal breaker.

 

I think it's okay to ask about startup loan or other related financial matters after you get an offer from a school. In fact, during the visit weekend and in any phone calls or emails between you and the department after your offer has been made, they usually give you a lot of chances to ask questions about the program. In my experience anyways, they encouraged questions from all sorts of topics, from academics, to research interests as well as logistical things like these loans and where to live etc.

 

It might be a little weird to ask before applying to the school, but I think most people will understand that the availability of these funds could make a big difference. These loans are usually administered by the Graduate Office, not the department, so you should be contacting the Faculty of Grad Studies / Grad Office / School of Graduate Studies / whatever else the school calls themselves. It might be easier to ask these people because they would know more about these programs but also your first impression with your potential new department won't be as awkward. However, you can usually find the information about the loans etc. on the Graduate School's webpage. Check under financial aid or financial support etc. Also, check under "Incoming Students" or "Current Students". Right now, the schools are probably updating their pages to provide info to the students arriving this Fall, so checking now and over the summer should give you a lot of information. 

 

Finally, I forgot to mention above that some schools will also waive your application fee if you can demonstrate need. So, make sure you check carefully on the application information webpages to see if you can apply for a fee waiver!

[Stiven]

Thanks, TakeruK! I'll definitely look into that.