How much money should I prepare for my first semester of PhD studies?

[dxvforte]

Hi, I'm an international materials science PhD applicant, and I just finished applying to all my programs.

 

This may be jumping the guns, but I'd like to start earning and saving up money for my grad studies.

So assuming that I'm accepted into a program in a mid-sized city such as Ann Arbor with full funding, how much money should I save up?

 

Let's just assume that my funding provides monthly stipend and covers my tuition.

I don't have any dependents coming with me.

 

Here's a list of things I think I'll need to save up for:

1. First month's rent (including utility fees)

2. Deposit on the apartment/flat/living quarters

3. School health insurance

4. School enrollment fee

5. Cell phone

6. Used car and car insurance (I don't think I can afford this...I plan on just staying near the school and not go anywhere)

 

I would appreciate it if people on The Gradcafe could estimate how much each of these items(?) costs and what I'm missing on the list.

 

I am currently planning to bring about 6,000 USD with me when I finally go to the US. I'm trying to find out if this amount is insufficient.

[St Andrews Lynx]

It really, really depends on where you are in the USA as to how much these things will cost. 

 

It will usually take a couple of weeks for the school to process your forms and get you on their payroll (assuming you are able to give them bank details immediately). That might mean you have to wait closer to 2 months for your first paycheque. 

 

Personally would bring at least two month's rent. Probably 3 would be better, for the reason I've given above.

 

Other costs you need to factor in are

- Hotel or temporary accommodation while you hunt for apartments.

- Food. You might be eating out more in the first few months before you move into a place of your own. 

- Temporary Travel insurance. The school's health insurance is probably not going to start until a couple of months after you have arrived (it took about 3 months for mine to start). You are expected to have some kind of health insurance coverage in place from the moment you enter the USA.

-  Textbooks, stationary and other study materials. Textbooks for graduate courses can be expensive, although there will usually be older students willing to lend you their older copies.

[MPPgal]

I second that. Keep in mind that because when you sign your contract you will not have a social security number yet (you can only apply for one 3 days after classes start) they have no way to check your credit record and thus many leasers require you to put up 2-3 months rent deposit instead. Rent depends on living accomodations (shared flat or single one, one bedroom vs studio and location). In general, depending on the city they will range from 600 dollars to 1200+ utilities will be about 30 for internet and 50-80 or so for a smartphone (if you have an unblocked one already you can lower this) if you can live with an old style phone it is a lot cheaper. School health insurance many times comes as part of your tuirion package, if not it is about 1-2.5k per year. A used car, depends it can be as low as 2000 dollars up to 10k depending model etc. The insurance is about 500 a year if you are either female or over 25, a bit more if you are a male under 25. I would say 6000 should be enough except to but the car, unless you go for a very cheap one, an option i did in undergrad was to buy a car between a couple of international students, this works well if you are only planning to use it to do grocery shopping and you all live close by. Also, in places like Ann Arbor, Austin, DC, NYC, Madison you might not need a bike and be ok with just a bike, I am Mexican so I just drove but plenty of other internationals have none and are fine, they just get a car to go or zip car if they really need one or borrow one to go to IKEA.