Stanford PhD Stipend- sufficient?

[nie7]

Hi everyone,

I've received an admission offer from Stanford for a humanities PhD with an offer of $28,000 as fellowship stipend. (Tuition, health insurance, summer support fellowship. will be separate).

Estimated budgets for living expenses on the Stanford Website are coming up to $38,000 a year(http://financialaid.stanford.edu/grad/budget/index.html). Being an international student, there is simply no means by which I would be able to pay the balance amount of nearly 10000 dollars from my own pocket. I would appreciate any insight on whether expenses at Stanford really do come up as high as 38,000 a year or if the stipend amount might be sufficient with careful spending?

Thank you all for your help!

PS- I am a single, and would have only myself to support

[Bibica]

I think you don't need to pay nearly that much to live in Stanford, but you'll need to keep yourself on a tight budget. First, are they paying for healthcare? If so, the highest cost estimate $38000, should be decreased by about $5,000. Second, you will hopefully get some more money for summer support. Let's say that brings you to $30,000. Next, there's no reason why you should be spending more than $50/week on food for a single person. For 52 weeks, you'll be spending $2,600 for food a year, not $7,760. Even if you want to give yourself a $3,500 food budget, as long as you don't eat out much that is MORE than manageable.

Rent is the largest expense. They have you at $16,440 a year (or $1,370 a month) for rent. It might be easier to find a place for less if you are willing to have roommates. Look on craigslist and network with current graduate students to see if you can find a room for $900 to $1200 a month.

It won't be easy, but learning how to budget is crucial for life as a graduate student.

 

EDIT: Do keep in mind that your stipend might be taxed. Talk to the financial aid office for information on that. California taxes are crazy high, relative to the rest of the US.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Bibica

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

Ok, so I did look at the link you provided and noticed a couple things. You mentioned that summer support fellowship and health insurance will be covered by a separate amount. Is that a guaranteed amount that will be presented later? If so, it's only fair to take those costs out of the equation. You've cited the full year, with health insurance, estimate for living costs. Without summer or health insurance, the amount they estimate you need to cover is $25,389, so you should be ok on that fellowship.

Some of these numbers are highly variable as well. Would you want to commute to school or live on campus? This changes how much you pay in rent and transportation (indirect relationship). You can also reduce how much you spend on books and expenses by buying used (unless it's one of those textbooks with a one-time use code in it-those suck) and could potentially reduce your food cost by getting a costco or similar wholesale card and buying bulk on non-perishables. You can also reduce your rent by sharing with roommates, but rent in the Bay Area is definitely high, so it will still be your largest fellowship eater.

[nie7]

Thank you both, it does make a lot more sense after deducting health insurance and summer fellowship! Certainly looks more doable with careful budgeting on my end. Many thanks also for the pointer about tax deductions, I will be sure to look up the details

[holyghost]

I'm considering a very similar offer from Stanford. On craigslist, most apartments seem to be at least $3000/month. On-campus housing is ~$1800 for a 1 bedroom and since I would be moving with my husband we would need a 1 bedroom. The on-campus housing is a lottery and is said to be 10-40% cheaper than off-campus. 

Do you guys think its possible to find a place to rent for less than $1800/month?

We are coming from abroad and would have visas. My husband's work situation wouldn't be very stable.

[throwaway1463]

On 2/26/2017 at 11:46 AM, peezybee said:

I'm considering a very similar offer from Stanford. On craigslist, most apartments seem to be at least $3000/month. On-campus housing is ~$1800 for a 1 bedroom and since I would be moving with my husband we would need a 1 bedroom. The on-campus housing is a lottery and is said to be 10-40% cheaper than off-campus. 

Do you guys think its possible to find a place to rent for less than $1800/month?

We are coming from abroad and would have visas. My husband's work situation wouldn't be very stable.

hey - I went to Stanford so I think I can help answer your question:

you can definitely find a 1 bedroom under $1800 on-campus. It's a lottery but they give preference to 1st years, especially those international. The on-campus housing is subsidized and there's rooms avail for under $1000 (i.e. Escondido Village). 

many grad students live on campus. if you live off campus, you'll have to drive/bike and it would prob be more expensive

 

 

[holyghost]

3 hours ago, throwaway1463 said:

hey - I went to Stanford so I think I can help answer your question:

you can definitely find a 1 bedroom under $1800 on-campus. It's a lottery but they give preference to 1st years, especially those international. The on-campus housing is subsidized and there's rooms avail for under $1000 (i.e. Escondido Village). 

many grad students live on campus. if you live off campus, you'll have to drive/bike and it would prob be more expensive

 

 

Thanks for your response!