What is stipend

[Zian]

I am really confused. I have been admitted to MS program with financial package for the first year. My admission letter says that this package is $4000 stipend for 2017-18, and also that I am not allowed to work without dean's permission. Does not say anything about what this stipend is intended for. From the way it sounds, it's $4000 for the whole year, am I correct? I tried looking this up on my school page, but they just list stipend rates for TA/RA and scholarships that cover some % of tuition. My other school offered me a scholarship for tuition specifically, and explained how much I will get each semester. Here the information is really brief. Should I contact them for more? Or is it an obvious case?

Thanks!

[fuzzylogician]

You should find out if this school will cover your tuition or not (and if not, how much it is). Usually a stipend just means that the money can go toward your living expenses -- rent, transportation, groceries, etc. That's why they don't specify anything else, it's up to you to decide how to use it. If this school is paying your tuition, that's probably the better offer. But you should keep in mind that it's unlikely that $4000 would be sufficient for a year anywhere in the States, so you might have to take out loans. You should also find out if either school is offering health insurance, which can get expensive too. 

[Zian]

11 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

You should find out if this school will cover your tuition or not (and if not, how much it is). Usually a stipend just means that the money can go toward your living expenses -- rent, transportation, groceries, etc. That's why they don't specify anything else, it's up to you to decide how to use it. If this school is paying your tuition, that's probably the better offer. But you should keep in mind that it's unlikely that $4000 would be sufficient for a year anywhere in the States, so you might have to take out loans. You should also find out if either school is offering health insurance, which can get expensive too. 

Yeah, I know this is not much, especially compared to tuition. I was just genuinely surprised that giving such quite a small aid they won't let students be employed without special permission. Nothing else is covered, it's just this money, so my other offer is way better. I already did all of the math, I was just wondering about definition of stipend. 

Thank you!