<p>What do middle-level to elite graduate programs (PhD programs inthe sciences, specifically) think of low-income students? I know graduate school admissions is completely different from undergraduate admissions, where personal qualities and background is looked at more strongly, but I want to know how graduate programs students coming from low-income families (those coming from families making less than 40k a year). On one hand, that student wouldn't have any financial resources so the school would have to pay more for the student, but on the other hand, it would bring "diversity". So is it favorable, unfavorable, or is it irrelevant? What if there are other circumstances involved, such as the student coming from an immigrant family and being first-generation? Would this hurt or help?</p>
<p>PhD programs will fully fund the students they admit, regardless of your income. if you get accepted to a PhD program and they don’t give full tuition remission and a living stipend, then you shouldn’t enroll there. this is for everyone, regardless of your economic background.</p>
<p>there’s not really anywhere in a graduate application to talk about your personal finances. you don’t need to prove that you can afford grad school and you shouldn’t give your life story in your personal statement. graduate school is about finding the best potential researchers/scientists/academics, so they don’t care if you’re rich or poor or somewhere in between. a school that admits you will most likely offer you full funding. for MS programs, funding is more scarce, but for anyone doing an MS/PhD (rather than a terminal masters) you should get paid enough to live off of.</p>