<p>If your are accepted into a program do You have to pay tuition? And if so does it come out of your stipend. Or all the top student do not pay tuition? Very confused.</p>
<p>For PhD programs you do not pay tuition and you receive a stipend of around $20,000-$30,000. Your tuition and stipend come from your advisors funding as well as teaching and research fellowships. If you receive a fellowship like an NSF fellowship, then that covers you which is very convenient for your advisor and can cover money you would have received from being a TA.</p>
<p>This is one of the biggest perks of being a physics major. People are always asking me how much debt I’ll be finishing grad school with…I sometimes feel bad for people in other majors that actually DO have to pay for grad school.</p>
<p>How about room and board? Is that apart if tuition?</p>
<p>Room and board is usually provided for grad students. </p>
<p>Working as a TA/RA generally covers tuition, room, and board, plus you get a living stipend to cover day to day expenses. This will vary from school to school, but that is the most common scenario.</p>
<p>Could You also explain how you decide if you want to be a ta or ra. And which one is more beneficial.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not exactly qualified to answer that, since I’m still an undergrad. But, from the research I’ve done, you don’t really get to choose. It’s just a matter of what’s available. Physics grad students are TA’s far more often than RA’s from what I’ve seen though. </p>
<p>Either has the potential to be beneficial. I enjoy teaching and explaining things to people, because it solidifies my own understanding of the material.</p>
<p>Hmmm interesting… I hope I am an RA</p>
<p>Many PhD programs have certain TA requirements for students, since many students would prefer to have an RA-ship over TA-ing. I know my department required PhD students to TA at least three quarters.</p>
<p>Also, at my school, you generally pay for housing and living expenses out of your stipend, though they do have grad housing on campus, which is more convenient than living off campus. I actually wasn’t aware that schools provided room and board as part of the funding package–I thought it was more common for it to be worked into their stipend… It might be different at different schools and in different fields, though.</p>
<p>I worded that a bit funny, what I meant is more like what you just said.</p>
<p>Your room and board aren’t usually “covered,” but the living stipend that you receive is enough to cover the room and board, as well as cover day to day expenses.</p>
<p>As mentioned, many schools will require grad students to work as a TA for the first few semesters or so.</p>
<p>So which schools provide room and board outside of stipend?</p>
<p>I have no idea. </p>
<p>In either case though, your living stipend is enough to cover those expenses, because the school generally won’t allow you to have a job while you’re in a PhD program. Graduate housing is usually on campus, or at least really close to campus too. I’d imagine meal plans are widely available.</p>
<p>Your housing usually must be paid for using your stipend, however Columbia has grad housing since it is so expensive in NYC.</p>