PhD Stipend (adjusted to location)

Graduate School
1

<p>I dug an old thread and found this:</p>

<p>List of stipend amount from various universities: GRADUATE</a> STUDENT STIPENDS - Graduate Student Stipend Comparison - what PhD programs in biological sciences pay their graduate students
Reference for cost of living calculator: Cost</a> of Living Comparison</p>

<p>(Original post by masta_ace in 2008. Thanks!)</p>

<p>I am mainly contemplating between bio programs in NY, MO, and CA. Any comment on the accuracy of the posted chart in these regions would be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>It says that Cornell grads are offered around $26k, but when I was accepted back in 2007 I was offered closer to $31k in the Materials Science & Engineering program. Maybe they offer us a little more than people in bio. The UCSB number given from 2007-2008 is a little higher than I was offered, as well.</p>

3

<p>
[quote]
It says that Cornell grads are offered around $26k

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yeah the entire list seemed to be geared toward biosciences. Different departments offer different amounts, obviously. Ironically, here the engineering disciplines have some of the crappiest stipends compared to other STEM areas. ECE, for example, gives around 17k for an MS and 19k for a PhD while Physics gives 22k to anyone funded (which is all PhD's)</p>

4

<p>I should have emphasized my question: do you guys agree w/ the adjusted amount of the stipend based on its location? e.g. 27K in St. Louis >>> 27K in NY or LA, 28K in Palo Alto << 27K in LA/SD, etc. </p>

<p>These comparisons are not based on graduate housing, so I wonder if I can use it to estimate the true value of fellowships with respect to living cost.</p>

5

<p>I imagine they're converted with a typical cost of living calculator (google it and you'll find a bunch).</p>

<p>I tried it comparing my $26k stipend here in LA to see what I would have needed in Pittsburgh to get an equivalent style of life. It wound up being something like $15k. While not exactly right, it certainly was a ton cheaper to live in Pittsburgh compared to here. Also, from what I understand, it's fairly common for grads at Cornell to buy a house on their $30k salary, while here in LA it's hard enough just to find an affordable 1BR apartment to rent.</p>

6

<p>No kidding, a 27K stipend in North Carolina is sufficient to purchase a home (with the admittedly tiny income that my wife brings in) whereas 29K in Boston would put us in a dump of an apartment. I suppose if you hadn't thought about this before you selected places to apply to, you are boned.</p>

7

<p>Hmm, when I try to plug in the numbers to the cost of living calculator, it says that Cambridge, MA and New York, NY have the same cost of living. So I don't get why the Harvard and MIT numbers are so inflated. On the other hand, I get the same number as them for Palo Alto (for example). Anyone know what's going on with that?</p>

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<p>Boston has some pretty rich areas around Cambridge. The median home price in Palo Alto exceeds 1 million dollars according to Wikipedia.</p>

<p>
[quote]
No kidding, a 27K stipend in North Carolina is sufficient to purchase a home (with the admittedly tiny income that my wife brings in)

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</p>

<p>Yes the South is a great place to live as a grad student. I save over 50% of my stipend because rent/utilities are so cheap.</p>

9

<p>What I mean is, why is the $29,004 Harvard stipend "adjusted" to $37,391. The reference point is NYC, and according to the quoted cost of living site both NYC and Cambridge have the same cost of living, so the "adjusted" Harvard stipend should be ~$29,000.</p>

<p>(I'm looking at the 2007-2008 data.)</p>

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<p>the cost of living in cambridge is definitely lower than the cost of living in manhattan. Rents are far far lower, and food is a bit cheaper too. You can live quite well in cambridge on ~30k, assuming that you are okay with having roommates. It is true that you probably can't buy a house, but you couldn't do that in nyc either.</p>

11

<p>Maybe it's due to the declining cost of rent in NYC? Another good point is that schools in NYC usually offer subsidized apartment which is not factored in to the calculator. </p>

<p>But now that some of you have mentioned, using the stipend to buy a house sounds like a very good investment... wow choosing schools based on research match and funding offer alone are not enough (in my case) for one school to triumph completely over the other schools... I think too much~ </p>

<p>My premature verdict: choosing a grad school is inherently mysterious as there are always more (hidden) information trickling once school starts.</p>

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<p>Anyone know why the UC schools have such small stipends compared to the cost of living? I am planning on going to UCSF, but the stipend vs. cost of living vs. minimally subsidized housing is a huge factor in my decision. :(</p>

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<p>The rents in NYC are declining? My exposure to NYC is just via friends that live there and the NY Times but my impression was that rents were increasing along with inflation. I would love to hear more about this.</p>

<p>Something that I haven't heard much about are fees. I remember from my undergraduate days that grad students bellyached bitterly about segue fees. Of the three places I am still considering, none of them charge these fees (though one does charge for parking). Has anybody had to deal with this?</p>

<p>I am also curious about the health insurance packages that people have been offered. My favorite program has a 80/20 plan with a deductible. On such low salaries, a broken wrist could set us back two months salary. What sort of offers have others seen?</p>

<p>What about transportation? Some of the programs I have seen offer free bus passes, others do not. Certainly gas will not stay as low as it is now, and a bus pass may be worth a lot in the future. What have you guys heard about transportation?</p>

<p>Clearly, there is a lot to consider beyond simply stipend vs rent, and I am curious what other people have to say about the associated costs/benefits of graduate school lifestyle.</p>

14

<p>rents in NYC have taken a dive over the last year. market value on the "cheap" places have dropped around $400-500/month over the last 6 months. most places are now renting at year 2000 prices, and from the looks of things, rents will continue to decline. some people are breaking their leases because they can move to a comparable apartment and pay hundreds of dollars less a month, and landlords and management companies are starting to offer incentives to tenants who are coming towards the end of their leases, hoping they'll stay on rather than go out and grab a deal somewhere else.</p>

<p>that's not the rule, though. a friend of mine in the LES is having his rents raised at the end of his lease, so he's bailing and looking for a new place. kinda ballsy of his landlord to raise rents in this economy.</p>

<p>there's a definite contraction going on in manhattan real estate.</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
Anyone know why the UC schools have such small stipends compared to the cost of living? I am planning on going to UCSF, but the stipend vs. cost of living vs. minimally subsidized housing is a huge factor in my decision.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think the UC schools are fairly tight on money. I know UCLA doesn't offer a number of disciplines stipends for the first year, requiring that you pay for your MS and then apply for the PhD program. UCSB also gave a fairly low stipend, and from what I heard from my friend going there, rents are pretty ridiculous.</p>

<p>
[quote]

I am also curious about the health insurance packages that people have been offered. My favorite program has a 80/20 plan with a deductible. On such low salaries, a broken wrist could set us back two months salary. What sort of offers have others seen?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Right now I've got a $300 a year deductible, emergency room visits are $50 (free if work related), and a fairly decent co-pay (I think prescriptions are 80/20, not sure as I haven't had one filled in the two year I've been out here.). Right now my school is looking at cutting benefits and increasing our premiums, so who knows what it'll look like next year.</p>

<p>
[quote]
What about transportation? Some of the programs I have seen offer free bus passes, others do not. Certainly gas will not stay as low as it is now, and a bus pass may be worth a lot in the future. What have you guys heard about transportation?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think this usually depends on the location of the school and any agreements the school has worked out locally. For example, I know in Pittsburgh both Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh have student IDs work as bus passes for the city, but Duquesne doesn't. Here in Los Angeles I know UCLA does, Caltech doesn't, and no idea about USC.</p>

<p>I think the best way to find out about cost of living is by asking current grad students during visiting weekend. Find out about how much rent is (on and off campus), are there good buses, do they have to pay utilities, etc.</p>

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<p>If anyone is interested, you can look at the chronicle's survey of the 2008 stipends, tuition and fee remissions for RA/TA at different institutions. The</a> Chronicle: Stipends for Graduate Assistants, 2008-9</p>

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<p>I also haven't heard of the rents in NYC decreasing phenomenon...I live in NYC to go to Columbia and people are always complaining about the rents going up here.</p>

<p>Segue fees? I'm not sure what that means, but here at Columbia (both Mailman/medical center and Graduate School) we don't have them. All of my fees were paid for by my package with the exception of a $95 transcript fee taken during the first semester; we don't have parking fees because hardly anyone drives (this is NYC)...</p>

<p>Our health insurance is...okay. I'm not familiar with the exact terms of the plan because my father's insurance still covers me (and will until I'm 26 -- go Aetna!) but I believe that our plan is also an 80/20 plan with the exception of certain services, like birth control (because NYS law requires that be covered to a certain extent). The fee is $2,602 + 990 for the student health service (on-campus services), and most graduate student packages also cover this. Here's the link to our insurance brochure: <a href="http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/student/health/pdf/brochure0809.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/student/health/pdf/brochure0809.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Transportation is up to us. Nearly everyone here commutes using the subway to school, although students in the Graduate School usually live in Columbia-provided housing and do not need to commute. Currently an unlimited 30-day Metrocard in NYC costs $81, although there is talk of raising the price to $103 in the future.</p>

<p>About cost/benefit? Obviously, I'm not living like a queen here. My rent (with a roommate) is 43% of my income and after utilities (electric/gas, my cell phone bill, and Internet service), and transportation, I'm down to less than $1,000 to live on every month (food, entertainment, etc). But honestly, once I trained myself that's more than enough. It's really not a bad deal. I just budget my money wisely. I still manage to save $200 every month, and I've become incredibly patient when it comes to acquiring things (one new video game every once in a while instead of 2-3 a month, no huge electronics purchases, etc.) I have enough money to do most of what I want to do, within a budget. And I just focus on the fact that this is a short term fix for much long-term benefit.</p>

<p>Honestly, the financial bit is the least of my worries on the graduate school grind :(</p>

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<p>NY rents falling fast:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/realestate/01cov.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=rents%20down&st=cse%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/realestate/01cov.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=rents%20down&st=cse&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>