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Can current grad students give cost of living numbers?


dafrk3in

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In Ann Arbor, MI:

 

$650-800 rent/month (for a one bedroom; you can pay less by living with a roommate, the upper end of that range should include most utilities. Having heating included is nice since it's cold here.)

 

It's hard to say for food, since people have such different patterns (eating out, cooking, etc.) If you get lunch out, it will cost you about $6.

 

Car insurance is on the expensive side here. Depends on your car and driving record, but assume that you'll pay more here than what you are paying now, unless you live in CA or NJ.

 

Comcast will rip you off for cable/internet to the tune of about $60/month, and you probably want to factor in a cell phone, which is about the same here as anywhere else...

 

Bottom line is that grad students get about $14,500 stipend for being TAs. That covers 8 months (our summer break includes all of May through August, and funding for that comes from other sources). You can live on it, but don't expect to save or splurge very often. The up side is that everyone else you'll know is broke, too ;)

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Hello. Can any current phd students tell us how much it costs to live in certain places (for, say, a semester)? I would appreciate it.

 

dafrk3in- I know you're not a phd student, but do you have any knowledge of how Tempe is to live?

 

I'm in Boston right now, and last year I got a decent 3-bedroom apartment for $1500/month plus electric and cable (split among 3 people). I got by on about $750-850/month for food, bills, cable, etc. You can find plenty of good Boston apartments for around $500/month if you look early enough. The most expensive part of the city is the night life. Finding dollar draft nights is a must!

 

:D

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Cornell in Ithaca, NY (~$20k fellowship with expenses at ~$1.2k per month) - Rent - $935 for 2 bedroom, I've heard anything from $500 to $1000 for one, winter utilities can get high (~$150) depending on insulation (get that plastic wrap stuff for the windows), but we haven't had to pay that much. Our average utilities has been $94, but I think we've had some electric problems that have cost us.

Travel - If you want to get anywhere cheap, you have to drive 2:45 hours to Buffalo or Albany to fly. Other mid-sized airports are in Syracuse and Rochester, around one hour away. It costs ~$120 to fly round trip to Chicago from Buffalo.

Gas and Groceries can be about 2-3% higher than in a place like Syracuse since we aren't on a major interstate route for shipping ease. Right now its like $2.40 a gallon. In general, though, groceries are a lot cheaper than in a place like Chicago, although fruits and vegetables are more (except for NY apples).

NY car insurance ~$500 a year for minimum coverage.

 

What you save in rent here you spend if you try to fly out of the Ithaca airport. As long as you don't fly much or are willing to drive a bit first, you'll make more than you have time to spend.

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dafrk3in- I know you're not a phd student, but do you have any knowledge of how Tempe is to live?

 

I'm in Boston right now, and last year I got a decent 3-bedroom apartment for $1500/month plus electric and cable (split among 3 people). I got by on about $750-850/month for food, bills, cable, etc. You can find plenty of good Boston apartments for around $500/month if you look early enough. The most expensive part of the city is the night life. Finding dollar draft nights is a must!

 

:D

 

asu is huge, so there are a ton of apartment complexes very close to campus, and you can find some good places that are reasonably priced.

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I talked to a friend of mine last night who lived about a mile away from campus. He and a roomate paid about 350/month after utilities, etc. I don't think that includes cable/internet, but Tempe has free wireless internet, and ASU has a huge wireless network.
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I pay 1000 a month for my half of the rent of my two bedroom apartment. I think my apartment is more expensive than most in the area around MIT, and it is certainly more expensive than the graduate student housing. The main advantage of it is that it is only a couple hundred feet away from the economics department. (I'm thinking of recruiting some undergrads to build a zip line that will take me directly from my bedroom window to class.)

 

The internet deals out here are decent (Comcast: 30-40 bucks a month for cable). Gas and electricity runs about 50 bucks a month, and heating is free. By "free," of course, I mean, "included in the rent." I don't know how expensive car insurance is in Cambridge, but cars aren't really necessary given the public transportation system. (And Peapod.com.) A "T-Pass" is around 40 bucks a month, I think, and it allows for unlimited travel on the subway. I prefer the pay-as-you-go system, though, since it gets the margins right and doesn't cost me more than 25 bucks a month.

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The rent is 900/month for a 2 bedroom. It includes gas, electricity & water. You dont live in Manhattan for this price, obviously subsidized by NYU. I dont have a very clear picture of other expenses but, food in NY is expensive. We go walking to washington square but there are free shuttles, so transport 0. And in first year money for entertainment is close to zero.
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I am trying to decide whether its worth taking off work to go visit Maryland. Both Cornell and Maryland seem like good schools, but the money at cornell is nearly double that of maryland (when cost of living is taken into account). Is it worth taking that kind of monetary blow to go to maryland? More than anything, maryland seems much better in terms of location, but I wasn't sure if 15,000 is enough to live in college park.
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I am trying to decide whether its worth taking off work to go visit Maryland. Both Cornell and Maryland seem like good schools, but the money at cornell is nearly double that of maryland (when cost of living is taken into account). Is it worth taking that kind of monetary blow to go to maryland? More than anything, maryland seems much better in terms of location, but I wasn't sure if 15,000 is enough to live in college park.

 

 

I'm living in Baltimore on $15.5K at the moment. I suspect that College Park is around the same, though possibly a bit cheaper. It's definitely possible to live off the stipend at UMD (though, as everyone is saying about every place, you won't necessarily live comfortably as a grad student).

 

My suggestion is that you visit Cornell, UMD, and also consider Penn even without funding (since you'd likely only self-fund for one year, if that). Grad school isn't a short-term investment, and your choice plays a large role in the education you receive, research you choose to focus on, and (for these and many other reasons) where you end up being placed in five years. You may find the environment at UMD much nicer than at Cornell (or vice versa). You might find Penn to be such an awesome place with job placements good enough to justify the possibility of self-funding for a year.

 

In the long run (and even the intermediate run), the few thousand dollars won't mean much. But everyone on here owes it to themselves to find the best school for them (subject to the constraint that the school actually admitted you, of course. :))

 

Edit: Also, I think some funding will be open up after people like Cassin begin to notify schools.

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do you guys know the living cost in DC and in College Park? also in Columbus OH

 

DC is very expensive. Expect to pay at least $800/month for a small studio apartment. I would expect Columbus, OH to be less than half of that.

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If you're going to GW or GTown and want to live near campus, you should prepare to go into debt. Studios can run you approx. $1100/mo., and a 1 bedroom starts usually around $1400. Don't bother with a car, as a space will probably cost you at least another $120/mo., unless the building throws in a free space in their garage for you. If you are willing to live farther away rents can get more reasonable, but just be aware that, on the east coast, DC is arguably the 2nd most expensive place to rent in after NYC (I would say DC is more expensive than Boston). The College Park area, in particular, has more reasonable rent prices, but that's also because it is known as a less-than-desirable area to live for people who don't go to UMD (nothing against any current or future Terps!). In general, the cheapest areas of the city are on the east side (same is true for the suburbs in MD), but that's on the far end of the city from all the schools and less likely to be in an area you'd want to live.

 

Man I make this city sound horrible. Honestly, I love it here, and am going to miss it quite a bit. I went to GW, so if anyone has any questions related to the area feel free to ask.

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urg, that doesnt sound good. I am still on waitlist but just curious. Fellowship in OSU seem to be enough for living in columbus.

Well right now UMD is my first choice. In the worst case, I think i'll defer admission to work for the econ consulting firm for a year to save up some money. :D

ack, grad students are mostly poor :D

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DC is not College Park. Living inside DC is very expensive. Living around College Park is nowhere near as expensive (not necessarily cheap either, depending on what you're used to). If you're really that worried about it, email some current grad students (probably listed on the UMD Econ site) and ask them.
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Hey, guys! :whistle: I'm just wondering whether the fellowships, at the current level they are being offered, would be enough for a couple (husband & wife w/o children). I'm international and engaged now. :hmm: Boston, College Park, Philadelphia, West Lafayette, Seattle and Chicago?
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DC is not College Park. Living inside DC is very expensive. Living around College Park is nowhere near as expensive (not necessarily cheap either, depending on what you're used to). If you're really that worried about it, email some current grad students (probably listed on the UMD Econ site) and ask them.

Ya I live in DC and pay 950 pm for a studio. DC is expensive! But the good news is that College park and nearby areas are not.

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