Finances While in Grad School

[Psych528]

I was wondering if current doctoral students could give us some insight as to how they are able to pull everything off financially while in grad school. For example, is your stipend for being an RA or TA enough? Do you have a full/part time job in addition to school? Can you afford a car, car insurance and cell phone? Do you live on/off campus? Do you need to take out loans, etc. Thank you!

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[cara susanna]

I'm pretty much living from paycheck to paycheck, but I'm okay. I live off-campus, and my parents pay my car insurance, plus I'm on their cell phone plan. Haven't taken out any loans, and in my program you can't have a job on the side.

 

[Wildcat06]

Refer to the thread "Grad school survival guide."

.... or don't. I found it to be FAR more dire than my situation. But my program does give stipends on the generous side.

 

[CatoftheCanals]

I was wondering if current doctoral students could give us some insight as to how they are able to pull everything off financially while in grad school. For example, is your stipend for being an RA or TA enough? Do you have a full/part time job in addition to school? Can you afford a car, car insurance and cell phone? Do you live on/off campus? Do you need to take out loans, etc. Thank you!

With a pretty good stipend and a generally cheap cost of living (though my new state has an absurd amount of random taxes that I am not fond of discovering) I'd say I'm handling it ok. I live off campus, own a car, pay my own bills. My only caveat is that I'm on my parents' cellphone plan, but I still pay them monthly for my charges. However, I can fall behind on those unlike all the rest of my bills So no loans so far.

I do keep a spreadsheet of my monthly spendings and earnings (ie my stipend, grad school is my full time job), to keep track and make sure that I'm not overspending.

The hardest thing for me is stopping myself from buying lunch/dinner on campus.

 

[lookitssara]

I don't take out any loans and I actually put some in savings. I don't pay for car insurance or my cell phone, and I have a roommate however. I do get a significant stipend and a "top off" scholarship that brings my yearly pay over 20K.

I also have a minor shopping addiction, a taste for good food, and a dog

 

[Psych528]

Thanks for the Grad School survival guide link. Lots of good tips there. I guess I'm getting a little concerned with having to pay for rent, a car, insurance, cell phone, food, clothes, and everything like that. Especially if you are only getting a partial tuition remission, no stipend, or nothing at all

 

[PsychPhDone]

My funding is supporting me (and I don't have to TA or RA now, which is great). We are not allowed to hold outside employment without special permission, as is the case for many students who are funded. I have a roommate, so that helps. I try to bring breakfast lunch and cook dinner at least half the nights a week. I'm not buying a mansion anytime soon, but I have enough money to do special fun things here and there. I think it really depends on the funding you're given and the location. The money I'm given here would not be enough in, say, NYC.

 

[Wildcat06]

I know someone asked about jobs last year and I don't really have any idea how someone hold an outside job with all you have on your plate (and this is coming from someone who has a fellowship and does not have to RA or TA and does not yet have clinical hours). You'll be BUSY as it is.

 

[researchgirl]

I think it's important to realize that grad school stipends and cost of living both vary DRASTICALLY, even within the confines of "fully funded" programs. So some people are making ~20K living in a cheap, rural, small town, while others are making ~10K living in a major city. And they will tell you very VERY different things about taking out loans, going into debt, etc. It's not something you can think about until you have offers in your hand, unfortunately.

 

[Psych528]

Are there any major differences in the income/expenses/finances of PhD vs PsyD students?

 

[erg923]

yea..no stipend means your living on borrowed money........

 

[positivepsych]

I know some graduate and internship programs endorse a "no outside work" policy, especially in regards to doing a psych assistantship with someone in private practice.

But if you're in good status with your program and have the time, who are they to say what you can and cannot do with your free time? Can they actually enforce this? I believe many states have laws stating that employers cannot ban moonlighting. Or would they just make your life hell, and not write you a recommendation? Seems pretty Draconian to me...

 

[thewesternsky]

I know some graduate and internship programs endorse a "no outside work" policy, especially in regards to doing a psych assistantship with someone in private practice.

But if you're in good status with your program and have the time, who are they to say what you can and cannot do with your free time? Can they actually enforce this? I believe many states have laws stating that employers cannot ban moonlighting. Or would they just make your life hell, and not write you a recommendation? Seems pretty Draconian to me...

I believe if you have a stipend or scholarship that is not tied to an assistanceship, they can pull that funding.

I wouldn't worry about it. Most programs allow some outside work, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain number of hours per week (10 for us). The rule is also completely unenforced, except presumably in cases where outside work is interfering with your performance in the program. (And to be honest, I'm not sure it's possible to work more than 10 hours a week and not have it interfere, in a program where 50-70 hour weeks are the norm. That plus 15-20 hours of outside week would probably leave you actually getting sick after a few months.).

 

[Wildcat06]

But if you're in good status with your program and have the time, who are they to say what you can and cannot do with your free time? Can they actually enforce this? I believe many states have laws stating that employers cannot ban moonlighting. Or would they just make your life hell, and not write you a recommendation? Seems pretty Draconian to me...

If the outside work is defined as a "conflict of interest" then they can enforce this. This is especially true if you're at a public institution and may or may not be considered a state employee. I'd be VERY careful.