Funding question

[Galia]

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Looking to get some sense of funding. For example, PhD programs that are considered well funded:
--- Do they tend to cover tuition (full or part) and than people borrow to pay for living expenses (or use own sources if they have $)?
OR
--- In addition to tuition they also tend to provide some source of minimal income (in form of teaching/research assistantships/stipends/other)?

Out of all PhD programs, what is percentage of ‘well funded programs’ / students that receive ‘well funded packages ’? More like 5% or more like 20%? Or any other qualitative benchmarking that people could mention?

What are typical (average) funding packages students get in the PhD programs?

Thanks a lot!

 

[LM02]

I would add the following schools to your list:

Temple University
University of Colorado-Boulder

Both excellent programs with good funding (and happen to be strong in my research area, which is why they stand out as glaring omissions to me).

🙂

 

[Galia]

Thanks for your posts.

That answers my questions very well.

 

[amimi]

You should also consider the area of the country the school is in. I interviewed a school in the DC area that only covered in-state tuition after the 1st year and I think the stipend was $11K. There's (probably) no way to live comfortably on that stipand--esp. if you're coming from out of state (it was in VA). Another school in the Chicago area paid similarly, though it covered full tuition remission. All the students I talked to at these schools were taking out loans to cover cost of living.

Granted, neither of these programs were in the "top tier" or whatever, but funding is usually based on how much the program is able to part with, and isn't always able to factor in the high cost of living in some areas.

 

[sunny22]

I am going to be a graduate student in a clinical psych phd program in the fall and am hoping you all will be able to help me out with this question.


I will be attending one of the programs listed on this thread and received my financial package some time back, and as you might have guessed, did not look too carefully at it. So now, as I am preparing to move, I realize that after tuition, etc., the stipend I will receive is not enough to live on (about $500 cash/month, with a .25 assistantship -- and yes I am trying to get that increased). So, when I called the financial aid office, they indicated that because I had a full assistantship, I was not eligible for more aid. I was not able to find out if they meant federal aid, only, or all student loans. (They have been busy, and the person assigned to me is out for the week, so I might get better information next week, but for now it is freaking me out a little!).

So, I am wondering if this is something that happens often, or what suggestions people might have to find a way to live! Any suggestions or perspectives will be greatly appreciated!

 

[sasto]

When I applied to clinical PhD programs, I wanted to only apply to schools that would give me a stipend and pay tuition. I saw the lists of schools given by other posters, and they all look like good schools, but I suggest that you make your own list of schools you like and provide funding.

When I applied was first went to the APA website and printed the list of APA-approved clinical PhD programs, then crossed off all the schools that were in cities/areas where I didn't want to live. Next, I went to each school's website and looked at the psychology page, looking at several criteria including: the professor's research areas (since that is very important when deciding which programs to apply to), level of funding given to what percentage of students (if the program did not fully fund ALL the students with at least full tuition, I cut the program from my list because I did not want to fight for tuition coverage), and basic GRE/GPA criteria. For each school I liked, I made a little fact sheet and stuck it in a binder, so that way I could easily compare schools. This process was very time-consuming, but I found many schools to apply to, got interviews at 5 places, and got several offers for admission. Also, I knew during the application that I only applied to schools which would offer me tuition and stipends for living expenses, which equaled less stress for the stressful process.

Luckily for me, I am now packing to start a PhD program which is providing me with enough of a stipend and tuition coverage that I will not need to take out any loans during grad school.

Good luck to you in the application process! 🙂

 

[sunny22]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I am happy to share that there was a typo in my letter (aarrgghh!) and that is why I was so confused. Without too many specifics, I thought that a huge chunk of the money was going to tuition, which is not the case, so I should be just fine in the end!

Thanks for all your help!

 

[SaraL124]

You should also add Kent State and Drexel University to your list. They both offer full tuition waiver for all 4 years and a reasonable stipend for living expenses.