how much is a lot of money?

[suscipe_me]

I recently got an offer for the anthropology PhD program at Stanford which would come with a fellowship stipend of ca. $6900 for three quarters and a research fellowship of $5500 for the summer quarter. Now, as I am German and have no idea of the cost of living in Palo Alto etc. I was wondering how much this actually is? I mean, to me it seems an

Comments

[hannibee1]

You can definitely live on it, and some do manage to save some money, but I wouldn't say gigantic savings. Housing on-campus starts at $863 per month for your own room (with shared bathroom and common space), though if you're willing to share a room, there are some cheaper options. With that kind of funding package, I'm guessing health insurance will also be paid for, or at least half of it, but if it's not covered, that's probably $800+ per quarter. Having a car, with insurance and paying for parking on campus is also another expense, if you will have one (though you can definitely do without). I have no idea what taxes you'll have to pay as a German citizen, but as a U.S citizen I end up paying about 20% tax between state and federal taxes).

[suscipe_me]

Hm, that still sounds pretty good :-). Yes, health insurance is also covered completely and I was planning not to have a car, but it sure is interesting to know that taxation can be so high. Thanks!

[inaseaofeight]

i live right off campus in palo alto (about a 15 minute bike ride away from school) with my own room, my own bathroom in a very nice home for only $650/month. I think the cardinal care health insurance runs about $100-something a quarter and you can find a decent bike for about $100. Dining hall meals are kind of pricey, but it is all you can eat.

[suscipe_me]

Wow, how did you find your room? It sounds like a great deal!

[inaseaofeight]

it took a few days of searching. at first i was just looking through craigslist, then i found out the stanford housing website has off-campus housing listings that I wasn't able to find elsewhere:

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/chs/campus/listings/index.shtml

you need an suid, but you can request a temporary username and password if you don't have one yet.

[suscipe_me]

Thanks, this is a great tip!

[shandrew]

Wow, that's way better than what PhD students, especially in the humanities, were getting when i was a student ten years ago. The cost of living here is high, but mainly it's high for people who either:

- Buy a house
- Have kids who need child care

This is because housing is extremely expensive compared to the rest of the US, and child care is extremely pricey here. I'm not sure how taxes work for non-US citizens, but your taxes would be low (likely less than 10% overall) since your income is quite low. You should probably start with on-campus housing as it's easy and very convenient.

Other costs here are reasonable. Groceries (especially produce) are inexpensive if you know where to shop. Electronics are way, way cheaper than they are in Europe. Restaurants in the area have a wide price range. The one year I was a grad student, I had a dinner plan at one of the row houses.

Viel Glück,
Andrew

[suscipe_me]

Hi Andrew, thanks, this is starting to look better and better! Seeing as the money is about double what even nat science PhD students can expect over here in Germany, my first reaction, too, was "Wow!". Followed closely by "OK, there's got to be a hitch in that plan..." but what you are writing about costs of living sounds very encouraging.
I thought I'd start with on-campus housing because it is convenient and a good place to meet people - maybe even people one would want to rent an appartment with off-campus for the second year.
What exactly is a dinner plan?
Vielen Dank!

[shandrew]

Many of the undergrad row houses (the smaller upperclass dorms) have a chef and open kitchens. To help pay for costs, they offer "eating associate" spots where grad students and off-campus undergrads can eat dinner there five days a week. Some of the houses have great food, some not so much.