Cost of Graduate Education in U.S.
By HSB
I have few emails asking me to write about how much would it cost to study in U.S. I know many of my friends decided not to study in U.S. considering that factor “Money” they would have to invest to study in U.S.At the same time I have seen people who sold everything they had back home just to get education from U.S.
So, the perspective usually varies. But, I would say its really worth every penny one would spend on graduate school programs. I’m going to write about the basic necessities and how much it would cost to stay and study in America.
Cost of living usually varies between different states in America and also varies between city where the graduate school is located. I will give you an estimate on places where you mght leave for comparison. So, location is the major factor.
If the Graduate school is located say in Kingsville, Texas you would spend around $300 per month including all expense, whereas in New York or Los Angeles it might be around $800 per month. Without part time job or aid it will be difficult to manage in major cities
Elements for Basic Living:
Apartment ( on campus or off campus )
Groceries and food
Utilities ( Power, water, gas, internet)
Phone ( land line or cell phone)
Books ( used college books )
Personal Care
Others:
Dinning out
Travel Vacation
Car, Car insurance
Starbucks Coffee
Buying Gadgets
Cable TV Connection
Considering all the above factors, I have seen students live for $200 to $1000+ per month.
If you live in Texas, $200 will be sufficient for very restricted life style of living, I have seen students who had that kind of life style. But, I wouldn’t live that way.
I spent around $300 to $400 per month on basic expenses and others expenses add to it based on your lifestyle.
Apartment rental is the major cost in living expenses if you live in Major city. If you read my previous Guest Speaker post, where apartment rent around UC Davis is $1600 per month for 3 bed room apartment.
Whereas in UTA we paid $600 per month for 2 bed/1.5 bath. How many people stay in the apartment? That usually varies. In 1 bed/ 1 bath I have seen 2 to 5 people stay. Usually 3 is common.
In 2 bed/2 bath = 4 to 8 people stay. And this depends on city and how strict the apartment rules are.
Groceries cost are almost standard and it will be shared by all your roommates, so it will not be a major expenses, unless you dine out daily.
Phone = $10 to $50 per month
Utilities ( Gas, water, power ) = $100 – $200 per month
Cost that will be put as living expenses in I-20 is more and that usually dosen’t apply to International students who share the apartments and food expenses. They use dorm expenses to calculate the living expenses. Dorm are usually expensive.
Hope this will give an idea of how much your living would cost.
Related posts:
- Cost of Living at University of Southern California, LA
- Cost of Living for Students – Breakdown
- Cost of MS in US
- Cost of Living: Most and Least Expensive College Town
- Google Pays $95,000 per year
hi
i wonder if you could answer my question:
first of all i don’t want share my apartment with any one. how much is cost?
second as i come to US in next fall, how could i find a good apartment via internet? is there any site for this?
and is 30000$ fund per year enough to study in US for a couple! or i have to do part time jobs.
thank you for your extraordinary web site. please contact me via email.
thank you again.
@Tanveer: I haven’t written about your concern about renting apartment and finding roomates. I will write about that in future.
Nice article. But how can I rent apartment Bangladesh, and how can i find other guys to share it !!??
very informative
please post similar posts
thanx
@ There are websites, but it will not apply for students, that too international students. Since, we usually have 3 or 4 roommates. But it will be from $300 to $800 per month depending on the city. Not more than $800.
Can you suggest some ways to find out the living expenses for specific cities?
Neat job !