Cost of Graduate Education in U.S.

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.

Social Security Number

I still remember when I applied for SSN, few years back. Some schools give letter to all students to apply for SSN. But, some universities will give letter only to those who have employment. If you happen to be in one such university, make sure you get a part time job ASAP.

Rules may vary between universities. Check with the university International Office.

I applied for SSN along with 15 other friends. College campus shuttle bus took all the new international students to SSN office. One of my friend got his SSN in 8 days and I waited for a month and finally decided to call them to check the status. Apparently, they lost my application and I had to submit new application. Finally, after 2 months ( total 3 months) I got my SSN. That’s not the end of the story. There was a typo in my last name.

So, had to re-submit new application for corrections and got a new Social Security Card in 2 weeks time.

Without SSN, you will have trouble buying anything. All the credit history, insurance history, employment history and other histories are based on SSN.

I don’t carry my SSN card in my wallet. But have seen people do that. I don’t feel its secure. If you happen to lose your wallet, you lost your identity!