Housing, in particular, can strangle students’ finances. The high cost of living near the University of California, Santa Cruz, drove graduate students at this institution to strike in December 2019. They demanded a $1,412 per month raise, an increase they calculated would allow students to spend less than 30% of their pretax income on rent, the proportion recommended by financial experts.On July 1 of this year, Connor Brandenburg, an organic chemistry student at UC San Diego, got a raise that brought his finances nearly in line with this rule. After his department increased students’ stipends from $31,000 to $34,000 per year, his rent—$897 a month for a studio in university-run housing—accounted for about 32% of his pretax income.But, within a year and a half, this share may grow substantially. In April 2023, he will have exhausted the 2 years of on-campus housing the university allotted him as a graduate student. Off-campus rents for a comparable studio can run up to $1,700, Brandenburg says, so he’s planning to downgrade.“I’m 24. I don’t necessarily want to share a room with someone anymore, [but] financially, that may be my only option,” he says.
There are aspects of short-term pain/long-term gain for graduate school, but it seems more than a bit cruel for this to extend to penury in the form of immediate housing costs. Establishing some kind of reasonable ratio for student stipends to rent should be a goal for departments - of course, that's easier said than done.
This is something to keep in mind if you're trying to decide between graduate programs. In California, you might have to share a bedroom like an undergrad freshman. At a middle-of-nowhere university, you can afford a decent-sized private apartment on a grad student stipend.
ReplyDeleteI went to graduate school in a medium city with population of 400k, which has everything to offer as a city for a comfortable life. I lived in a "luxury" one-bedroom apartment near campus. The rent was $850 per month, my salary after tax was about $1750.
DeleteHousing is really expensive for everyone*
ReplyDeleteFixed your title for you.
I started grad school a long time ago, but one of my not-so-fond memories was the massive up-front cost of securing an apartment -- four months up front at that place / time (first, last, security deposit, and a non-refundable brokerage fee). It drained my savings to the bone even before I set foot on campus.
ReplyDeletesame, housing in Boston was hella pricy even in 1990. Switch to the dorm second year was a huge relief even though I had a roommate
DeleteWhen I started at Berkeley in 2015, the monthly after tax wage was $1550 and typical rents for a room in a shared house were above $1000. Stipends have gone up since then but paying ~50% of your stipend to rent for very modest accommodations is typical. Unfortunately, many excellent chemistry programs are located in high cost of living areas.
ReplyDeleteI did grad school in Atlanta and I still have to pay $800 total in rent and utilities for a one bd apartment; studio is probably $100 cheaper at most. Here in SD CA I do $1500 for a room. Where to sign up for the rent is too damn high party?
ReplyDeleteEverything is expensive when you're paid less than $30k per year
ReplyDeleteDuring my grad school years I paid $950/mo for a studio in downtown Los Angeles close to my campus. Unfortunately it was SHITTY - it had cockroaches and I had to deal with bedbugs for 1.5 years - didn't have the time and money to move out somewhere else. Being a graduate student on a very low budget sucks.
ReplyDelete