I don't get the thing about cost of living. New Haven is not expensive, neither is NJ commutable to Princeton, nor Philadelphia. Chicago's cost of living is right at the national average. Durham's is probably below. Etc.
I am a mathematics graduate student at an AMS Group 1 public university in Chicago. The university's estimated cost of living is $16,046, but our wage minimums were significantly below this number (about $1k less) until two years ago, which was the result of over a year of contract negotiations during which we had to bring in an arbiter from the federal government because the university was not bargaining with our union in good faith. They also threatened to raise our health-care premiums and increase fees arbitrarily. The university also bans individual departments from paying their graduate students much more to compensate.
In short, our university appears to be doing everything they can to extract money from their graduate students. It is ridiculous and nearsighted.
Yeah, I thought that was a strange statement in an otherwise solid article. I lived in the Boston area for 2 years on a grad school stipend. It covered my basic needs, and I was even able to put away some money.
Yes, if you're single, you'll probably need roommates, but it is definitely doable.
Indeed. In addition, living frugally is not rocket science. I left graduate school around $2k ahead of coming in, and mine was in an area with higher costs of living than most of the ones mentioned. I shared my run-down apartment with three other people, ate cheap, and generally had a fantastic time.
If you want to insist on a private apartment, grad school isn't the place for you.
