The Student Budget

Overview

As you make plans for your enrollment at Stanford, you should be aware of the estimated expenses that you will incur.  The Financial Aid Office provides a standard budget that you may find helpful in your planning process.  We use the standard budget to determine your eligibility for student loans.

For a typical single graduate student living on-campus with no dependents, here is the standard budget:

Standard Budget

*Cardinal Care is an annual plan (coverage extends through the summer regardless of your enrollment status). The annual cost is captured in Autumn, Winter and Spring charges. See the Vaden website for details.

After your financial aid application has been processed, you will be able to view your individual budget in the Student Center section of AXESS.

Your Tuition Charge

The actual amount of your quarterly tuition charge depends on your school (Engineering students pay higher rates) and your number of units. Students with research or teaching appointment are typically permitted to enroll in no more than 8-10 units; those not working typically enroll in 11-18 units. Upper level graduate students may also register TGR. You can find your particular tuition charge amount on the Registrar’s Office—Tuition and Fees website.

Estimated vs. Actual Expenses

The budget amounts for tuition, campus health service fee and medical insurance exactly reflect the amounts that you will be charged on your University bill.  All other budget items are allowances meant to estimate the typical costs incurred by graduate students.  If your actual expenses are significantly higher than the allowances, you can submit documentation of your costs to the Financial Aid Office; we may be able to adjust your budget and increase your loan eligibility. Most students find the allowances to be a realistic estimate of a conservative budget. If your circumstances allow you to spend less than the standard budget you should consider borrowing less than your full eligibility.

FamilY Expenses

If you have children or other legal dependents, we may be able to add allowances for dependent care and other costs to your budget.  You should list all of your family members and any expected child-care expenses on your Graduate Student Loan and FWS Application.

STEP Students

If you will be enrolling in the STEP program through the School of Education, you can review your four-quarter student budget information on our STEP Students page.