Ah to be a rich grad student

[Exterous]

Current project has me parking in a parking garage near a major grad student building. Parking passes for the lot cost $650 for a 3 month pass (a temp pass for me was included in the contract). Every day there seems to be a steady stream of grad students coming in to park and I confirmed today there is no student subsidy for parking and free hours don't start until 8pm. There is a free 'Commuter lot' served by a campus bus and a cheaper lot ($200/3 months) about a 10 minute walk away, not to mention an extensive bus system that is free for students

I have no doubt that some of these students are funded by mom&dad but I wonder how many are adding to their debt to save a few minutes of walking or bus riding

 

[cbrunny]

Probably lots.

But these days grad students tend to be pretty well funded, at least in Ontario. My wife is a grad student & I work in admin at a University. We're comfortable. Not rich by any stretch, but comfortable. Then again, her parking is closer to $40 a month.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Thread is irrelevant. Motion for ban from lack of photos posted in the last thread.

 

[pete6032]

How dare other people spend money the way they want! Outrageous.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Rich grad student? WTF?

While I was fortunate to be an RA from the get go (and all the way through) as a PhD candidate,
the stipend was by no means extravagant.

 

[zinfamous]

Rich grad student? WTF?

While I was fortunate to be an RA from the get go (and all the way through) as a PhD candidate,
the stipend was by no means extravagant.

There is a lot of obvious sarcasm going on in the OP.

He makes a good point, and I see this all the time. But there are also far wiser grad students out there. It helps to form good behavior when you live in some of the more expensive areas of the country and you really have no other choice but to live in some old lady's closet (I've seen this) and walk 2 miles or so to campus.

 

[zinfamous]

How dare other people spend money the way they want! Outrageous.

spending money on parking like that, when there are tons of free and convenient options available, is stupid for anyone. Especially when you are spending 3-6 years being poor as fuck and surviving on re-hydrated shoe leather broth.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

There is a lot of obvious sarcasm going on in the OP.

He makes a good point, and I see this all the time. But there are also far wiser grad students out there. It helps to form good behavior when you live in some of the more expensive areas of the country and you really have no other choice but to live in some old lady's closet (I've seen this) and walk 2 miles or so to campus.

Oh no, I caught on to that.
It's just that it blows my mind that grad students would (IMHO) frivolously blow that kind of cash.

Props to the folks who can put up with the grad student / postdoc life / tenure track life.
After ~6-7 years, I quit (graduated) and am enjoying industry a lot more.
While I was decent (tons of publications, some patents, grants, etc.), got tired of it real quick.

 

[Majes]

I commuted to college back in the early 2000's and my school charged $150 a semester for parking. This was the same fee that they charged students to keep a car on campus full time. Naturally, I didn't bother to pay for a parking pass. I think I made it through with 5 or 6 tickets at about $50 each. I parked all over the place... There was an old gym I parked behind. The bookstore had a few loading spots that were never used that I parked in. I basically parked anywhere but the lot unless I thought they werent ticketing at that time. There were nice days I parked across the street at the arena. Saved a bit in the end I guess.

 

[Kaido]

Current project has me parking in a parking garage near a major grad student building. Parking passes for the lot cost $650 a month (a temp pass for me was included in the contract). Every day there seems to be a steady stream of grad students coming in to park and I confirmed today there is no student subsidy for parking and free hours don't start until 8pm. There is a free 'Commuter lot' served by a campus bus and a cheaper lot ($200/month) about a 10 minute walk away, not to mention an extensive bus system that is free for students

I have no doubt that some of these students are funded by mom&dad but I wonder how many are adding to their debt to save a few minutes of walking or bus riding

What the heck, $650 per MONTH? Not like $65 per month? That's rent for a whole month in a lot of places!

 

[Exterous]

What the heck, $650 per MONTH? Not like $65 per month? That's rent for a whole month in a lot of places!

It seems I was initially misinformed. Its $650/quarter but we're still talking $2600/year when there is a free commuter lot

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

It seems I was initially misinformed. Its $650/quarter but we're still talking $2600/year when there is a free commuter lot

OK, that's a little better. $650 / month could fund a small coke habit, which one might need while finishing his/her dissertation

 

[Kaido]

It seems I was initially misinformed. Its $650/quarter but we're still talking $2600/year when there is a free commuter lot

My first car, which I bought in college after working for minimum wage for like forever, was $2,400 lol. $2,600 is nuts just for parking.

The Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot self-driving capabilities is gonna sell boatloads for driverless uber usage at college campuses...

 

[Exterous]

OK, that's a little better. $650 / month could fund a small coke habit, which one might need while finishing his/her dissertation

Yeah I was a bit surprised but its a major city with terrible parking and congestion and I have no real point of reference since most places in MI have free parking so I just assumed the guy who told me that was right. Still...

My first car, which I bought in college after working for minimum wage for like forever, was $2,400 lol. $2,600 is nuts just for parking.

The Tesla Model 3 with Autopilot self-driving capabilities is gonna sell boatloads for driverless uber usage at college campuses...

Yeah - I just hope they aren't piling on debt to do it. I wasn't great at controlling my spending while I was in college but I wouldn't have done this and I thought my debt was bad enough

 

[Sonikku]

<-- will be riding the bus to community college.

Oh to be rich.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I've been wondering lately abut the correlation of graduate degrees to family (parents) income level. I'll bet it's high, much higher than the correlation of income to undergrad degrees.

If Mom & Dad can afford to send the kid through business school or law school or dental school, they can also afford a parking pass. They probably also bought him/her his Volvo and pay for his/her apartment.

 

[Cappuccino]

Most Chinese over sea students are loaded with money laundrying cash from pappa and mamma

 

[madoka]

Most Chinese over sea students are loaded with money laundrying cash from pappa and mamma

I know quite a few Chinese students like that. But you can't beat Arab students for most outrageous spending habits.

I meet a guy who was an international college student from the Middle East. His parents sent him $30,000 per month for living expenses back in the late 1970s! That's $116,500 per month when adjusted for inflation!

He ran into some massive health problems later in life, so he says he's dirt poor now compared to his glory days. But his home is still a massive mansion with separate wings and his kids drive $100K cars.

 

[deustroop]

Did someone say kidnapping ?

 

[Cappuccino]

I know quite a few Chinese students like that. But you can't beat Arab students for most outrageous spending habits.

I meet a guy who was an international college student from the Middle East. His parents sent him $30,000 per month for living expenses back in the late 1970s! That's $116,500 per month when adjusted for inflation!

He ran into some massive health problems later in life, so he says he's dirt poor now compared to his glory days. But his home is still a massive mansion with separate wings and his kids drive $100K cars.

dam i want to beat these kids up for reals.