Igloo, why don’t you tell us what metro area your kid is going to? It is not like someone can easily guess your kid’s identity if you say, for example, UW Seattle. These schools are huge with hundreds of STEM grad students starting each year, so there is no downside in telling us the locale. The upside is that we can give you a more tailored advice.
I can write a lot about Seattle, but it would be a waste of time if your kid is going to the other UW. 
“How long does it usually take to get a PhD, 4-5 years? Or does it really vary depending on the area of study?”
It also greatly depends on the specific PI. Some profs do not like to let go off their grad students in less than 6 years because grad students become more productive after their 3rd year, so the profs milk their skills to the max. If your kid is looking at specific departments, make sure she checks the profiles of the PIs and talks to current and former grad students in informal settings.
^I could see that happening. As @teriwtt stated, it is pretty cheap labor, especially past the first few years.
Yes- the number 1 advice I have for prospective students is to talk to current and former students. This is by far the most valuable thing you can do when trying to decide on which PhD programs to apply to and/or choose. Learn the culture of the department, how students are treated (valuable colleagues or cheap labor?), and what other “perks” are available- ie does the dept fund travel, books, etc?
If your DD can find a few roommates, rent can be pretty affordable. When I was in grad school, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I had 1 roommate for the first 2 years, then moved to a 3 BR and had 2 roommates for 2 years, before finally having a single the last 2 years when I was on internship and finishing my dissertation. I got a public health service traineeship for a few years, then worked as a low level trainee at the VA for a few years, and still took out some student loans (my parents paid for undergrad- I was on my own for grad school). Also, after the first year I was able to qualify as an instate student, so the tuition costs went down. My entire YEAR’s internship salary was less than 6K, and my subsequent research scholarship paid $7k – yes, a YEAR. I still had a car and put food on my table and paid all my utilities and went out with friends. Its doable. I vividly remember saving up for a small canister vacuum cleaner, and a wicker rocking chair. I did not feel poor-- just tight with finances.
Don’t beat me up for this question, but other than a person with a disability or a Vet is it allowed that a grad student would receive an EBT card or government assistance? I can understand if you are already in a program and you get pregnant, but isn’t it a conscious choice to go to grad school and not work full time?
Yes, they can get gov’t assistance if their income is low enough. The government doesn’t ask WHY people have low incomes (people with full time employment at places like Walmart are eligible for government assistance sometimes, too). Grad students also put in a lot of hours for their meager salaries, I think a lot of them do work 40 hours per week in addition to attending classes.
Grad school is full-time work, and the “stipend” is paid out monthly and taxed as wages. At least that’s how it worked in the old days when a nice 2-bedroom apt in my town could be rented for $600.
@Kajon Yes, if income is low enough.
I was on Medicaid when I was in a master’s program but my income is certainly too high now even in a household of 2 to qualify for SNAP, etc.
Most PhD students in any decent PhD program are making more than minimum wage- which is more than can be said for lots of other people with bachelors degrees. (Not that this is any way their fault- it’s just a fact of life for my generation.)
" I think a lot of them do work 40 hours per week in addition to attending classes."
More like 60-80 hours.
i got food stamps my first term in grad school. I was married…and until my husband found a job, we qualified.
My DD probably could apply for SNAP, but she is a careful shopper (brand new Aldi two minutes from her apartment) and eats out only once a month or so with friends as a special treat…and not to expensive places. She packs her lunch every day and also hot tea. Doesn’t frequent Starbucks and the like.
We do send her gift cards to places near where she lives. We want her to get out.
Slacker! j/k 
LOL, teri. 
My son couldn’t live in a studio in Cambridge with his stipend. He has 2 roommates, and is not in a neighborhood with easy T accessibility. He’s tried Blue Plate (?) to,learn to cook nice meals. Occasionally I send him clothes and encourage him to go out for nice meals, using our shared credit card.
^^Blue Apron?
My D was offered a job as a TV news producer for the same salary as these stipends. She decided not to take the job, but the reality is lots of people live on that amount (or less)
I noted up thread that insurance was thought part of the funding package. The cost of insurance is one of the sore points in the financial process for my Ds in MA programs, as they are over 26, so no longer eligible for mine. At one school, with no funding available for her professional program. $3252 for the calendar year for grad students. She found high deductible insurance on the state exchange instead. But she better not need any medical care, with the $6000 or so deductible.
Current grad student, $770 rent(2br1ba) + $250 utilities per month. Health insurance is available through the school but not formally part of the funding package. The stipend ($32k) allows me to build up some savings and contribute to an IRA each month. I could be saving more, but I don’t make a huge effort to be frugal wrt food purchasing. We do not have access to a 401k.
@“great lakes mom” I’m surprised that the cost is $3252 given how much cheaper it is for most undergrads to purchase insurance through universities.
My kid’s school doesn’t offer health insurance. So…she has a private individual plan through a company.
Her rent is $1015 per month which includes rental of a washer and dryer, and trash, and water bills, and basic cable. Her highest electric bill was $90 during the hottest summer month. Lowest has been about $30…no heat…no AC. She pays $50 a month for Internet, groceries are about $30-50 a week…usually closer to the $30 range. She does most of her shopping at Aldi. She does not go out to eat much…we give her little gifts in holiday cards and the like for this kind of discretionary spending. She fills her car with gas once every two weeks. About $30. car insurance…$900 a year. Renters insurance bundled with car insurance $100 a year. Health insurance $270 a month.
@doschicos, at the University of Michigan, an annual plan for an undergraduate is more than $4,000.