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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and
" b6 U7 u) J3 F9 ~' U K6 [my friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment
" [& g( h! M) m9 j& ^in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for ! p% {3 Y$ ]" H
680 CAD(everything was included), believe it or not the same apartment# _+ v4 [1 d$ }& x3 K0 f
0 \2 f8 O/ F" J7 uis more than 1300 CAD now.(I still have a copy of the contract and for, ~3 G, D0 O) W4 x4 w. o3 o3 n
5 L! ]) N% Z2 e, {& Kthe current price look at this link 5 F: \' j7 n% F
http://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100%
! E2 L6 d6 T- O' `increase in housing cost!
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! k6 ?1 J5 k. C! V2 A# SWhile I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying + r5 x( }* o; t8 p. a1 Q
600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month.
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Other costs of leaving have also increased and the university
n4 O9 h5 p; i. ?3 Kincreases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international ( Z& k1 K! O3 [# l9 s A
differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this, b* R5 @ n3 e& _
the fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers # o0 O. z+ j# R/ W2 `
and most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were . v! x( H: j: C8 e
asked to look for a residence on open market.
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While the average cost of living for a typical graduate student has 0 z q9 _4 n& e- S: ^, D$ `4 Y& i6 I
increased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid
. g9 V' r. U: qexactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our 9 }% [4 L- w! Q2 J& B
admission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students # E0 N+ |, ~4 u' ~( ?2 C& L0 @# U
=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after * D' G: {7 r$ o+ D$ G# i( f
tuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just
6 s* e0 m- P7 b) h6 T9 `imagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am . x* p1 V2 B7 z* ^
getting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of
7 ^/ W; [6 v) w9 y/ D" s9 ius) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was
+ i% n* g; H# y) `! o9 G$ zadmitted and has to incur at least 70% more in average living costs.0 I0 [6 H7 l$ {: n. x7 N$ ^& ~
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Also have in mind that Alberta is a rich province and University of
' I! c0 y6 E% q/ {' @Alberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants
1 n7 S# e: n- ~7 \. jfrom different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate * T- l7 G% J/ x$ ~7 L ^% ?0 j# d
students are the main pillars of research work at the university.$ a+ O- m, B5 g& v# _
6 O+ H+ M! \$ bMy objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention ' f5 i @% S m( Y& a q1 q
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and
% l. t/ @5 b, }( @especially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take( r' `$ X! q& z Y
1 D0 U( H( P% Xinitiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for ' V$ d6 Z/ Z5 j7 m/ V& P4 |" s k
graduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?/ C& n( {! A: y8 \% g
. F- A. [, B0 N( x# NPlease come with your experiences and ideas.
" _; ~. V* e2 ^! Y7 r8 IThank you all( w* C2 X: ~* ^2 ?. n- I' n
Ali |
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