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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and
: F2 K# Q" w$ w, K) h) Tmy friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment 7 P4 u: R7 e, h9 ^
in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for , N! b7 C; B5 ]8 D% @1 r
680 CAD(everything was included), believe it or not the same apartment3 N) m. h0 F/ G/ u
$ C- X. m0 |( kis more than 1300 CAD now.(I still have a copy of the contract and for
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9 L: g) W, v l; _# Kthe current price look at this link 7 e& [- F1 y& [/ B' j/ V: i
http://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100% # c5 f9 V- ?5 j% [
increase in housing cost!+ n* w D+ Z+ [% u5 t+ a% `, K
7 p+ [* B# N) X, s9 _While I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying
/ m% t7 ^& u* L( a" V0 I* Y* X% K600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month.
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% r/ m" ^0 X* _Other costs of leaving have also increased and the university 6 Q7 A; y, P; q$ _- ~
increases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international * H+ H6 {) p& @. E& i' E" }
differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this,
4 ?0 _. v# ` s9 \, I3 q. zthe fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers
M: V( i+ U, d" Vand most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were
9 P' ? D. g( W" \7 q' P: uasked to look for a residence on open market.
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While the average cost of living for a typical graduate student has $ q4 F" B6 \( L
increased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid ) j$ ?& B; s3 m9 T. |1 Y5 r
exactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our & v" w L0 ], c% F
admission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students * M* S' O# D# S1 U
=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after
; S% Q3 n+ p+ f" @tuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just 4 u7 u2 _1 x2 |# E5 y0 @
imagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am . G) M$ J: b! W5 e
getting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of - ~: D) O: `2 Z
us) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was 7 ~3 n/ A) N' z
admitted and has to incur at least 70% more in average living costs.
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/ R. u% `' s3 N5 ^# b% {Also have in mind that Alberta is a rich province and University of / ?. s, {6 W( k |1 g( c
Alberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants ; Z- x$ q& i7 h! X$ n% c$ `
from different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate
! H( {$ J7 X, _4 B, r8 Istudents are the main pillars of research work at the university./ S. q$ r, ?% o/ n9 R
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My objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention . g' U+ E* x- T0 L
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and
5 \/ p5 G7 E/ J: \! u" f5 Qespecially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take% Z& a+ c1 j: G
6 F1 g+ u" |* o5 f" E Einitiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for / y+ S0 v7 O+ [) {8 ?5 A- H d
graduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?- M' f* u' E+ u7 o0 d8 B3 k
$ |2 B5 g/ \7 E, i- ]9 \Please come with your experiences and ideas.3 y& u1 M' S1 |( d, n
Thank you all
3 p* |- u6 G& r: \Ali |
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