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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and + b/ E5 s0 A0 q" i U
my friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment
6 ^+ [( a3 U: z2 M4 {in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for
5 D* \+ a6 C1 W* g$ J- ?. c680 CAD(everything was included), believe it or not the same apartment
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3 O8 S0 a/ C/ l0 @% w+ Q' {/ uis more than 1300 CAD now.(I still have a copy of the contract and for4 ?2 f; @: }& o5 E
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the current price look at this link
' G& n' T0 h5 l) Ghttp://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100% % ^( J& p3 s! Y- c
increase in housing cost!
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While I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying
+ V1 V% t$ g1 t" t600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month." w2 D5 D( e, D
" d$ a: E, H# h6 c# UOther costs of leaving have also increased and the university 3 l- Q- Z; s% Z* t; A3 Y
increases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international
5 u* b8 N* l& E1 y* ^differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this,
$ B/ {9 l; o/ h0 F# bthe fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers
& R3 ?0 h% A- i! m9 L Land most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were 8 ?7 e3 z; ^, e( c1 i- j8 R
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 ) U: U7 g- x. c( r" @: t" Y/ X
increased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid
y$ U R6 J. u, jexactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our
6 T+ M8 a3 T& L6 r' |8 ^admission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students * `/ i/ f5 N/ Q1 X( }$ l
=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after
, U" Y, a7 |4 `5 Ctuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just
" J" K; W% q( t. R! t/ Y: D- v& U2 X2 qimagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am ; i2 Z, G0 a, j @; o) o; J
getting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of ! I/ g' B% ~7 f) L7 ^. Q( n9 N
us) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was
! a6 T+ U, d2 z# s7 y0 V- qadmitted and has to incur at least 70% more in average living costs.
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Also have in mind that Alberta is a rich province and University of - q! C* j& f" z% X% c
Alberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants
+ w% Q) e7 p& X0 J. B! s% M% c: Mfrom different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate & U/ V! T" M* ~6 j& k
students are the main pillars of research work at the university.# a3 k. I: E; k8 j$ H
- |4 ^" k* i( o8 I! p x! R7 XMy objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention j V) t1 u) W7 Q
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and
: x* q0 V: { Bespecially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take
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; S8 k+ E) A( s# d3 S* K' Z2 H9 |initiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for & K* r4 N6 P r# m
graduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?# t, i% Y; o' q' s, E
, S- U7 Y! Q Q1 W% p! cPlease come with your experiences and ideas.4 J) u/ \9 R5 b4 v1 R( g
Thank you all
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