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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and
; z) U/ o$ d5 A% k. u; Ymy friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment 1 X, C. d7 V& N6 W1 \0 D7 r3 |
in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for
9 h9 z+ U! {8 o {5 l680 CAD(everything was included), believe it or not the same apartment
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is more than 1300 CAD now.(I still have a copy of the contract and for7 Y& p5 c: \ m! A$ w" y; j
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the current price look at this link
3 p$ N# O9 I3 Y, F/ p; Ihttp://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100%
# o7 b- H! K2 S; q* h4 Zincrease in housing cost!7 a( `# G' [* C. A: P, `. V: |3 e
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While I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying / _* P3 |4 w% Y( @7 a
600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month." T/ K: s) k% `( l5 k) |& c
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Other costs of leaving have also increased and the university & T+ ~4 r* b8 f+ R0 t
increases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international $ D8 \: `* v. @( ^, @% e
differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this,
) A- o. V0 N! F9 }* b1 cthe fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers ( G r, _1 S( y- F$ G' y$ x7 u
and most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were . y, ~. p( ?5 D8 y, b! h
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 8 h+ q' }8 @ W9 E" }4 H; l& T2 }
increased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid : t& y( y6 e/ ^% c, r
exactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our & ^, b3 i) h5 {/ c
admission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students
3 e5 G8 s Y3 h5 g- |8 h=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after . W' P. A I! S2 g
tuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just ! ?: c' j! @5 P" i3 X
imagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am
# n# c- P+ X" {/ c2 Qgetting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of 4 n% h9 S5 T0 }, X$ P' d: n/ }* u
us) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was 2 g- M, m+ c( A
admitted and has to incur at least 70% more in average living costs.& f: @1 c3 G% z/ X7 `
9 h/ }& V9 f. ]Also have in mind that Alberta is a rich province and University of " L3 G# `: W( r% e5 a# P) {
Alberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants , ` z, C- k/ i {2 S R
from different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate
. ]* y8 J+ k5 G3 d# C# ustudents are the main pillars of research work at the university.5 N R3 `4 m& l |' ~* o
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My objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention - S3 L: M# U" s& m
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and ; {4 ^, A2 S3 ^! |
especially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take' y0 Y" B9 v$ F$ ?6 i8 R" t8 H* `
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initiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for
; Y4 W6 N( H) r0 h# Pgraduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?% J$ O F% \' S: k( L
) f( @$ _- F7 L2 j5 F& L% s: GPlease come with your experiences and ideas.% z4 {2 g# V, y- {5 f" T: `
Thank you all
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