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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and * M% x& @ b& Z, G
my friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment % N& H$ B# |' n y' ~
in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for
( q' i0 }. {9 R680 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 for
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6 [( N' j8 L7 K9 {. U0 fthe current price look at this link
4 R* J, E W X5 s @http://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100%
9 ?! b* j e, b: x. W5 Rincrease in housing cost!2 y* g* X* ]; \7 P. b: \
' n o" e6 b+ DWhile I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying
( \8 }( c( K8 `+ X5 N600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month.& V" P6 U8 N, ^8 a
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Other costs of leaving have also increased and the university
- K" X9 G& L9 V# G( Q Yincreases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international ! I/ {4 b0 ?9 R2 K# i4 `+ V8 I
differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this,
/ X! B; @& ^ @" ^/ d$ Ythe fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers 5 t+ M0 w+ F5 f) c: t- @1 H
and most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were ( U2 R( O Q4 j2 T4 b! o
asked to look for a residence on open market.3 s- \% c% X! {/ V/ _# Q
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While the average cost of living for a typical graduate student has
a: l, E+ j; G( v9 |increased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid ( `0 o2 n9 q d/ V# _! c
exactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our
. ^2 Q: O9 u! ?7 }" V. vadmission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students 1 m4 k* U1 z" H. @: j- D
=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after 4 L+ o H% {& E% _8 n
tuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just
+ T: T- }# d4 z7 @0 e$ iimagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am
" ?: P* w' }% X4 t4 [7 zgetting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of : L: [$ S8 t& c, b' h
us) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was * G0 m) v: z8 i5 Z* \* ~- x
admitted and has to incur at least 70% more in average living costs.2 b. j/ r( C8 N8 i- n
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Also have in mind that Alberta is a rich province and University of
9 W" z5 `% s: I. {9 T5 M, x' G% VAlberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants . o$ K1 ?8 D& R/ S* @8 V. [
from different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate
9 {" e. O3 g( J7 D, u0 }6 Z+ _6 T0 Vstudents are the main pillars of research work at the university. X7 _7 R+ J R' s% @( N3 L& b
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My objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention / u6 d$ e+ v: E% l @
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and , C" Q0 k$ N6 ~( e( l4 B
especially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take
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! o5 u& a s- Sinitiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for ( z/ @: f& H$ ]; J/ z
graduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?+ w: }# G% P6 j
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Please come with your experiences and ideas.. C6 C, j. U$ p7 |6 E. A4 ~
Thank you all" q% Q" V& l+ m
Ali |
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