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When arrived to Edmonton to start my graduate studies on 2004, me and
2 J! H: O% Y% K' o( v, r9 umy friend rented a very nice, spacious and shiny 2-bedroom apartment
% S: T. h' l* w! k: o5 D; ^in one of the Boardwalk's high rise buildings (Galbraith House) for + V( R* O1 b. Y( j# h
680 CAD(everything was included), believe it or not the same apartment! z6 F7 z3 U1 s" j0 w/ ]7 H; I% T+ l
' x3 [+ F% T8 T( j/ J: ]is more than 1300 CAD now.(I still have a copy of the contract and for
* h5 m% J( B: @, M: h * m+ m) W1 r- U, u& P k0 ?
the current price look at this link
' ^7 w* u8 s5 B; v1 i4 o o" khttp://www.bwalk.com/Rental/infosheeta.asp?projectno=92). 100%
4 l; }+ u* \; Pincrease in housing cost!
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0 C# x: n$ U! xWhile I was paying 340CAD/month for more than a year, I抦 paying
9 y* j- ]$ G( Z) r2 G. c* g600CAD/month plus utilities right now, some thing around 700CAD/month.+ F5 r6 U: r* A2 K! Y- r* U. S
, D8 Z/ L. Y9 d# v5 {' v8 lOther costs of leaving have also increased and the university
- ~0 Z( E6 W( ?+ t' lincreases the tuition fee by few percent every year and international & f; V4 A0 ^' _ I! H2 F6 i( l
differential fee was increased by almost 20% last year. Add to this, # g% Z9 S$ n1 b( O. c; e/ \
the fact that the university housing has no more space for newcomers # |: x3 G5 e; N: K L: M& Z
and most of the newly admitted students who applied for housing were
- C/ ~; |9 H( [/ Yasked to look for a residence on open market./ L+ K/ ?! I* ]& O& J; v
% t# f8 I/ w* c1 PWhile the average cost of living for a typical graduate student has
# D1 U/ n0 Z& r7 ]8 s1 p$ mincreased by something more than 70% percent we are getting paid
+ ~; D6 e6 _3 b6 A! n0 t+ V9 Cexactly for the same amount of money that we were offered in our ( q: L) |7 A; Q; n/ ]
admission letter (18000 CAD + 1500 CAD for international students
& A/ u. M' |0 O4 k' S( |5 t=19500CAD. What I get is something around 1000CAD/month!!! after
9 e' P3 S6 q4 L3 G# k$ a" s+ Q+ ftuition fee and taxes). To make the argument easy to understand just - I- O- \! ~! @0 j
imagine that a new student gets the same amount of money that I am " x& Y5 }& B. M w1 t" z
getting now and I was getting 3 years ago but he or she (like all of
9 h5 [* `( s6 K! Nus) has to pay twice as much as I was paying for housing when I was 7 ` K+ C3 p0 R3 M! i1 V. z5 }! x
admitted 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$ G3 a1 p6 nAlberta has a remarkable record in absorbing various money and grants # u1 g5 x8 ?& n3 x! x! e% T# F. ?- o
from different governmental and non governmental sources and graduate " f9 O: k- ]8 n3 M) q* i
students are the main pillars of research work at the university.6 J! g6 r i* ?7 e, q
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My objective in bringing all abovementioned points in your attention * ^3 ?$ r: l! b8 l$ ~: A& t0 s0 C
is to question the adequacy of financial aid for graduate and / F" ?) b* g& ]* j- H
especially international students. Isn抰 it time for the GSA to take
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initiative in raising the issue of increasing financial aid for
# S/ L+ U9 R: c- A1 h; A) Dgraduate students so that the can afford this increase in costs?
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Please come with your experiences and ideas.( P0 z8 j1 L6 T
Thank you all
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