<p>Just wondering if anyone has had any experience on how being a GTA has affected reviving graduate tuition. I am doing the most evil by taking the max amount in financial aid because this semester I will not be able to work while being a GTA. The max amount is obviously 10500. As a GTA I will be receiving a 75% tuition waiver which is worth roughly 1700 dollars. Since my schools cost of attendance is 300 dollars off the amount award so far. I was told that My financial aid for this semester will be reduced by the gifted waiver amount, which makes sense. </p>
<p>My main question is, how does receiving a stipend over my GTA employment affect financial AID. I have not been able to get a straight answer from my graduate school no financial aid on how it will impact it. I’ve done some reading that says IF you are working for you stipend it is NOT considered aid (in the same aspect of a tuition waiver) so it will not reduce your eligibility for aid. Rather it just reports as you have a higher income. My fear is that my financial aid will be reduce by the stipend about (3 grand) as well as the waiver amount (2 grand). Unfortunately I will be impossible for me to live off that much (or that little) this semester without a 2nd job which I was told I cannot having while “GTA’ing”. I’m one of those odd college students who are old with a mortgage and bills…looottttttts of bills.</p>
<p>Anyways sorry for the long rant. Hope someone has some insight!!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Go have a meeting with the financial aid office at your university, and find out what your options are. They may be able to increase the Cost of Attendance on which your aid package is based, and thus qualify you for larger student loans.</p>
<p>However, paying your mortgage with a student loan may not be the smartest way to go. Can you take in a roommate to help cover that? Are there any other belt-tightening efforts you can make?</p>
<p>While it may not be easy to GTA and hold down a second job, you need to find out if there is a strict restriction against the second job. Is it that you can’t have another part-time job on campus? Is it that you can’t have any other part-time work anywhere at all (and how would they even know)? Or is it the restriction only against attempting to hold a full-time job, study, and complete the GTA work all at the same time?</p>
<p>You might want to ask in the graduate school forum.</p>
<p>You need to ask at YOUR college. The answer will vary depending on their policies for awarding aid to grad students. Most grad school aid comes in the form of merit, not need based aid. It comes in the form of assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, grants, sometimes work study, and loans.</p>
<p>What type of aid do you think will be affected?</p>
<p>So the value of being a TA is 5k a semester and you’re forbidden to work elsewhere? Doesn’t sound right. Most schools don’t care how you spend your off hours. I know dinosaurs were still roaming the earth when I was a TA, but almost all of us had second jobs. Those who didn’t were likely to be the married students with spouses who were working (as opposed to being married to other students).</p>
<p>Yes, check with your school to be sure of their policies.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I checked the website for my daughter and SIL’s school. The form he would have to fill in to report other graduate student resources specifically says not to include graduate assistanship earnings. I am guessing this is because those earnings are taxable income that would already be included in the AGI already reported on FAFSA. Having said that, the only aid he would be eligible for as a grad student at his school are loans and work study.</p>
<p>I think (because I ran into this) if you get another job within the university, you may not be eligible for the TA-ship. That’s what happened to me. I took on a full-time position within the university where I was a grad student. Then an instructor asked me to be the TA for his class. Well, he was an outside instructor and I was a grad student so we didn’t know the ins and outs of financial aid. AFTER the class ended, all of a sudden my department called me in and told me they couldn’t pay me for my TA-ship. It was “illegal”. Well, a mess ensued that really soured me on my department and my desire to complete my degree. It didn’t help that the department told me that I should have known enough to turn down the TA-ship; not that they were responsible to know whether or not I was eligible (they knew about my full-time position).</p>
<p>I would say go to your department chair and advisor. Lay out your dilemma concerning aid and your ability to continue in the program. They may be able to change the amount you get for you GTA to make up some (but hopefully all) of the loss. The key is to keep your GTA-ship or the tuition waiver.</p>
<p>I imagine it depends on the school. Back when the Dino’s roamed, I was a TA with a fellowship that reduced my tuition to half and paid me a stipend that more than supported my living expenses. I also picked up “temp jobs” within my university…things like working in the dorms for summer and vacation programs, putting ISBN numbers on new library books at the start of the term. It was never an issue as these jobs did not conflict time wise with my TA responsibilities.</p>
<p>DS was a TA his second year of grad school and worked extensively (with the knowledge of the professor and department chair) outside of the university, and in a small job in a different part of the university. Again…no issues.</p>
<p>You need to check YOUR school’s policies.</p>
<p>And again I ask…what aid do you think will get reduced?</p>
<p>Thanks for all your responses! I’m thinking that the loan amount will get reduced. Possibly. For instance the amount of my tuition that is being waived is 1700 dollars. So supposedly my awarded aid (loans) will be reduced by that much. I’ve just heard different sides that my stipend, since it is for one taxed and paid out every two weeks - will or will not reduce my loan amount since it’s considered income and not gift aid like my tuition waiver and again as someone stated above graduate loans are based on merit not need. You all are right though I should probably make a meeting with my financial aid office, I just have asked over the phone multiple times and most of them are dingbats and don’t really give hypothetical responses. Just we have to “wait and see” responses. I found out that my department specifically is fine with having a second job as long as it does not interfere with my GTA hours (which means I’ll be working on the weekends!)</p>