The Financial Aid Game

‘Tis the season for admissions! :o) I’ve been getting a lot of the same questions lately about financial aid, so I thought I’d write a blog entry to try and answer those questions all at once. It is totally valid and understandable to be worried about financing your graduate education! So for those of you who feel weird or bad about asking, don’t worry about it—all of us who are currently students at SI had to address the same issues otherwise we wouldn’t be here. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much of a green thumb. Haven’t yet mastered the art of growing a money tree just yet—and no, I’m not talking about that fantastic little Asian variety that has shimmering little leaves, but a tree that actually grows some bills and coins! :o) Wouldn’t that be a miracle, eh?

Ok, so for those of us who don’t live in a fantasy world full of unlimited treasures and riches, we have to find out how we’re going to finance our graduate degree. Yes, it sucks that the University of Michigan is one of the most expensive institutions—around here, we like to make comparisons in that while UM is a public university, it operates and has a reputation to rival that of an ivy league institution. Ergo, a sizeable tuition bill. Ann Arbor is also not the cheapest place considering its size and location. However, going to school here and living here is definitely doable. It just requires good planning, hard work, and creative thinking.

Keep in mind that everyone’s situation is different, so what one person does may not be exactly what you need. I’m going to run down most of the basic information for you here and hopefully it will answer your questions. First, I often get asked about how I handle my own situation, so I’ll share that with you now. I didn’t receive any scholarships from SI or any other source. I had been working full-time before coming back to school so I had a few bucks saved up but not very much compared to the overall expenses that I was about to incur. I am a resident of Michigan, so I am extremely lucky that I benefit from the lower tuition rates benefited to an in-state student. But it’s still expensive, no question about that! In order to fund my education and living expenses, I have a federal financial aid loan package which leaves me with about $2000 in refund after tuition is paid.

At this point I have to consider my living expenses, and $2K just isn’t enough to cover everything. Here’s where part-time work comes into play. Part of my package includes work-study, so I have a part-time job which takes advantage of this funding. This job is at the KNC (see earlier blog entries for the backstory) and gives me great experience doing library media instruction. I work 10 hours per week at this job and by the end of the semester it will just about use up my work-study money. I also work a second job (this one, for SI Admissions, in fact!) which also pays well but the hours aren’t set, so some weeks I work more than others. But it’s super flexible which is why I love it. If you’ve seen earlier blog entries, you’ll read about a third job I had all last semester and into the early part of this semester for SI Career Services. That was a super fantastic paying part-time job but it was also an additional 10 hours per week when I was doing it. So, if you do the math, through January of this winter semester, I was working close to 30 hours per week. Nice paycheck, but very stressful because I was working so much.

My living expenses include the rent on my apartment (but heat is included so that cuts down on bills a lot!), electricity, phone/Internet, cable television, utilities (water/garbage service), cell phone, credit card (I use this to pick up remaining expenses and yes, I have a balance on it right now), and expenses for my car (gas, oil changes, upkeep, insurance). My parents were very generous and wanted to help me when I started school here, so they cover my rent which is a huge help and one less thing I have to worry about right now (HUGE thanks to Mom and Dad!). But everything else is covered by me and only me. My part-time jobs pretty much cover all of my other major bills and the left-over financial aid money helps to cover things like books and other school supplies, etc. My credit card does accrue a balance because extra expenses go on that and I plan to consolidate my loans when I graduate and pay that off then. An example of these extra expenses would be my trip to NYC earlier this week to meet with media librarians at some magazine publishers and to check out the NY Public Library with whom I have interviewed. This trip included a plane ticket, hotel room, transportation money, food, sightseeing, etc. Not a cheap trip, I might add… but greatly needed so that I can know for sure that I would say ‘yes’ in the event of a formal offer. My trip to the ALA conference in Seattle also resulted in charges on my credit card—but again, I considered this worth the price since I might be getting job offers as a result of going to the conference.

Health insurance can be very expensive. The university covers basic health care at the university clinic from the tuition that you pay (it’s included). I paid for supplementary insurance my first year and it was really expensive. I found though, that I didn’t really need it because I wasn’t using it and any care I have received at the clinic was covered through my tuition. I did the math and even my asthma medications were cheaper to pay out of pocket than to pay for the extra insurance. You have to be full-time in order to take advantage of the free, basic health services. If you are interested in learning more about supplementary health care, you can find that here: http://www.uhs.umich.edu/insurbill/insurancestud.html. The price keeps going up, so keep in mind that this can be one of the most costly things while you are in school if you don’t already have insurance. There are other options out there also, so shop around to get the best price.

I also keep costs down by taking the bus as often as possible here in Ann Arbor. So long as you show your student ID, you get to ride for free. This way I don’t pay for parking money—if I have to drive to campus I try to make sure it is only in the evening when the meters are free after 6pm. Last winter, I got really sick and my health wasn’t so great at the end of the semester so I had to drive to campus for class an awful lot—all of that parking money really added up! So I learned my lesson… :o) I also try to avoid eating out a lot—if I know I’m going to need to eat a meal while I’m on campus I try to bring it with me. But I do indulge in things like sushi lunches or dinners with friends—we go to a place that has very affordable food with great prices. After a while you get to know where the good deals are at and people share information so it’s not hard to find them. Ok, so that’s pretty much how I work things out. Now, let’s talk about more general topics so that you can see what options are out there…

Most of this information that I’ll be detailing for you applies to all students, but some of it only applies to domestic students. A lot of what I’m going to be talking about comes directly from the SI funding page which you can get to by going here: http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/fin-aid.htm. On the right column of the page, you’ll find some quick tips which are good to keep in mind and here they are again:

Securing Funding: Tips for Success
1. Start early. As you prepare to apply, begin researching funding sources.
2. Invest time to search for funding. Students who have looked for funding more proactively have found new and unexpected sources from places such as professional organizations, state agencies, and local or community organizations. Explore funding search engines and additional links from above.
3. Remember that securing funding for graduate education is a process that begins when you are an applicant but that can continue as you complete your degree.
4. Stay in touch with SI admissions and once you are enrolled, with SI's financial aid advisor. Tell us about your needs and we will work with you to help you uncover new sources and leads for funding.

International Students—tuition aid:
If you are international student, you can feel free to send me a message or you can also check out Wei Chen’s blog (http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/~chanwei/) and maybe email her also. Wei is an international student and financial aid whiz, extraordinaire! For international students, I also highly, highly, highly recommend emailing or calling the UM Financial Aid office directly to ask them for some help if you need it. They are used to working with every type of student at UM and are a great resource. You can get to their page here: http://www.finaid.umich.edu/.
Domestic Students—tuition aid:
For domestic students, there are quite a few options. Most domestic students here have a federal financial aid package (federal student loans) and also work part-time. Some students may also take out additional private loans as needed but from what I know, personally, this is not as common. I recommend going to the UM Financial Aid office’s website to get more familiar with loans and the process and options: http://www.finaid.umich.edu/.

Scholarships:
These are awarded on a merit basis at SI. Like I said earlier, I am an example of a student who did not receive any scholarships. Disappointing? Yes. End of the world? No. I know that some people base their admissions on whether or not the school offers a scholarship but this wasn’t the case for me. For many reasons, SI was the best option for me so I chose to come here. If you are unfamiliar with the generalities of scholarships at SI, you can read about them on the funding page that I mentioned earlier.

There is also the University Library Associates award (http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/ula.htm) which is a great opportunity and funding source. However, only a very few number of people are selected for these. The deadline for application has already passed if you are looking to come in for Fall 2007, but for future students, I would recommend putting in your application when you submit your general admissions package to make sure it gets in on time. The deadline is usually February 1 (the early deadline for consideration for all scholarship funding).

Part-time work:
Part-time jobs are a great way to earn both a paycheck as well as practical hands-on experience. If you are interested in learning more about something, I highly recommend working part-time doing that very thing because it will be a huge asset when searching for internships and jobs. I don’t think I know of an SI student who doesn’t work part-time—everyone either works to earn some extra money or they’ve been looking for a good experience and they get paid for doing it.

I also want to point out that sometimes while you’re in school here, you will discover that there are some really great opportunities that won’t pay you because they just don’t have the funding available. Either they’re asking for volunteer help or you may even find a project that you have a burning to desire to work on but doesn’t pay anything. If the experience will help you to build your skill sets and you have the time and energy for it, I definitely recommend taking it. While this blog entry deals with financial aid and funding, I have to stress the importance of gaining quality experiences and not to let money get in the way if you have the opportunity to do something great.

A lot of jobs are advertised directly over email from SI Career Services. They pop up at all times during the semester, so if you don’t have enough at first, it isn’t terribly difficult to get more later. Some students find a job and stick with it for a couple of years, others (like me) tend to move around more to get more experience in other places.

The UM Library system hires a lot of SI students (they love us :o) and that’s a great place to start looking for good experience that pays. Whatever your specialization may be, there are many different opportunities in the library so it should definitely be considered. The library human resources page is here: http://www.lib.umich.edu/hr/.

If you have work-study as part of your financial aid package, you are eligible for a lot of on-campus work. You can search for jobs using the Student Employment Office postings: http://www.studentemployment.umich.edu/.

For non-work study jobs, you can also find some on the link, above, or the general UM employment postings: http://www.umich.edu/~jobs/. For off-campus jobs, finding those can be a combination of the emails that float around at school, regular job posting sites like monster.com, or your own personal networking connections.

Assistantships:
At UM, a teaching assistant is called a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI). Research assistants are called a Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA). There are also clerical positions which are called a Graduate Student Assistant (GSA). Either way, these are awesome positions to get because they pay quite generously. I was a GSI for an art history class my first semester (Fall 2005) and it was a great opportunity but a lot of work—it’s basically like taking an additional class and you really have to do ALL of the work because you have to know the material better than your students in order to grade them properly.

Whether you’re a GSI, GSRA, or GSA, you need to know that there are differences in appointments. You can be a full appointment (50%) which pays you a salary and you are also eligible for benefits at the university (but only for the semester that you have the full appointment). Appointments are then on a partial appointment level (i.e., 20%, 15%, etc.). Partial appointments do not offer benefits. Sometimes there are partial appointment positions called “grader” positions—in this case, you aren’t responsible for things like leading discussions or lectures, but you help the professor grade assignments, papers, exams, etc.

GSI positions are highly competitive, so if you interested in getting one, I cannot stress the importance enough to avoid putting all of your eggs into the GSI basket. Sometimes departments run short on people and hire people after the term has already started so you can also keep your eye on the lookout for those postings. Most departments are just about to begin the hiring process (or have already completed the process in come cases). If you want to look for these positions, you can start with this link: http://www.umich.edu/~hraa/acadhr/grads/postings.html. You can also contact departments directly, which is how I got my position—do this by finding the individual sites for departments via the UM portal: http://www.umich.edu.

GSRA positions are sometimes advertised around SI—some students do work for faculty. When you get here you’ll often hear about various opportunities. If you develop a good relationship with a faculty member you just might get the opportunity to work on a project with them and get paid for it! So it’s a good idea to talk with faculty at SI (or even in another department) if you have interest in doing research.

GSA positions seem to be fewer but the Rackham Graduate School often hires students under this title. Simply stay aware of postings that go around at school and you’ll see some of these too.

Other sources:
Again, I recommend looking at the SI page which has put together a really comprehensive list of various places (which are too many to list here) that you can look to for funding opportunities. http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/fin-aid.htm.

Keep in mind that getting your funding set takes a lot of work! And no one can really tell you how to do it in the end. You might start off thinking one type of job is great but then change your mind and do something else the following semester. That is totally OK! I came in to the program thinking that a GSI position was the solution to all of my financial needs—it was a great paying position but the extra academic work involved was just too much and so I looked to get other types of experiences since then.

I hope this helped to give you both a student perspective as well a quick run-down of the most common things people usually want to know about. If you want to ask me more questions, you can send me an email at maryaw@umich.edu. Just be sure to write in the subject line “Questions about the School of Information” or something similar. If you only write “Hello” or something like that, my spam filter will probably filter your message out (I get A LOT of spam with subject lines like “Hello” and “Re:” and things that don’t mean much). Good luck with your funding searches! It’s definitely doable.
-maw :o)

Posted by maryaw on March 02, 2007 at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)

Crunch time

Hello, fearless readers! It's been far too long since my last entry... As the title of this blog entry suggests, it is officially "crunch time." That is our affectionate name for that lovely time of the semester when we are in full-speed-ahead mode working on multiple final projects and juggling all sorts of things at the same time. Well, I'll talk more about this in a minute. But first things first:

Connect with SI has come and gone and wow! What a turnout! We had a lot of people come and check out our school which was pretty cool. Everyone had great questions but the one thing I noticed as a thread that ran through both events was that it is difficult to really understand just how flexible the program is and just how many options there are with an MSI degree for a career. There is only so much that can be described--that last little bit of the ah-ha moment comes once you get here. With that said, never fear dear grasshoppers! I will describe to you some examples of flexibility at SI in this blog entry...

In fact, let me recount a very spirited discussion I had with a first year student this week. We were talking about how many choices you have as an SI student and that in a way, that is the most difficult thing as a student here. It really requires you to be on your toes and take full responsibility for your education and career path. But I think it's a wise choice on the part of the school because we're all going to have to do these very same things upon graduation back into the "real world" so why hold our hands all the way through? Almost everything is offered with a choice. Including...

Faculty advising. So, if you can believe it, we're already to the end of the fall semester. I have an enrollment appointment on Monday afternoon! Holy moly... time sure flies around here... Last week I met with multiple faculty members for advising week. When you get to SI, you are assigned an advisor at orientation which is based off of the general interest area presented in your application package. However, you don't have to continue seeing that person if you don't want to. SI has an open advising policy which allows you to choose and pick who you want to talk to and how many people you want to seek advising from. I chose my faculty advisor after taking a foundation course for which he was a co-instructor. I was having trouble writing a good academic paper after being out of school for a while, so I went to his office hours to get some help and discovered that he really understood what my goals were. More so than my original advisor at orientation. So I switched. Easy as that.

There are no hard feelings at SI if you choose to see someone else. I get most of my advice about courses and career stuff from my main faculty advisor but I also consult with other faculty each semester based on courses I'm looking at taking. This semester I have talked with 2 people in-person and emailed 2 people for more input. I have also talked with other students for their impressions about classes, professors, projects, etc. Sounds great, eh? But it's hard too! You have to ask really good questions and have an idea of what you're looking to achieve. Ergo, choice is hard.

Ok, so "crunch time" -- why so crunchy, you ask? Well, aside from 3 jobs and a full course load, I'm really starting to get into my job hunt. In fact, some of my early work is already paying off. I have a phone interview with a major company on Friday afternoon and if this part goes well, the next phase involves them flying me out for in-person interviews. I have also been putting my portfolio up online for another application that is asking for an online portfolio. I'll be glad when the Holiday vacation break gets here! But it will undoubtedly be entirely too short...

Well, fearless grasshoppers, I must sign off for now. Stay tuned for future updates about end-of-semester projects and I'll be sure to tell you all about the work I've accomplished this semester! It's unbelievable how much you can get done in just 4 months...

Posted by maryaw on November 15, 2006 at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)