The Bad Part About Being a 6th Year
Posted 06-11-2010 at 08:04 AM by EmmyNoether
So, this is something that really irks me about my department/school: They only guarantee funding for 5 years. It doesn't matter that the national average is 5.5, closer to 6 years, they cut you off. So, what does this mean for me? I am teaching, so that's good. It means I'll still get my stipend, a little under $20,000, however, I have to pay tuition and fees. This, I just found out, will be roughly $3,000 a semester. I reckon that does not seem like that much, but let's realize some things. I've never had a real job (internships, yes, jobs, no). This means that all my savings is what I manage to scrounge up out of the under 20K, which, isn't much. Most months I'm breaking even - which is very much against my nature. I don't like to live paycheck to paycheck, but there you go.
Also, to make matters worse, here's the fun tidbit about gradschool most people don't think about/realize when planning to go: your summer funding (if given - most times it is) is severely reduced. For the 4 months of summer, I get paid for 2, though am expected to work for 3 of them. Plus, they usually pay you in 1 check which puts you (for that pay period) in a higher tax bracket. Yes, the IRS gives it back eventually, but it would be nice to have it when you need to survive the summer months. So, all of my savings typically are spent to pay rent and buy food during the summer. Where the school/department thinks I'll come up with $3,000 each semester is completely beyond me.
I kind of knew this was a likely situation because I heard other 6th years in the past vent about this. Now, I'm kicking myself for not caring about politics enough to fight this policy. However, I do have to remind myself that I never intended to take more than 5 years and when exactly with the change around of 4 project when would I have had time to fight this. Here is another insult added to my bank-account-injury: The school's policy further stipulates that if and only if you are being fully supported on a grant, that grant money can be used to pay your tuition and fees. Out of the 7 of us that are staying on as 6th years, only 2 of us aren't covered on a grant. After shifting research projects, I landed back on one that is not covered and therefore I and one other are stuck paying while the other 5 get to keep living in the life to which they've become accustomed. Is this fair? No! However, upon reflection, all I can do is shake my head and say: "I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop!" - because I do.
So, alas, here I am a soon to be 6th year finally taking out another student loan. As much as all of this sucks, because you go to grad school expecting full support, the one little bit of silver lining is that I'll only be in debt $6,000 additional dollars. It's not medical or law school where you end up being $100,000 additionally in debt. Then again, one could argue that a mathematician's earning potential would allow them to pay the $6,000 down at the same rate as the doctor/lawyer. Is it worth it? I think so.
Also, to make matters worse, here's the fun tidbit about gradschool most people don't think about/realize when planning to go: your summer funding (if given - most times it is) is severely reduced. For the 4 months of summer, I get paid for 2, though am expected to work for 3 of them. Plus, they usually pay you in 1 check which puts you (for that pay period) in a higher tax bracket. Yes, the IRS gives it back eventually, but it would be nice to have it when you need to survive the summer months. So, all of my savings typically are spent to pay rent and buy food during the summer. Where the school/department thinks I'll come up with $3,000 each semester is completely beyond me.
I kind of knew this was a likely situation because I heard other 6th years in the past vent about this. Now, I'm kicking myself for not caring about politics enough to fight this policy. However, I do have to remind myself that I never intended to take more than 5 years and when exactly with the change around of 4 project when would I have had time to fight this. Here is another insult added to my bank-account-injury: The school's policy further stipulates that if and only if you are being fully supported on a grant, that grant money can be used to pay your tuition and fees. Out of the 7 of us that are staying on as 6th years, only 2 of us aren't covered on a grant. After shifting research projects, I landed back on one that is not covered and therefore I and one other are stuck paying while the other 5 get to keep living in the life to which they've become accustomed. Is this fair? No! However, upon reflection, all I can do is shake my head and say: "I always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop!" - because I do.
So, alas, here I am a soon to be 6th year finally taking out another student loan. As much as all of this sucks, because you go to grad school expecting full support, the one little bit of silver lining is that I'll only be in debt $6,000 additional dollars. It's not medical or law school where you end up being $100,000 additionally in debt. Then again, one could argue that a mathematician's earning potential would allow them to pay the $6,000 down at the same rate as the doctor/lawyer. Is it worth it? I think so.
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