Graduate Assistantships/Fellowships

[rosadesal]

Hi mamas! I've got a question about funding.

I have a Graduate Assistantship for Fall, teaching an Intro Comp class and working in the Writing Center. My MA will be in Written Communication. My grad classes will be two evenings a week. The GAship pays for tuition and a stipend, which is about $850/mo ($8,500 for the Fall/Winter, total). I plan on taking classes in the summer, which the GAship will pay for; however, I won't have the stipend coming in for May-August. I currently have $40k in loans from my UG degree, and was hoping to not take out loans (or minimal loans) for graduate school.

However, I'm realizing that the income from the GAship isn't going to make ends meet, and especially with no pay in May-August, I'm not sure how to get by. I should mention that I am a single parent.

What do you do? Do you take out a significant amount of loans to pay your living expenses? I figure if I work in the summer, I'll be paying for childcare for DD (she's almost 5) and so it kind of defeats the purpose, you know? I've applied for a few part-time jobs, but with teaching and the hours I need to put in at the Writing Center, in addition to homework and the possibility of after-school care, I'm not sure that it makes any sense to take on additional employment. I don't want to overcommit myself, but I also don't want to end up with another $20k in loans.

What would you do? Has anyone been there, done that? Words of wisdom for the new grad student?

Thanks :)

[lauren]

I wonder if you can get subsidies for your child care. It seems like you should be able to with the income you'll be on. It's been a while since I was in grad school, but I remember just taking out lots of loans for living expenses. It was a bummer. I worked as well but not enough to pay the bills.
 

[rosadesal]

Originally Posted by lauren 

I wonder if you can get subsidies for your child care. It seems like you should be able to with the income you'll be on. It's been a while since I was in grad school, but I remember just taking out lots of loans for living expenses. It was a bummer. I worked as well but not enough to pay the bills.
 

you mean in the summer? i'm not sure if you can, for kids older than 5? it seems that the other GA's who have gone through or who are in the program currently have all taken out loans, and none of them are parents. so maybe it's not so bad to borrow additional money because i'm caring for more than myself.

i also do not go through friend of the court with DD's dad (we coparent, do our own thing, dislike the system, have a 60/40-ish arrangement), and so without filing a child support order may not be able to receive any help. :(

it is a huge bummer, to take on more debt. ughhhhhh. thanks for sharing your thoughts <3