Heather2571

Hello guys, I got into McGill's PhD program with funding, but the funding looks a bit strange. So I would like to talk about it a little bit and hopefully I can get some advice about it. There are two parts for each year's money; one is tuition+supplement, and the other is what called "expected employment salary," for TAships. For first two years, the expected employment salary is about 16% of the annual funding, but for year 3 and year 4, that number goes up to more than 30%, and for fifth year, it's almost 50%. Yet, in the letter, it says that eligibility for employment salary cannot be guaranteed. My understanding is that for this package, the first year's funding is nominally 35K, but actually the guaranteed part is supposed to be only 29K (In light of I cannot find a TA position). And this will apply to future years as well. please let me know if this interpretation is wrong. I felt it's strange b/c I looked up the living costs at Montreal and calculated a bit; the conclusion goes if I could not find a TA job, I would not be able to afford myself there. Also, the package didn't mention health insurance or summer research stipend, so I assume those two are not on the table. This is my first acceptance, so I don't have a way to compare to other funding packages. So I really appreciate any advice/opinions/comments. I have two questions: 1) Is such a package normal? 2) If the package is not that good, what should I do? Thanks a lot! And hope everyone get into your dream school