I'm sorry for jumping into this so late.
My situation is a bit different than yours-- I'm in North Carolina as opposed to Ohio, so I'm not sure what the cost of living is like there... but here are my two cents.
I have applied to a handful of North Carolina Higher Education/Student Affairs programs. The majority of them offered their RD's free apartments, a stipend similar to the one that you were offered, and health insurance, but no tuition waiver. The position that I ended up accepting is providing me these things: health insurance, a furnished apartment with utilities, a stipend just slightly higher than the one you mentioned, full tuition, extra money for food each semester, and professional development funds. It does not cover student fees, a parking pass, etc. All in all, I'd say that I found an amazing deal.
I almost applied to some out of state programs, like the one at GMU, but some of them didn't offer assistantships at all... So I decided not to even apply.
If the cost of living in Ohio is anything like the cost of living here, $8,000 dollars (for most people) should be more than reasonable if you don't have to pay rent or tuition. (I realize you might have student loans or other circumstances that might make your situation different.) If you don't have any significant/pending financial burdens now and you are interested in Higher Ed, I'd say that deal is maybe not as bad as you'd think.
Also, mirroring a comment above, if you want to make the big money, Higher Ed will probably never be the right field. (However, you can always supplement your education with copy of that Millionaire Matchmaker book, and then you're set!)