Asking for moving expenses?

[Marge_Simpson]

I am moving from the West coast to start a program at U Chicago in the fall, but my current teaching assistantship wages will not cover moving costs. Neither do I have any financial support from family, etc. I need at least $300 to ship my books. Is it possible to get funding for moving costs, as one often does with a "real" job offer, or is it inappropriate to ask? I think that Chicago would have the funds, but I'm not sure if this is a 'thing' and do not want to embarrass myself. 

[TakeruK]

You can definitely ask but you are unlikely to get funds. It's certainly a thing at the postdoc and higher levels of academic jobs so it's not like it is a completely foreign concept in academia. 

However, I have only heard of one grad program that funds moving costs (they have $1000 set aside for you, which you can use for both visiting the program and moving). This is not usually something they provide for students but it doesn't hurt to ask. Even if they won't fund it, they might direct you to resources that could help with these costs (e.g. my PhD school had a no-interest, no-fee loan that you don't have to make payments on until 6 months later).

For schools like Chicago and my PhD school, the problem isn't usually that they don't have the money to pay for things, it's that they don't want to use the money in that way! 

If you make a specific request like $300 to transport your books, that might be more likely to be successful than an open-ended "moving expenses" request, because something like that can cost a lot more! (For academic jobs, moving expense allowances tend to be in the thousands of dollars).

[wolframheart]

I made a similar cross-country move (though I was East to West coast). I asked, but unfortunately, the school said no. Though as @TakeruK said, it can't hurt to ask. Just be mindful in wording your request. My school offers each graduate student a summer travel/research stipend. If Chicago is similar, there might be some wiggle room to provide your funds early to cover some moving expenses. 

I sold a lot of my belongings that I no longer needed. I used media mail through the USPS to get all of my books out West. I had a lot of books, but I don't remember it costing more than $100. I actually picked up short-term seasonal work on a CRM project to earn some extra money to fund my move. It ended up costing around $1,500.

I think your best bet is to talk to your graduate office, and if that doesn't pan out, try the financial aid office. There might be some options for you! If not, there is still plenty of time before your move. There's nothing wrong with picking up a short-term job to cover your expenses.

Best of luck, and congratulations on your acceptance.