Urgent help, funding question

[az91]

Hey all, so a few days after accepting the offer I noticed a somewhat vague statement in the offer letter, here it is:

 

"You will receive for the calendar year referenced above (Fall and spring = xxxxx+ summer=xxxxx),totalling xxxx. This support will include remission of tuition for up to 10 credits for each semester and up to 4 credits during summer as well as subsidized health insurance." 

My question is: the bolded sentence, does this mean that I will not pay the tuition for up to 10 credit hours and 4 , or will they deduct their cost from my support?!?! 

this question might sound stupid but I just want to make sure .

 

Oh and another question, will I receive my support based on the yearly total i.e: total/ 12 months, or my salary will be different depending on the semester ?

another stupid question hehe 

[Nrrrdgrrrl]

If this is for a teaching or research assistantship, it is most likely that they will cover tuition and health care, PLUS your stated stipend.  That's generally how it works...

 

My TAship is paid during the regular academic year, with summer as a separate time period (and therefore separate from regular funding).  I'm relatively certain this has to do with the way universities set up their fiscal calendar.  However, it sounds like your offer includes something for summer, so this might be a question best posed to someone in your program...

[TakeruK]

Usually statements like this means that as long as you take less than 10 credits each semester and less than 4 credits in the summer, you won't have to pay any tuition. Taking less than these amounts will not increase your support though--they will just pay your stated stipend, plus what tuition costs you incur up to the stated maximum. (And also, taking more credits, as long as you stay below the max, will not decrease your support either!)

 

However, what's not clear is whether the number you typed as "xxxx" includes this tuition support or not. In my opinion, it sounds like it should not, since even they are not sure how much credits you will take. I have received letters where xxxx does include the tuition support though--for example, one letter said that my total support will be $47,000 where $27,000 is a stipend from RA/TA and $20,000 is a tuition waiver. I would check with the school if you are not sure!

 

For your second question, it really depends. At my current school, we don't TA every quarter so our sources of funding is technically different each quarter. However, they just add up the total amount of support we would get over the year and then divide it by 12 and pay it to us in 12 monthly installments. At another school, I had my fellowships paid out 3 times a year while my TA and RA pay came monthly and varied each month as my TA and RA load changes. This is something you will have to ask your program, and it's a valid question because the 12 monthly installments thing can make your later years easier to plan (constant flow of income) but your early months more difficult (high initial costs of moving!). On the other hand, getting paid in a few lump sums can make budgeting harder later but getting a big chunk at the start can help with initial expenses.

[az91]

Thank you guys for your help, so here's the statement with the actual numbers shown ( guess it wont harm hehe )

 

 

"You will receive for the calendar year referenced above (Fall and spring = 18,000+ summer=11,000),totalling 29,000. This support will include remission of tuition for up to 10 credits for each semester and up to 4 credits during summer as well as subsidized health insurance." 

So if i am supposed to pay for the tuiition then im not getting a good deal at all ... Perhaps its better to check with the office