Conference Etiquette

[bechkafish]

I recently got a paper accepted to a conference for the very first time (interdisciplinary humanities), and I'm terribly excited. Like most graduate students, I'm also terribly poor, and don't think I'll have the money to (a) head out of state to the conference venue, (b) stay overnight in that city, then (c) head back home; at best, I can swing a roundtrip on the day of my presentation, but I don't see how I could afford a hotel room on top of transit. My department offers some financial help in the form of reimbursement, but that's not immediately helpful.  

Is it poor form / rude to attend only one day of a two-day conference, when the concern is solely financial?

I guess there's no good way to announce, "Hey! I respect everyone's work and I'm here to learn, but I have no money"...

 

(Edited for typo.)

Edited October 21, 2015 by bechkafish

[rising_star]

You might see if you could split a room with other people going to the conference to save me. That's really common for grad students. Alternately, you could try couchsurfing!

[fuzzylogician]

Start out by writing the organizers to ask if there is any chance they are offering crash space. In my field students often host other students to help with accommodation costs. You could also try airbnb, alone or sharing with other conference attendees, or sharing a hotel room. Those are all very common ways of saving costs. One of the most important aspect of conferences is the ability to socialize and network. For example, it's a good way to meet students at various institutions that you might be able to reach out to if you're in town for a conference and need a couch to sleep on. You might also meet researchers and be able to exchange ideas. It'd be a real shame to only be there for your talk but not be around to see other talks and have the opportunity to talk to others (and have them talk to you about your talk!). 

Edited October 21, 2015 by fuzzylogician

[Starship]

@bechkafish has there been any resolution? When was your conference and what happened? I'm coming upon a similar situation. I thought I would be able to attend a conference but my financial situation has changed drastically and I just can't anymore. Regardless of the rooming situation, I won't be able to pay for food myself even! I feel embarrassed and don't know the proper way to handle the situation. What did you do? 

[bechkafish]

Sorry I'm so late getting back to you, @Starship. My conference was back at the beginning of November, and at the end of the day, I had to do exactly what I had been trying to avoid: take a bus down to the city, give my presentation, take an overnight bus back. It was awful and I do not recommend it on any level, and because I had no time to hang out or visit other presentations, I did absolutely zero networking... but at least I got to give my paper, and have the experience.

It sounds like that's not quite the same situation that you're coming up against, though. I'm really sorry to hear that your financial situation isn't what you'd hoped it would be... I think at this point, if someplace to sleep and food and even transit is good and truly beyond you, I would (a) ask family or friends for a very small, short-term loan, if you're comfortable with that sort of thing, (b) explain the situation to your department and ask if there are any financial resources they can offer that you're not yet aware of, and (c) get in touch with the conference coordinators and ask what they'd suggest. I know no one wants to turn down a conference for financial reasons (what a waste of experience and a solid refereed paper! not to mention you've probably already confirmed your attendance), but at the end of the day, if you can't do it, you can't do it, and that says more about the sorry state of academia than it does about you. At the end of the day, I was only able to make it to my conference because it was fairly close (350 milies ish) and buses are cheap and I literally ate nothing but a fast food cheeseburger on the entire adventure.

[rising_star]

@bechkafish, that sounds like a miserable experience. In the future, I would definitely encourage you to try at least to find a place via couchsurfing or AirBnB or other grad students who live in the area, rather than taking an overnight bus and having to leave right after your presentation. It's also possible that you could've gotten a new credit card with a 0% interest rate for 6-12 months and used that to pay for things, so that you'd have several months to come up with the money rather than having to pay for everything all at once upfront. If you do have to travel that way again, I highly recommend packing sandwiches and trail mix to ensure you have the energy you need to make it through the day.

[Lisa_McCoy]

Check out couch surfing options. It is very common now a days. You would surprised how much you can save if you couch surf instead of opting for expensive hotels.