Making Dough (No rolling pin required)

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We know what's on everyone's mind right now: your finances. Money is important. Actually, it's one of things you don't notice until it isn't there. (This isn't a social commentary; Wedon't think that money is more important than studies and friends (Well, actually... {SB, TB, and CS})

Getting Paid and Paying CMU

• You get paid monthly
• Pay day is the last day of the month
• Checks are delivered to Rochelle Croom.
• Unfortunately, your first check will arrive at the end of September
• If you find yourself in trouble for that first month, there is an emergency loan service (see below).
• Only federal taxes should be deducted from your paycheck
• Graduate students are exempt from state and local taxes
• Student health insurance can also be deducted if you choose
• For details, check with the registrar or student health office (located in Morewood Gardens)
• Questions about deductions can be directed to Margaret Kinsky or the payroll office (located in Warner Hall)
• Make sure your paycheck is correct
• The current stipend (1999-2000) is $14000.00 per year ($1166.67/month).
• If you have outside funding or are in the CNBC, your pay may be different.
• The tuition payed by the department should show up on your paycheck as a deduction
• This is completely non-taxable.!!
• Make sure that this amount and deduction shows up on the check
• If it isn't, your tuition may not be getting paid
• It really does get screwed up sometimes (-GG)
• You may get a bill from the university at the beginning of the semester
• This is the recommended way to handle it:
• Make a copy of the letter from the department that describes your stipend
• Write "Will be paid by a payroll deduction" on the payment slip you received with the bill
• Mail the payment slip and the copy of the letter back
• Don't pay the $50 activities fee
• The department will pay that as well
• If you pay it accidentally, you may have a hard time getting it back
• You could ignore these bills
• This is not recommended (but it has worked for me. -STM)
• Other ways of getting paid
• During part of your CMU stint, you may be paid on a grant from you advisor
• It depends on the advisor, of course
• There are a number of fellowships out there just waiting to be claimed
• OK, so it's not quite as easy as picking up dry cleaning, but it's much more rewarding
• NSF, Air Force, Battelle, ONR, and IBM are just a few
• It's probably a good idea to chat with your advisor about which ones may be most appropriate for you
• Having one of these may mean a larger stipend
• You may get a "bonus" from the department for being so resourceful (you're saving them money)
• If you teach while on a fellowship, you may get additional money
• APPLY!!!!
• First-years should definitely apply for the NSF fellowship
• If you haven't done any graduate work before coming
• And if you aren't an international student
• The deadline is in November, so you should get hopping on this quickly
• Check NSF's Website at: http://www.nsf.gov
• Ask Joan Meyers for a list of funding opportunities

Loans

• If you're like me, you already have loans from undergraduate school, so the prospects of more isn't very attractive
• Still, you may find yourself in a pinch (particularly when you are just starting, due to the paycheck lag
• Emergency Loans
• Available through Student Affairs (2nd floor of Warner Hall)
• Loan can be up to three-fourths of your gross pay for one month
• Interest-FREE
• More money, or a longer term are available with approval from the dean
• PHEAA (pronounced: "fee-uh" and meaning "Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency") loans
• Available to U.S. citizens
• Fairly easy to get through a local bank
• According to PHEAA, "Graduate students may borrow up to $8,500 in subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and may also qualify for an additional $10,000 in unsubsidized funds" (March, 2000)
• There website is at: http://www.pheaa.org/

Other Pay

• Teaching
• The unwritten, but none-the-less formal, rule on multiple sources of income is as follows:
• You can only be paid from one source within the department
• This means that you won't get paid extra during the three semesters of TA-ing you are required to do
• But, if you do more teaching than required, you will get paid extra
• This refers to tutoring, consulting, etc.
• Make sure it doesn't interfere with your school work
• Summer Work
• The standard stipend here goes year-round
• Generally, you won't take many (if any) classes during the summer
• During the summers, grad students turn into "project scientists"
• Basically you keep doing whatever it was that you were doing before
• Discuss summer plans with your advisory (before the summer!!)
• The department will ask for a summer research plan to be submitted sometime in May

Foreign Student Problems

• The foreign student advisor on campus can help you with the details of becoming a student in the US
• Getting a Social Security Card
• Gettins a Visa
• etc... etc...
• Also, there are several foreign students currently in our ranks; they would probably be an excellent source of information.

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