u/NeecheNietzche

At my previous land-grant university(MS), the administration actually listened to students.

I remember when rent increased significantly, students raised concerns and over the summer the university decided to increase GRA (MS/PhD) stipends across the board.

My stipend increased by 39%.

Now I’m at OSU, where rent is so much more expensive, yet the stipend is even lower than what I was making before.
It is honestly really difficult to make things work. After rent, utilities, groceries, insurance, and other basic expenses, there’s barely anything left.

I genuinely don’t understand how this is sustainable. How are PhD students expected to focus on research when they’re constantly worried about paying their bills? Is anyone else feeling the same way? This is so heartbreaking, I mean I am genuinely passionate about my research but this just breaks one's heart and soul 😭

Edit: not just Phd but also for MS GRA stipends

I’m a PhD student (26) at OSU and I feel like I’m missing out on the social scene 👽. How do people usually find out about parties, pre-games, EDM nights, or weekend events around campus/Columbus?

Are there any GroupMes, Discords, Snapchat stories, or Instagram pages I should follow? I’m mostly looking for events, music nights, house parties through normal student circles, or fun Columbus nightlife recommendations.