True Costs of a Masters – Part 1

Year one

HA! Well you think it begins and ends with the tuition but the hidden costs are something they don’t warn you about when you sign up for a Royal Roads Masters. It starts with residency, where you pay rent at home and then pay rent to be at Royal Roads, as beautiful as it is, but you have to share bathrooms and aren’t allowed to cook anything that can’t be made in a countertop appliance. Thank god for dads and waffle makers. Then there’s the alcohol – oh yes, they don’t warn you about this either! But a cider or 2 every night takes the edge off the pressure during residency and makes the late night words flow better and the sleep, eventually, deeper. This is not to mention the markers, journals, glue and assorted other school supplies you will need along your journey. Ideally, don’t forget to throw in the cost of highspeed internet. And a computer somewhere along the way.

So the first year goes merrily along – make sure your medical insurance covers some massage therapy as your laptop-hunchback look isn’t pretty outside your home office/dining room/living room. Factor in a couple of short-term trips to visit classmates, if possible, so you can commiserate and celebrate, depending. Keep the alcohol budget steady through this period. A cheap long distance plan can be SO beneficial as well, for explaining the vagaries of quantitative analysis or simply detailing your work, school, and/or life situations to your classmates, family or other friends (if they’re still around). Some investment in a friendly and helpful roommate, or maid service, can also be helpful. See how this is adding up?

Year two

You think this will be the easy year – most of the tuition has already been paid off, there’s only one course left, plus the thesis, right? The final course unfortunately becomes a tragic manifestation of all the time, effort, comprehension, production frustrations you’ve had over the past year or so and thus requires not only an increase in massage therapy, alcohol, days off, longdistance support, but also a hitherto-unheard of amount of time and money dedicated to finally reclaiming your long-lost social life at an inappropriate time. So now the funding allocation is for fine dining (ie not fast food), movies, drinks out, maybe even some clothes that aren’t the pj-comfy jeans and hoodie that are standard homewear during this time (and work, when you can get away with it). As Christmas draws near and you are supposed to be using your internet connection to download academic journal articles and APA-style references (5th edition), there is a tendency to do your Christmas shopping online – who knew all the great things that are available by internet-mail service? All that time you are spending at your desk, unable to hit the malls for those family presents, you can spend surfing the internet acquiring even better items! Who knew there were tshirts for Mythbusters Guinea Pigs, parking signs for Latvians only, 1960s era Disney book-and-78-LP-sets and more all at your fingertips? [Note: all things I have purchased!] So make some financial allowances for that time too.

Final year – rest of year two

So just the thesis now. A solitary journey, so they say. That must be cheap – just me, my laptop, in my apartment, for several months. Well here’s my own version of Mythbusters – no way!! Not sure where it started, but here are a few of things requiring expenditure to date, and I’m still at least a few weeks away from completion:
-weekend car rentals for interviewing
-24 lattes or other specialty coffee drinks for my 12 participants (and myself, of course)
-index cards by the hundreds
-overdue library fines on someone else’s card
-dinner out to thank fellow grad student from another university for their generosity in acquiring me library books from their university
-purchase with the best intentions, but later disposal of, healthy food like vegetables - replace with cheaper, unhealthy substitutes whenever possible
-increased consumption of caffeinated beverages at all times of day
-a constant pattern of eating out, because it at least gets me out of these 4 walls I am otherwise bound by; also an excuse to be social because “I have to eat, right?”
-more laundry change needed than ever before, not because I’m wearing different things but as a procrastination from doing thesis work I am washing other things in my house – sheets, quilts, rugs, etc.
-fiction and thesis-related books – don’t have time to wait for second-hand to be delivered (despite excellent internet access and services like www.abebooks.com) and simply need something different to read occasionally than just qualitative research methodology Sage publications
-bottles of wine for thanking thesis advisors/sponsors (and their families)
-bottles of wine for me and any friends who venture to drop by to see what exactly is going on with this thesis
-wireless internet adapter so I can work from the coffee table or bedroom…just to shake it up a little
-new music CDs or burned downloads, the Soundtrack of a Thesis needs mixing up a little by this point

And it’s not over yet, I foresee the need for delivered food, late night coffeeshop forays, extended hotel stays (to avoid distractions), who knows what else! The only thing I haven’t caved to yet is coffee…

On the flip side, there are some Masters-related savings:

-The big tuition tax refund that finally came through
-Water – it’s “free” and makes tea too
-Little shopping being done (as wardrobe choices are limited, weather is grim, and like pregnant women changing seasons, hopefully the winter clothes can last until this is finished?)
-Energy-efficient lightbulbs and a southfacing window
-Fewer trips to work = fewer transit costs
-The joys of MSN and longdistance plans to connect with friends far away.
-Family support through provision of soup, eggs, bread and other staples.
-Blogs – a free way to communicate and track what’s going on with me!

More costs to come - I can’t wait until graduation fees!