Everything you need to know about a Graduate Assistantship

Need help paying for your graduate tuition? Saint Rose is here to help. In April, Graduate Assistantship (GA) positions will be posted on the Career Center’s page. There are about 100 positions campus wide. Possible placements include the Career Center, the Community Service Office, and the Office of Alumni Relations. Students can also work as a GA in an academic department, where the nature of the work is heavily dependent on the faculty or Dean’s needs. For example, a GA in Alumni Relations may help develop the alumni newsletter and plan events, whereas a GA in the English department may serve as a research assistant to English faculty members.

Throughout the assistantship, students get to know the inner workings of their department or office throughout the year, gaining work experience and learning new skills. One of the main benefits of working on campus is that supervisors understand students’ responsibilities, so they are usually flexible with scheduling your work hours. Graduate assistantships are also a key form of financial aid. Students who successfully complete their graduate assistantship are awarded a $3,200 tuition grant each semester.

Graduate Assistants will be required to work 150 hours throughout the semester. That adds up to about 10 hours a week.

Before applying for a graduate assistantship, make sure you meet the eligibility requirements:

• Be unconditionally admitted to a master’s degree program
• Be enrolled full-time (at least 9 graduate credits)
• Maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.0
• Not be registered for full-time student teaching, internship, practicum, or field placement during the term of position
• Not have accepted other institutional aid or tuition benefit (i.e. Scholarships, PEF/CSEA discount, etc.)

5 ways to ace the GRE

Taking the GRE can be very stressful. Unlike school exams, the GRE costs money to take and money to prepare for and as an undergraduate student, you probably don’t have a lot of money to keep retaking the test. I’ve researched the best ways to ace the GRE, but unfortunately, you still have to study.

1.) Understand the test

• Analytical Writing – tests your ability to create and sustain a discussion where you’ll use examples and other evidence to support your ideas. When you’re in the test, map out your plan and make sure you cover your bases.
• Verbal Reasoning – tests your ability to analyze and draw conclusions, select important points, understand sentence structure and context.
• Quantitative Reasoning – tests your ability to interpret and analyze quantitative information using arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability.

2.) Know the format

• The test is 3 hours and 45 minutes long.
• It includes 6 sections. The first section is always Analytical Writing followed by any combination of the other two.
• You can skip, edit, change, and return to any question within a section. If you don’t know an answer, skip it and go back to it.

3.) Strategize

• Answer every question. You don’t lose points for getting an answer wrong. Even if you don’t know an answer guess – it can’t hurt.
• Since you can return to questions, quickly go through the section at the beginning and answer the easy questions that you’re sure of. Then return to the more difficult questions. It’s easier to gauge how much time you have left when you know the level of difficulty of the questions ahead of you.

4.) Plan ahead

• Know what you need and gather it in one place ahead of time to avoid further stress on the day of the exam.
• Photo ID
• Time of the exam
• Know where you’re going – Visit the place in advance if you’re unsure of the location and to make sure you aren’t late.
• If you know you’ll need water, make sure you have it.

5.) Get a support group

• Studying is always easier when you can bounce ideas off someone else. Other people can offer fresh insight in a stressful time, plus, you will have someone to celebrate with when it’s over!

What to do in March: Events around town

2013 Hannaford Kidz Expo

When: Sat, Mar 2, 2012  10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Where: Empire State Plaza

Cost: Free

Guitar Foundation of America Winner: Vladimir Gorbach

When:Sat, March 2, 2013  7:30 PM

Where: Massry Center for the Arts

Cost: $20 Reserved Seating

Miranda Lambert with Dierks Bentley

When: Sat, Mar 2, 2013  7:30 PM

Where: Times Union Center

Cost: $28 – $52.75

Photo Credit to http://pointsadhsblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/march-in-review/

Capital Area Help Wanted Career Fair

When: Wed, Mar 6, 2013  11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where: Albany Marriott, Wolf Road

Cost: Free

Comedy for a Cause: Presented by the Albany JCC

When: Thu, Mar 7, 2013 | 7:30 PM

Where: The Comedy Works-Albany

Cost: $25 before 3/1/13; $30 after 3/1/13

Cabin Fever Sale

When: Sat, Mar 9, 2013 | 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Where: Cohoes Public Library

Cost: Free

Duo Piano concert with Andrey Ponochevny & Elena Zyl

When: Sun, Mar 10, 2013 | 3:00 PM

Where: Massry Center for the Arts

Cost: $35 Reserved Seating

Graduate Open House – March 5th

Attend the upcoming Open House on Tuesday, March 5th to learn more about the graduate programs that Saint Rose has to offer. Counselors and College representatives will be available throughout the event to answer questions regarding our programs, financial aid, and explain the application process.

The Open House consists of a short presentation, Q&A session, and the chance to meet one-one-one with a Graduate Admissions staff member who will help answer any questions you may have about the program, the staff, or the area.

Open House begins at 6:30pm in the Carondelet Symposium on the third floor of the Lally School of Education.

Photo Credit to http://www.thehousingword.com

This is a general Open House, meaning that it is open to all prospective students, bearing in mind that students interested in applying to the Communication Sciences and Disorders program may prefer to attend our specialized CSD open house. Check back for dates.

Can’t make it on the 5th? The next Open House event is May 2nd.

If you’re planning on attending the event, please RSVP. If you have any questions about the open house, please contact Graduate Admissions at (518) 454-5143 or  grad@strose.edu.