To Excel as a Woman in STEM

I find the student income contribution to be an inconvenience to myself and especially my family because my parents end up paying that money and I only work over the summer to make money for myself to spend during the year. I do not have an on-campus job because my sister, who is currently a grad student pursuing a PhD in evolutionary biology, thought working during school could be difficult for a woman in STEM with courses that demand a large amount of time and commitment. This means I am forced to be very financially dependent on my family to help me cover school expenses. I get a generous amount of financial aid, but my parents still have to split the cost of the student income contribution and my sister pays my travel expenses. Not having the student income contribution would benefit my family because it would relieve my guilt of deflecting the cost of my education onto my parents and sister and it would allow them to spend that money on their own expenses instead of having to worry about having a certain amount of money set aside to cover my tuition.