How does my Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) appointments and fellowship funding impact my borrowing eligibility?
The GSI (and GSRA) income is considered regular taxable earnings, whereas a fellowship paid by financial aid and refunded through your U-M student billing account is considered student aid. The two resources impact your overall aid eligibility differently.
- GSI/GSRA tuition/fee waivers are captured as a resource on your financial aid notice and reduce your eligibility to utilize other types of aid, including borrowing student loans, to cover those same educational costs. However, the earnings from these appointments are considered taxable wages and are yours to use for out-of-pocket costs as needed. Only the tuition/fee waiver portion of your appointment(s) impacts your aid eligibility.
- Graduate fellowship funding is always captured as a resource on your financial aid notice and is paid through the U-M student aid system. You are refunded money by U-M based on the fellowship payment cycle (typically once a term or monthly as a stipend payment). Fellowships do not have tax withheld at the time of the refund, but you may be required to report some amount of refund scholarship/fellowship aid as taxable income based on IRS rules. Graduate funding paid through financial aid and listed on your financial aid notice helps with educational expenses and impacts your overall borrowing eligibility.
Learn more about financial aid eligibility in Required Reading.