This article will guide you on how to create a College Graduate Student survey about Stipend And Financial Support. With Specific, you can build a conversational AI survey on this topic in seconds using the AI survey generator.
Steps to create a survey for college graduate students about stipend and financial support
If you want to save time, just click this link to generate a survey with Specific.
Tell what survey you want.
Done.
Honestly, you don’t even need to read further—the AI handles everything. You get a research-grade survey with contextual expertise, and Specific will ask smart follow-up questions automatically to collect rich, actionable insights from respondents. If you want to start from scratch, try the AI survey generator for any custom survey type you need.
Why do surveys about graduate stipends and financial support matter?
Understanding the financial realities of graduate students isn’t optional—it’s essential. The reality is, **approximately 74% of graduate students received some form of financial aid in the 2019–20 academic year** [1]. If you’re not running surveys like these, you’re missing out on:
Uncovering real pain points—Students won’t always share challenges unless you ask directly and confidentially.
Improving policies and support—Feedback enables institutions or associations to optimize stipend levels and support offers.
Aligning programs with actual needs—Without recent data, you might base decisions on old assumptions.
Increasing transparency—Data from surveys helps clarify what’s really being offered and what’s missing.
The benefits of College Graduate Student feedback are clear: you get honest, up-to-date, actionable input for impactful decisions. If you’re not running these, you’re leaving critical context and smarter financial planning on the table.
What makes a good graduate student stipend and financial support survey?
If you want your College Graduate Student recognition survey to deliver value, your survey design matters as much as your topic. The trick? Keep questions clear and unbiased, so students aren’t nudged toward certain answers. It’s also smart to make surveys feel human and conversational—people open up more when it feels like a real chat, not a bureaucratic form.
Here’s a quick look at the differences:
Bad Practices | Good Practices |
|---|---|
Vague or leading questions | Clear, direct, neutral questions |
Too many technical terms | Conversational, relatable wording |
No room for explanations | Mix of open-ended and structured formats |
No follow-up for clarifications | AI-driven follow-up for deeper context |
Measure your survey quality by two things: quantity and quality of responses. You want as many engaged respondents as possible—and you want insights richer than simple yes/no answers.
Question types and practical examples for a college graduate student survey on stipend and financial support
No two surveys are identical, but you’ll usually blend open-ended prompts, structured choices, and probing follow-ups to get both numbers and stories. Here’s how we approach it at Specific:
Open-ended questions are powerful for exploring feelings, motivations, or challenges—especially when you want context. They let graduates tell their story and highlight overlooked needs. Try prompts like:
What’s the biggest challenge you face concerning your graduate stipend or financial support?
Describe any unexpected expenses that have impacted your budgeting as a graduate student.
Single-select multiple-choice questions are best for structured data, benchmarking, or trend tracking. They’re great when you already know the main answer options. For example:
Which type of financial support do you currently receive?
Teaching assistantship stipend
Research assistantship stipend
Scholarship/grant
None
NPS (Net Promoter Score) question formats measure overall satisfaction or advocacy, and work well as a top-line metric (try this NPS survey for graduate stipends). These give you a single score to track over time. Example:
How likely are you to recommend your university’s financial support program to other graduate students? (0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely)
Followup questions to uncover "the why": This is where things get interesting. Whenever a respondent gives a short or ambiguous answer, it’s good to add a follow-up—“Can you tell me what made you feel that way?” It transforms basic data into real insight. For example:
Why did you choose that type of financial support?
What would make you rate your satisfaction higher?
If you want deep context on question wording and more example questions, check out the best questions for college graduate student stipend and support surveys.
What is a conversational survey—and why AI is changing the game
A conversational survey mimics a smart, two-way interview—respondents chat naturally, and the AI adapts, probes, and personalizes questions in real time. Unlike static forms, you don’t get stuck on confusing questions or need lengthy instructions. AI survey generation brings massive advantages:
You create in minutes, not hours—just describe what you want, and the AI designs everything.
Dynamic follow-up: Instead of fixed logic trees, AI follows up where it matters most.
Respondents stay engaged—bounce and drop-off rates plummet compared to rigid forms.
Manual Surveys | AI-generated Conversational Surveys |
|---|---|
Slow to create and iterate | Instant, expert survey drafts via chat |
No smart follow-ups | Context-aware, automated probing |
Boring, flat experience | Feels like a smart conversation, not a test |
Why use AI for College Graduate Student surveys? In short: It’s the fastest, most effective way to collect feedback that’s both broad and deep. Our AI creates engaging, actionable AI survey examples in seconds—and Specific delivers a best-in-class respondent experience that keeps both creators and students happy. If you want a behind-the-scenes look, see our how-to article on analyzing graduate stipend survey responses.
The power of follow-up questions
Want to maximize insights from College Graduate Student surveys? Automated, context-driven follow-up questions are the secret sauce. Specific uses AI to ask tailored follow-ups on each answer—digging deeper, clarifying intentions, and collecting answers you’d otherwise miss. It’s a game-changer: no more chasing after students over email to clarify vague responses, and no more settling for half-baked data. The conversation feels natural, not scripted.
Graduate student: “My current stipend is okay.”
AI follow-up: “What would make you feel more satisfied with your stipend amount?”
How many followups to ask? Generally, 2–3 follow-ups are enough to get the full context you need—without fatiguing respondents. Specific lets you set these limits, and respondents can skip forward when they’ve said enough.
This makes it a conversational survey: With personalized followups, you move from generic Q&A to an engaging, two-way chat that uncovers nuance and meaning.
AI survey response analysis: Analyzing large volumes of unstructured text used to be daunting, but with AI (see AI survey response analysis), you can instantly distill themes from every response and chat with your data directly. If you want a practical walk-through, check out our step-by-step guide.
Ready to try this new approach? Generate a survey and watch how automated followup questions transform the richness of the insights you collect.
See this stipend and financial support survey example now
Ready in seconds, packed with smart follow-ups—see what a real conversational survey can do. Create your own survey and unlock deeper, actionable feedback from college graduate students.