Abstract: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (and we’ve experienced both!) In this session, we will compare the benefits and limitations of a set of evaluations - one funded and one not - led by two different first-year graduate student evaluators studying university programs designed to help undergraduate students. Many of us assume that a funded project implies a simpler process or that evaluations without financial backing makes for bad study, but in practice, this simply is not always true. Participants will be given a brief comparison of both studies, some tips and tricks that peers can use if they find themselves in similar situations, and a working list of resources that graduate student evaluators can use whether their projects are funded or not.