January 28, 2022 marked my one year anniversary of paying off my student loans . Reflecting back on choosing to pay off my student loans leaves me with several take a ways that I want to share with you! In September 2020 I decided to become debt free by utilizing the debt snowball method to pay off all my debt. Before this I had struggled to save and really understand basic financial principles. As a first-generation college student, I received a scholarship to attend undergrad for free, but the scholarship did not cover summers. During the summers I took out student loans to cover costs without paying interest rates or how much I was taking out. By the end of undergrad I had amassed a little under $17K. Fast forward to graduate school I received another scholarship that covered my education. At the time I was a teacher in a new very expensive city and I had missed the cutoff to have my paycheck last me throughout the summer. So, I decided to take out a loan for two summers to ...
(This a photo of a picture that says What is a First Generation Student? used as a thumbnail for my YouTube video on grocery shopping.)
Being a first generation student is a huge deal that
deserves all the recognition life has to offer. I should know because I was
one! The amount of drive it takes to navigate the higher education system
sometimes with little to no direction is not an easy feat. In case you did not
know a first generation student is the first person in their family to attend
college. Many times these students are lost in the shuffle and experience many
difficulties. I wanted to drop a few helpful hints for any first generation
scholar in hopes of combating some of these barriers.
- 1. Get
to you know your academic advisor they are the gatekeeper of many programs on
campus that could make your journey much easier.
- 2. Some
programs to be aware of are TRIO, The Counseling Center, Student Disability
Services, and Student Health Services. All provide free academic, emotional,
and wellbeing support to students.
- 3. Reach out to your financial aid office for any help regarding financial resources on and off campus.
- 4. Looking
for a job? Be sure to check out your campuses job network. College campuses
have many paid student positions that need to be filled.
I wish I had known about many of these resources
before I even stepped on the campus. If I did my earlier college years would
have been so much easier! Check out the video below for more helpful first
generation tips!
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