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My One Year Student Loan Payoff Update

  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 keep

Second Year Doctoral Student: What Courses Am I Taking?


 August 30th was the beginning of my second year as a doctoral student in the Higher Education program! I honestly have no complaint on my first year and I’ve learned so much since then. Since I’m always talking about education I thought I should tell you about the classes that I am currently taking. This semester I am enrolled in Law in Higher Education and Qualitative Research. Since I work full time and my university pays a stipend for two courses I keep my load light. My academic advisor also informed me that this semester may be tough so six hours should be fine.

Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video on “Second Year Doctoral Student: What Courses Am I Taking?” where I am smiling while seated in my office wearing a black shirt.

After reviewing both of my syllabi y’all this Law in Higher Education course may be a tough one! There are multiple weekly readings of at least 60 pages EACH, discussion posts, and a large paper. The professor is also a stickler for APA format and has already sent out an email warning people to adhere to this. He recommends you spend at least 9-12 hours a week on the course. 

Figure 2: This is a photo of a gavel with brown law books directly behind it. 

Now, my Qualitative Research course seems a little more manageable with weekly shorter readings, discussion posts, and a large paper broken down into four parts. This class is particularly important since I will be competing a qualitative dissertation. I have also had this professor before and she is great to work with. I’m hoping that I can use a previous topic that I’ve already worked on which would make this class so much easier! 

Figure 3: This is a photo that has a picture of a lightbulb with the word qualitative underneath surrounded by little square boxes and a picture of a funnel with quantitative underneath where little square boxes are being placed in and pushed out on a blue colored background.

With a full time job, classes, and a world of other things I’ve got going on your probably wondering how I stay organized. My planner is my holy grail! I write down everything and sometimes use my phone to stay on top of assignments and dates as well. I recommend a planner to everyone and even teach students how to use them effectively. Are you taking any courses this semester? Interested in a doctoral program? Drop down in the comments and let me know what your taking and any questions you have! Be sure to check out my latest video below!

Second Year Doctoral Student: What Courses Am I Taking?

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