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
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!
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