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 ...
Midterm season is here and our office is busy! Many
times students like to wait until the last minute to seek additional services
once exams are near. This often leads to false hope and tarnished dreams once
things do not turn out the way they had hoped. With this in mind, I wanted to
create a list of five services that all college students should be aware of
before starting their midterms.
Figure
1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video “Top 5 College Services for
Midterms” where I am sitting in my office wearing a grey long sleeved shirt and
holding up the number five.”
TRIO:
A federally funded program to assist students in being successful on their
journey through 1:1 tutoring, scholarships, educational traveling, and
purchasing textbooks.
Counseling:
Exam
season brings on many stressors that can result in depression and anxiety. To
ensure that you are your best self mentally and physically schedule an
appointment with the Counseling Center before exams begin.
Figure 2: This is a photo of a woman and a man sitting at a table. On the table, there are books and papers. The woman is tutoring the man.
The
Writing Center: While some students may be taking tests
during midterms, some programs may focus more on heavy writing during this
time. This may be term papers or other projects where your writing will need to
be in tip-top shape. The Writing Center reviews papers and provides helpful
feedback. When meeting with the Writing Center be sure to already have your
writing composed for review.
Academic
Advising: Waiting until you have failed a midterm is never a
good time to introduce yourself to your advisor. Ensure that you are meeting
with them throughout the semester and especially before midterms so that you
can have a plan in place in case things do not go as expected.
Figure
3: This is a photo of someone who is writing in a journal.
Student
Disability Services: Saving the best for last of course! Student
Disability Services can assist with leveling the playing field for students with
disabilities. This is done through academic accommodations like extra testing
time and a quiet room to take exams. However, this should be done before
midterms. Like way before. Many times students wait until they have a test to
apply for accommodations and it is usually too late for anything good to happen
by this time.
Are you taking midterms this week? If so, drop down in
the comments and let me know! Have you tried any of the services above? For
more information be sure to check out my latest
video and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button!
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