Skip to main content

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 ...

How to Get a Free Doctoral Degree


Hey Guys! It’s been awhile right?! I know but I am back and ready to give you all the information you need! If you missed it last week on my channel, I discussed how you can get a free doctorate degree. If you’ve been following my doctoral journey, then you know that I am currently working towards my doctoral degree in higher education. I recently finished all of my coursework and I am officially working on my dissertation proposal this semester.

This is a thumbnail for my YouTube video “How I Got a Free Doctoral Degree”


I chose to work at a university so that I could not only work with students but so that I could also receive a discounted education. In the beginning of my journey, I received a $1,600 stipend towards my courses, and I paid fees out of pocket. I also received several scholarships along the way that helped to cover most of my fees. Last year my university decided to cover doctoral degrees at 100% for all professional staff which was a major benefit.

This is a photo of a roll of money with a graduation hat on top


While I understand that most folks do not want to join the education world don’t let this stop you from seeking an organization that does cover your educational needs. Here are a few other routes to take for a discounted or free education:

1.     Fellowships: This type of arrangement involves a living stipend and covered tuition and fees in exchange for teaching courses and/or working on relevant research.

2.     Scholarships: There are a lot of misconceptions about graduate scholarships. You probably have heard there are none! That’s just not true! Contact your financial aid department to inquire about endowed scholarships. I have acquired over $10K in endowed scholarships that I mainly received as a refund to utilize for books, debt, and other things.

3.     Employer Benefits: Research employers that are willing to cover your education. Amazon, Target, and Walmart are just a few!

This is an image of a graduating class wearing their cap and gowns


If you are interested in getting into the world of higher education like myself check out my latest video here! Be sure to drop a comment with any questions!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...

Top 5 Tips for First Time College Students

  Last week my office hosted our very first summer camp for transition age youth with disabilities. Many of the students were away from home for the first time and had never been exposed to a college environment before. The aim of the camp was to provide the students with an introduction to college life to assist them in their transition from high school to college. The students had a great time and so did our office. But that got me to thinking on what would I recommend for first time college students. As a first generation college student myself there were so many things that I didn’t know and I wanted to make sure our campers would be better prepared than I was. Take a look at my top five giveaways for first year students: 1.       Advocacy Many times students are so used to their parents doing everything for them that when they get to college and staff cannot event speak to their parents without consent they are like fish out of water. Things do not...