Welcome back to my blog! By the way, please feel free to leave a comment or question for me after any of my blog entries. I'm never far from my computer, so you can expect a quick response. (I've actually been told that the internet (and email) is my heartbeat, but I don't know what they're talking about! :) )

I'm sure there's many of you that would love to go back to school and get your PhD, but perhaps you're not sure you can do it because of financial or family reasons. As a 30-year-old single mother and previous full-time social worker, I can tell you it is possible. Most doc students that attend the UMB SSW full-time agree to be graduate research assistants, which is a 20-hr/wk (or 10-hr/wk if you choose) position that pays a decent salary, allows students to be involved with some exciting and new research, covers health insurance, AND covers the full cost of tuition. (Even out of state tuition, as in my case). Plus, many of the positions allow you to do some or most of the research from home. In addition, I receive Stafford loans (the same as any undergraduate or graduate student) to cover the additional costs of my living expenses. And just to paint a clear picture of my additional costs of attending UMB, because I live so far away, last year I stayed in a hotel 2 nights/wk during fall semester and 1 night/wk during spring semester, plus I was taking 6 light rail trips/wk to save time on traffic, and it takes about a half gallon of gas to take my Focus round trip to school and back. So, if you live in Maryland (or even Washington or northern Virginia) you won't have to spend nearly as much on travel expenses or take out as much in student loans as me.

Regarding family commitments, I have a 6-year-old son who started kindergarten last year and is in first grade this year. Last year was a very intense year for me at school, I'm not gonna lie, because I had to take the 6 core classes and then qualifying exams at the end of the year, but I made it, and so did my son. I have an awesome roommate and family who are willing to help out with my son, and I think that is very important if you're thinking about returning to school. I needed to know that somebody would be available to drop my son off at school and pick him up on days when I had class, and also to watch my son so I could study uninterrupted at regular times. Although it was hard at the time, looking at the big picture, it's worth it. Someday soon I'll have my PhD and (hopefully!) a great job so that I won't have to worry about my financial security or how I'm going to afford college for my son. Also, once the year of core classes are done, much of the pressure lessens. This year I travel to UMB two days/wk, I don't stay overnight, and I'm available to pick my son up at school at 2:30pm three days/wk and even volunteer in his class once a week.

Next time I will talk a bit more about qualifying exams (because new students are usually terrified about them unnecessarily even before they start classes), as well as my current dilemma - trying to narrow down a topic for my dissertation. Talk to you soon! Ann :)