Grad School Without the Debt with Dr. Darla Bishop | Ep. 342

• Dr. Bishop emphasizes selecting programs that accommodate full-time work. She only applied to schools built around working professionals with evening or online classes.

I didn't even apply to programs that were going to require me to be a full-time student.

• Tiffany shares her own experience delaying her PhD because most business programs required full-time enrollment, which conflicted with her business and family responsibilities.

• Dr. Bishop's university offered employee benefits covering 96% of tuition plus a small $50 per semester fee. She calculated whether leaving her corporate job for a university position made financial sense.

It turned out that the math told us it was better for me to stay at my corporate job... But it was only a few thousand dollars difference at that time.

• Tiffany mentions doing an assistantship that covered her first-year tuition and provided a monthly paycheck while allowing her to continue running her business.

• Funding packages aren't fixed. New scholarships become available each year, and maintaining a strong GPA unlocks additional merit-based opportunities.

Whatever the benefits package or the scholarship package we got when we came in, that doesn't mean it's fixed for all three, four, five years of your program.

• Tiffany calls this insight a "gem" she hadn't considered despite being "the queen of saving money."

• Beyond tuition, expenses like books, internships, and conference travel can add thousands annually. Building relationships with department staff helps uncover available funds.

Make sure that you are always in your department's office saying, hey, how you doing? You got a new mug.

• Tiffany adds that the same approach works with employers—ask for support attending conferences and professional development opportunities.

• Dr. Bishop secured nearly $18,000 by emailing the registrar's office each semester asking about unused or uncommitted funds. When other students converted to employee status, their scholarship dollars became available.

The worst they can tell you is stop emailing me. We ain't got nothing for you. The best they can tell is like, actually, we got all the money.

• She offers downloadable email templates on her website for requesting these funds.

• Resident advisor or hall director positions provide free housing plus stipends. RAs live in dorm rooms (suitable for singles); hall directors get apartments (suitable for married/parenting students).

If you are going to a university that has dorms or residence halls, consider being a resident advisor because graduate students can be a resident advisor or consider being a hall director.

• Tiffany shares that some universities offer low-cost short-term housing for commuting students on class days.