My professor said when I can truly say I’m passionate about something that is the road in which to follow.

In my experience, spending time with MBA professors and students makes you realize that earning billions of dollars isn't unrealistic, whereas most people joke about making a billion dollars, but don't truly believe they can do it.

@Adam Eckerman  Do any of the professors in your graduate program have relationships in the development community?

Or highly intellectual items where professors are chiming in on the answers summarizing years of research into a few paragraphs . 

These opinions are not just my own, but of others I've spoken with on the topic and one extremely influential professor who once worked at the Fed despite his animosity towards the institution (fix it from the inside kind of guy).1. http://www.joelscoins.com/exhibger2.htm2. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/why-is-japa...3. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/...4. https://www.amazon.com/Zimbabwe-100-Trillion-Dolla...5. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL6. https://qz.com/260980/meet-the-countries-that-dont...

Amerisave.com is a good choice for that need or you can check The Mortgage Professor's Upfront Mortgage Company list.  

The idea that the IRR assumes interim cash flows are reinvested is a major misconception that’s unfortunately still taught by many business school professors today. 

I also have a professor who is willing to partner with me on a deal (he has a lot more than 20k to invest).

Also the professor is likely an experienced broker so you can ask unlimited questions and learn a lot.After Getting The License:Like others have suggested, find a broker with a mentoring program is great advice.

My business law professor in college taught me the first rule of law, sue everyone so any lawyer will sue both and see what sticks.