So many freshmen students come to campus confused. Confused on why they’re even there. Confused on what they want to do. Confused on what major to enroll in. Most of these students are traditional college age (17-19 years old). Some of these students are forced to go to college by parents who want their children to have a better life, and more opportunities. This is good and bad. This is good because the parents truly care for their children’s well-being. However it is also crippling their children by forcing them into a situation where they often have no prior experience, and lack the maturity and real-world experience to truly know what they want to do.
I am a non-traditional student, and I have changed my major three times; I recently added two minors to make my portfolio more full. (More on that later.) I often hear students complain what is the point of an advisor. Well, they are there for a reason, not just for academic decor. Yet, I encourage students to look at their Degree Audit. You can’t go wrong here. The D.A. tells every student what exact courses they have to take to complete their degree. It also breaks down the options for what electives can be used to fulfill requirements. Advisors do come into play. It is best to meet with your advisor to see what courses you plan on taking are actually being offered. *PLAN IN ADVANCE* Some courses are offered 1 or 2 times a year. If you miss one because of your schedule, emergency, etc. your advisor can help you plan on when you can take it again. You also need to meet with them if you are adding/changing major/minors, like I recently did. You can’t simply say, “Today I am changing to Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Star Wars History (That’s a joke!), but you get my point. Without meeting with your advisor to properly change your major/minor you will literally not be able to enroll in the courses you need to complete that major/minor.
Advisors help in a variety of other ways too. My suggestion is to schedule an appointment with your advisor at the beginning and the end of the semester, and anytime that you have an emergency or you’re confused. Oftentimes advisors have walk-in hours. These walk-ins are only for 10 minutes. So you have 10 minutes to ask your question and get an answer before the door hits you in the behind. It is wise when you do walk-ins to have a prepared list of your questions, and room to write their responses down. Keep it short and simple. Advisors have a lot on their plate that you don’t know about, because it’s simply none of your business.
So I mentioned that I recently added two minors. In Fall 2015 I added the Professional Writing Minor, and the Education Minor. I found out I was only two classes away from completing both minors. Since I am dependent on Financial Aid, I needed to maintain full time status (12 credits or more), adding one course per semester from each minor helped me reach that status. Thus enters my dilemma. In Fall 2015, my Financial Aid loans were nearing my maximum capacity. YES! There is a limit to how much you can borrow. I can now only receive my Pell Grant, and my SEOG Grant. These two grants cover most, but not all, of my tuition but leave about $1-2000 of tuition for me to pay out of pocket. Last semester, I was actually dropped from all of my classes because I didn’t have the funds to cover the remaining balance. *Enter Student Advocacy*
Thankfully our university has the Student Advocacy Center, which is located on Columbus campus. This office actually paid the remaining balance for me, re-registered all my courses, and dropped the late fee costs as well. As a senior who is only one year away from completing my degree, I was deemed a great candidate for this additional funding. I was informed that there might be a chance they could fund my remaining balance for Spring 2016. My tuition posted, my balance was paid, but left me with $1710.00 this semester to pay out of pocket.
I began working with Vocational Rehabilitation in December who thinks that I will be highly eligible for covering the costs of my remaining semester’s tuition/books. Tuesday I spoke with my case manager who informed me that she was just beginning my paperwork, and there would be no way to get my tuition paid for until Summer at the earliest. I had already contacted Student Advocacy to see if there was any chance that they could help again with the remaining balance. Wednesday afternoon I had an email that confirmed my remaining balance was paid for. I can’t express how big of a relief that was!
If you’re a student who might run into a similar situation, or you need someone who can fight for you to help you get closer to obtaining your degree, check out the OSU Student Advocacy Center at http://advocacy.osu.edu/
…and remember, Go Bucks!