The Scene staff
The beginning of fall semester at Forest Park was just as chaotic as other semesters, filled with misunderstanding, disorganization and impatience.
Let’s start with the Financial Aid office. Most of the time, students have a simple question: “How do I get financial aid?” The simple answer is, “Fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, then submit it before the deadline.”
No problem, right? Then why the interminable waiting? There could be a ton of reasons, but to conserve space and time, I’ll go over just a few possibilities.
Maybe the person who received your application in the United States of America can’t stand the sight of your name because it’s the same as her ex’s, and she wants to do everything possible to make your day miserable. Or perhaps you’re black, and this is another attempt to hold you back, my brothers and sisters.
Neither reason is likely.
It’s possible you don’t qualify for financial aid because you or your parents received too much income in the last year. It’s no one’s fault. But had you been concerned about it before the deadline, instead of during the first week of classes, those long lines wouldn’t have been part of your world.
Maybe you do qualify for financial aid, and you’re only missing a small piece of information to move the process along.
My suggestion is that students check their status on a more regular basis, especially when they’re on the verge of reaching the maximum amount of credit hours funded by the federal government.
Or when they have academic holds from previous semesters.
A good philosophy is “know before you go.”
I started with the Financial Aid office because once colleges find out you’re willing to pay for the tools you need to succeed, then “You can have whatever you like,” in the words of rapper T.I.P., self-proclaimed “King of the South.”
That brings us to our next stop: Advising. As soon as you assume the task of continuing your education, sit with an adviser to determine what steps need to be taken to reach your goals. This saves time and eliminates those never-ending waits that students dread.
Did you know advising is not only available at the beginning of the semester, but all year?
OK, on with the campus tour. You’ve got your money, and you’ve decided how to spend it, selecting a handful of classes and buying your seats. Registration solidifies the process. It guarantees you will be admitted to your selected classes.
Seats in a class can fill up quick. If that happens and you’re not registered, you have to wait until the next time the class is offered. Then you have to rearrange your planned schedule, and, yep, you guessed it, there’s more waiting.
After we graduate from high school, the goal is to mature into young adults and gradually accept responsibility for things we can control. Older or more-seasoned college students should know patience is a virtue. It also is a learned behavior.
On the other hand, I feel college officials have an obligation to students. If they warn us about a class closure earlier than the Friday before it starts, that could help.
Class cancelations are a major problem at the beginning of each semester, especially for those who receive financial aid from the federal government.
So far, this column has been a little one-sided, lashing out at students for not acting to make the process smoother. But when the college fails to tell them about class cancelations in a timely manner, the staff is adding to the negative environment.
The time period I call the “semester rush” can last from four to eight weeks. The good news is, we have trained professionals to help us get through it.
The rush is like lunch time at your favorite restaurant. You know it’s coming, but no matter how well prepared, you arrive to find a line out the door anyway. Sometimes it can’t be avoided.
Students need to bring something to occupy their minds during long waits in Forest Park offices. To the college and its employees, thank you for your patience.