By Andrew Ayala
As ELANs we understand how difficult it is to get any sort of help with Financial Aid due to the disorganization of the office.
At the South Gate campus there are days where we can’t go to turn in paperwork and can only ask questions, which isn’t posted until that day. Imagine coming out of class in a hurry to turn in a paper and you see a sign that says, “No paperwork will be accepted only questions after 10:30 a.m.”
In the busy life and mind of a student this is a disaster especially since this is our job and we shouldn’t have issues with getting paid for our hard work.
There is also a huge issue with paperwork being misplaced or unsent to the main campus which is not fair at all to the students, especially those who are struggling and really need the assistance the school offers.
I personally have had to take my high school diploma 3 times, once to the fiscal and twice to the financial aid office just for them to have on record that I am a high school graduate.
This year was the first time I had ever went to the financial aid office at the main campus and encountered a very rude worker who tried saying I couldn’t do anything about the issue I was having and even insulted me by calling me a liar.
The next time I had visited, I took proof and a financial aid supervisor was there and told me there was a way to resolve my dilemma but there was a series of steps to follow. As I went down the path of solving my problem I still had issues and to this day haven’t gotten any sort of call or even an e-mail or letter stating what I need to do to get the help I need.
We are all struggling college students and I can only imagine how bad it is for my peers that are dealing with way more than I am and are clueless as to what steps they must take to get the aid required.
The ticket line and system at the main campus is a bit too old school and isn’t sufficient enough to meet the needs and hustle and bustle of all the students that need a problem solved or a question answered.
It is difficult to get an impeccable financial aid office but maybe with a few tweaks and changes we can at least get something that will work better and faster than the current system we have.
We as a school should be aiming to help our students and future graduates the most we can as opposed to making it harder and giving the students roadblocks along their roads to success.
The students make up the heart and soul of the school and it should be the number one priority of the financial aid office especially to ensure the needs of the students are met, that way it can be smooth sailing to our degrees.