Advice from Weiss
Friday, July 10, 2009
The purpose of this column is to try and bring advising to students in a different format. I hope to answer your questions about college, college success, LBCC programs, college rules, and anything else you may have on your mind. Please write to me at mark.weiss@linnbenton.edu, and I will try to work your questions into the column in a week or two.
(Mark Weiss has been a counselor and advisor at LBCC for over 20 years)
Q: How do I get started at LBCC this fall?
More students start for fall term, than any other quarter. For all students, there are three important steps to becoming fully admitted and gaining the advantage of early registration in subsequent terms. They are:
1) Turn in an admissions application and pay the $30 fee. You can turn the application in Takena Hall, Albany Camupus, or at any of our centers in Sweet Home, Lebanon, or Corvallis.
2) Take a placement test, or provide a previous college transcript that shows writing and math courses. The placement test is a “memory test,” to gauge where you ought to begin with certain subjects. It does not put you in or out of school in any way. Again, it can be taken at the Albany Campus or any of the centers.
3) Orientation. To gain the advantage of early registration, you must go through an orientation. These can be arranged by contacting the Admissions Office. We have both live and on-line orientations.
Q: How about financial aid?
Financial Aid packets are available in front of the Financial Aid office, in Takena Hall, and at all of our centers. They consist of information on how to fill out the form, a practice form, and a web-site that you visit to fill out the real form. Students with questions about financial aid eligibility are encouraged to stop by the “1st Stop Desk in Takena Hall. Sometimes questions can be answered right there. Sometimes students need to make an appointment with a financial aid advisor. But start with the 1st Stop.
It is important to know that the Financial Aid office requests that anyone who wants aid for fall quarter get their form sent in by July 20th. Students who apply after July 20th may not know what their financial aid award will be, by the time school starts on September 28th.
Q: Who’s my advisor?
Again, a question easily answered, in a very specific way, at the 1st Stop desk in Takena Hall. A good, general answer, however, is that your academic advisor will be a teacher in the program you wish to major in. If you are undecided, than your advisor should be one of our counselors, located in the Career Center in Takena Hall, or at one of our centers.
Q: My first choice for a program is full. What should I do?
For this year, and perhaps in the future, some programs fill early. We had a couple of programs that were full for the fall, by the end of June. This does make it hard. However, almost every program requires some “general education” courses, writing, math, health, communications, and others. These classes can be taken while you wait to get into the courses in your “major.” Also, classes that are suggested by the Placement Test are important to take early in your time at LBCC. Many students can go to college, productively, for up to a year, without being in courses that are part of their major. So, all is not lost if your program of choice is full for fall term.
Mark
Comment
Commenting is closed for this article.
