For most people the first week of the semester is laid back with professors making introductions and outlining expectations for the class, but for others it’s one of the most stressful times of the semester. The reason for the stress isn’t the difficulty of the academic work, anxiety of meeting new students or even the fear of the unknown; it’s the financial aid process.
I’m not a rich student, to say the least. In fact, if it weren’t for the grants and scholarships I receive I couldn’t attend NSU. I am even fortunate enough to have money left over to purchase books and materials for my classes. The problem is I can’t use any of it until NSU disburses it — two to three weeks after the semester begins.
I am a transfer student from Broward College. At Broward College we could purchase books from the bookstore based upon the amount of refund we were going to receive. During my first semester at NSU, I naively thought that such a prestigious university as NSU would have something similar, or at the very least, as convenient as Broward College. Unfortunately, it did not.
What NSU did have was the “Emergency Gold Circle Loan” which worked great if you knew about it and applied for it at least a week before classes began. The Emergency Gold Circle Loan took about three or four days to be approved and disbursed. This was convenient because you received cash and weren’t obligated to purchase your books at the overpriced NSU bookstore.
Then NSU replaced the Emergency Gold Circle Loan with the Book Advanced Purchase Program (BAPP). This is similar to the process at Broward College, but you are not automatically able to use your financial aid to purchase books at the bookstore. You have to apply for the BAPP and be approved before you can use your financial aid at the bookstore. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal; you are even approved or denied instantly when you apply online. The problem is, if your grants haven’t kicked in yet you will be denied. Even though your financial aid award account may show the money coming to you and NSU recognizes that you will receive the grants, the BAPP will deny you. So unless you have disposable income you’re stuck — unable to buy your books and course materials. I just don’t understand why this process can’t be more streamlined and convenient for NSU students.
Instead of starting the first week off on the right foot I find myself falling behind and playing catch up because I don’t have my books and materials yet. Then I spend the next weeks cramming all the material I missed and making up all of my past due homework along with the current course work.
I know this isn’t a problem for every student at NSU, but I do know others who are in a similar situation. While some students can afford to buy books out of pocket, many of us rely on financial aid to do so.
I love NSU and have no regrets about being a Shark. But, NSU could do a better job communicating the financial aid process and assistance programs available to help students so that no shark feels like bait.
