Despite constant grumbling amongst many students, others have had no problems with the financial aid office. Actually, the personnel are always friendly, calls are returned, and questions are answered within a matter of (at most) 24 hours. Of course there was a slight problem with wait time this semester. But the financial aid office cannot be blamed for this inconvenience.
Whose fault is that really? Can we blame those lines solely on the fact that there are fewer administrators and student employees in the office than there are students on financial aid? Let’s face it: the line that flowed out of those doors and through the hall was due to being unprepared.
Just like going through security at O’Hare or Midway, or forgetting to take out money at the grocery store checkout lane, those who are unprepared hold up everyone else’s progress.
While waiting in the financial aid line, one could hear many a student complain about the wait. Yet very few had papers out and ready to submit. It seems that many students arrived at the desk, only to be asked to go make copies and come back later. Situations like this create the disgruntled student who then must pass up and down those steps time and again for things that should have been completed (and copied) long before having entered the office in the first place. Things like this are what hold up lines, and make the individuals behind the desk less than likely to say “hello” to anyone, much less answer questions in a fair and timely manner.
Signs are posted at the bottom and top of the stairs stating that the financial aid office does not make copies. If students were to bring all pertinent information with them, as well as multiple copies of said information, wait time would be significantly reduced for the individual student, as well as that of those behind.
College offices, including financial aid, operate on the assumption that college students are responsible human beings and can take care of their own paperwork. It is, after all, your education, not theirs. The responsibility is yours and yours alone.
So next semester, when this happens again, please just make your life easier (and the line a little shorter) and come prepared. You’ll be happier, the line will be shorter, and perhaps all of your questions will be answered with a smile.