Continue reading »]]> Well, this will be the last blog you read from Avery, Zach, Jay or myself. Every April our office chooses four new Coordinators and after the May session, the old Coordinators leave and the new Coordinators take office. I would like to congratulate the new Coordinators, Clair Goodson, Samantha Essick, Chase Schmidt and Michael Seale. Their first session will be in August, so if you are planning to attend one of the following sessions you will see them in action.

With this being our last session as Coordinators, it went very smoothly. Even though it was on the warm side (but normal weather for an Alabama summer), it was a beautiful day. Check in and breakfast for went well. Mr. Paul Kittle, Director of Greek Life, welcomed the transfer students and their parents and guests at War Eagle Welcome. After War Eagle Welcome, the students and parents and guests met their Orientation Leaders and were presented with important Auburn information in the first of two small group sessions. Next was the opportunity to attend two concurrent session presentations which ranged from information on financial aid to getting involved on campus, as well as many others. After the concurrent sessions, we had a rotating schedule for the students. Half of the students went to Learning for Life, which is a presentation on diversity, while the other half went to Tiger i, which is a presentation on how to register for classes. Once they went to one session, they then attended the other session. While the students were on the rotating schedule, parents and guests went to Tiger Talk, in which representatives from Tiger Transit, Parking Services, the Medical Clinic and Financial Aid spoke with them.

Once the students had completed the rotating schedule, they then met back with their Orientation Leaders for the second small group session. However, after Tiger Talk the parents and guests had lunch from Barbeque House, an Auburn favorite, on Cater Lawn. After lunch we dismissed parents to their second small group session, while the students then had lunch on Cater Lawn. Ending the day was a campus tour and academic advising.

My experience as a Coordinator for SOS has been nothing short of amazing. When I attended SOS as a transfer student myself, I would have never imagined that a year from then I would be an Orientation Leader and two years later I would be a Coordinator. I have enjoyed working with transfer students for the past year and a half. For each SOS session, I was excited to see a new group of transfer students and was eager to give to them the information they needed to prepare for their transition to Auburn. Again, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a Coordinator and I know the new coordinators will do an amazing job in the following sessions as well!

Continue reading »]]> One of the most difficult and important parts of attending college is “How will I pay for it?”  This is usually addressed by determining how much you can afford to pay for yourself, then augmenting that with two key factors: financial aid and scholarships.

The steps for enrolling in financial aid at Auburn University are fairly straight-forward.  First, if you have not already, you need to have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This is an approximation of how much you (or your family) are expected to contribute to your college education.  Much of your financial need is determined by this application so be sure to complete and submit it.  The next step is to go to the Auburn University Financial Aid page at http://www.auburn.edu/administration/business_office/finaid/. Here you will find links to the necessary forms you have to fill out in order to enroll for financial aid at Auburn.  There are a few key pieces of information you need to know about financial aid at Auburn.  First and most importantly, you must REAPPLY EVERY YEAR for financial aid; it is NOT automatically renewed.  Secondly, if you are entering in summer term, know that it will be awarded separately from the next Fall/Spring financial aid awards.  Finally, most grants require that you be a full time student (12 hours minimum).

In addition to financial aid, there are a vast array of available scholarships, some that are even available only to transfer students!  There are a number of different levels you may receive scholarships: general scholarships through the university, scholarships specific to your major from your department, and outside donors not directly related to Auburn.  The university offers roughly 6,000 general scholarships every year.  These can be found at http://www.auburn.edu/scholarship/. Some of these are reserved specifically for you, the transfer student.  To be in consideration for these you must meet the following requirements:
-have a minimum 3.25 transfer GPA,
-have at least 30 transfer hours, and
-apply before June 1st.
Also, be sure to check with your department, they may offer even more scholarships on top of any you get from the general university scholarship program.  And the best news is that you can have scholarships at both levels.  So be sure to apply for as many as you can find!