| A student’s
first time entering college can be a mind-boggling problem of
where, who, when and how. Advisement, admissions, financial aid and
deadlines are concerns many students may have. “The fear of the unknown is what intimidates new students,” said Erika Lopez, Peer Advisor at the Welcome/Advising Center. A new student’s first step is to go the Welcome/AdvisingCenter, located in the Palomino Center, Room 126. The center guides students with the advisement process, provides college or university transfer information, assists with online registration and helps complete financial aid forms. There is also a computer lab to view student information regarding grades, unofficial transcripts, class schedules and tuition bills. “My senior counselor made an announcement to students who were interested in going to Palo Alto, which really helped me out,” said Frank S. Osuna, III, a sophomore Criminal Justice major. The Palo Alto College Early Start Program (PACE) is available to students who quality. PACE is a six-week program that allows graduating high school seniors to register in two college classes and a student success class. Call Dolores Zapata, 921-5278, or Angelica Melendez, 921-5141, for more information. New students also have to complete a student data form, residency, and a post-admission data form. Students are also encouraged to start applying for financial aid online at this time, because financial aid is a process that takes anywhere from four to six weeks to receive a response. The second step for a student is to go to Admissions, where students need their high school transcripts or G.E.D scores. “Getting started and coming on my own was kind of confusing,” said Eusebia Vasquez, a freshman Mathematics major. “My orientation class is what helped me out more.” The third step for a new student is to take the Assessment Placement Test. This test determines a student’s readiness for college-level courses. The scores of the placement test are available the same day the test is taken. Once the student receives the placement test scores, they can move on to Advisement, where they meet with a counselor. The counselor then helps the student enroll in classes and set up a degree plan. The final step is Registration, which can be done by phone or online. Students can also go to the Welcome/Advising Center where a Peer Advisor will guide them through the online web registration. Students may then print a detailed schedule and their tuition bill. Early registration for Maymester, Summer I, Summer II and the Fall registration began April 19 and continues through May 21 for Summer I, through July 1 for Summer II, and through August 16 for the Fall 2004. Returning students can find Faculty Advisors on pages 14 and 15 in the new schedule. For more information, call 921-5465 or visit the Palo Alto website <www.accd.edu/pac>. |