By Sarah Bransley
Are you completely overwhelmed and not sure where to turn? It can be difficult to know what you’re supposed to do as a new transfer student. However, LAS and UIUC have many different support systems in place to help you, you just need to reach out to them.
First and foremost, if you’re having trouble in your class, reach out to your professor! I know everyone says this, but honestly they are the one with the information on how you’re doing in the class, what the upcoming exams and quizzes will be like, and how you can do better. In fact, going to office hours or setting up another time outside of office hours if you can’t make them, shows the prof how much you want to succeed. That can only benefit you! You also have the option of learning material from the TAs if the problem is the teaching style of the professors. Keep in mind that everyone teaches differently just like everyone learns differently.
If you’re completely stressed out by classes, or you’ve had other stresses in your life come up (injury, illness, family crisis, etc) then go talk to your advisor. In Integrative Biology we have our own advisors with intimate knowledge of our major so check if you have something similar. However, it’s also perfectly fine to go to Lincoln Hall and see an LAS Advisor! Whoever you talk to, be straight with them about what’s going on, what you want out of the semester, and what you think you can accomplish. They will help you find out what options you have and offer up some advice. Very often they will also point you in the direction of Financial Aid.
If you are one of the millions of students in the US who receive Financial Aid, then before you change anything in your schedule you better talk to Financial Aid. There are a bunch of different things that can affect whether you qualify, how much you qualify for, and if you can be put on probation, or worse, denied! This can affect not only the current semester but future ones! The ladies at the front desk will typically try to answer your question if it’s a quick one, but if you’re insistent or mention your advisor sent you over, they should let you see a Financial Aid Advisor in the back.
My final word of advice to you is to be realistic and try not to be too hard on yourself. You won’t be the first person to drop a class or two, and you won’t be the last.