"Why can no one answer my question?" | Navigating Your College

"I've been trying to reach the financial aid office, but no one is picking up the phone or they keep transferring me to another office. Why can no one answer my question?"

This is a common question I hear quite often. It's frustrating trying to contact your Academic Advisor, Financial Aid, or any other office at your college when no one seems to know the answer. It's the responsibility of the college to provide clear guidance on their offices and how to navigate them. However, most colleges can be confusing with so many offices. More often than not, even the internal staff themselves might not have a clear understanding of each office. This is what leads to the endless loop of getting transferred.

To help you navigate your college when asking questions, here is my advice to get your questions answered efficiently and correctly:

Colleges are like mini-countries

One of my bosses told me a great metaphor. Try to view all colleges as one giant country (the university as a whole) with different states (programs, schools, etc.). Each of these "states" navigates as their own entity with separate budgets, policies, rules, and staff.

Additionally, each "state" within the university can operate as their own territory. For example, you may hear terms such as "School of Business" or "College of Education." Sometimes these can include additional names of former alumni or school sponsors (EX: Arnold School of Dentistry, Smith School of Engineering) Usually, these separate "schools" have their own set of programs and policies that they manage. The "School of Business" will usually have no crossover with the "College of Education." If you're emailing someone at the College of Education about finding your Academic Advisor, but you're a student in the "School of Business", they may not be able to help you.

Lastly, there are some offices that can assist you with general questions relating to the overall college. This can be the general office of Financial Aid or the general Bursar's office. These offices are often the "catch-all" for questions related to billing/tuition costs. However, these general offices can act as the "catch-all" for everything, which means you may be waiting several days for a response.

Be Specific

This may be common knowledge, but I mean this in a few different ways. You might think your question is specific, but there are a couple ways to narrow it down even more. First, be specific when asking your question. The more specific your question, the easier it is to determine which office you'll need to go to. For example, is your question related to a specific class or is it about your major overall? Is this a question that can be answered by your professor, or will you need the help of your Academic Advisor? Do you have questions about a specific scholarship, or tuition cost overall? Does my question involve multiple offices?

Being specific can also apply to the offices your reaching out to. In the above section, I described colleges functioning like mini-countries. This means there may be specific offices where your question can be answered. When looking up contacts in the university, be mindful of the offices you're reaching out to. If you're unsure of which office to contact for your question, I recommend asking the student center/hub where often times student assistants are there to help.

Answers can be slow

We've all experienced the long wait times, the lines, or the ticket system. Colleges can be notorious for taking a long time to answer questions or process documents. The most common explanation for this is the sheer volume of questions, emails, calls, and documents that they receive every day. For larger universities, they can receive up to 200-300 emails daily. If you have emailed your question, you may not get a response until about 5-7 days (sometimes up to 2 weeks if it's a busy period). Depending on your question, calling may get you a faster response. However, it's important to note that many offices have student assistants who help answer phone calls. This means you might get placed on a hold or may have a staff member follow up with you if your initial question cannot be answered immediately. Additionally, the busiest season for colleges is usually in the Fall. This is where you may experience longer wait times. The slowest season is the summer.

Try the website

The last piece of advice I'll mention is the website. You would be surprised just how much information you can find on the university's website that you might even get your questions answered before speaking with someone. Admittedly, these websites may not be the easiest to navigate. With a quick google search, usually links pop up almost instantly. Speaking from an Admissions standpoint, we try to put as much information on the website in a clear way. As you know, applying for school has many moving parts and along with that, comes lots of information. I encourage you to try and read through all elements of a website if you can.

With all of the above tips, I hope this helps in finding the right office to get your questions answered quicker. When in doubt, don't be afraid to keep calling and emailing (within reason) if you feel like you're not getting anything in response. Sometimes, you might be able to visit in person if they allow walk-in appointments. Good luck!