Howdy!
UVSC treats all foreign students, especially Canadian Citizens, like dirt. I speak from first-hand experience. They are far worse than any college (7) I've taken classes at, with the exception of Salt Lake Community College. It's something to do with state law.
Ok, now that you've been warned, you can expect it and be prepared to deal with pounds of lost paperwork. Have the admissions AND financial aid department attach a scanned copy of your citizenship papers to your file. Be prepared to pay up front and then get reimbursed from financial aid, unless you are applying now for Fall 2003.
Don't expect anything but loans for aid. Careful, as certain colleges expect ALL of their students to have V.A. benefits or winning the lottery to cover exactly 51% of your financial need. I never felt like supporting Nellie, Sallie, or Citibank and the rich parents, nope, haven't seen 'em. Manage your budget carefully as the first year amounts won’t cover a pilot course plus tuition.
The college experience depends on the student and the professor. If the student doesn't care, neither does the professor. If the student does care, shows up during office hours, takes on some research projects, nabs an internship, and is not afraid to question, the professors will respond.
Now, what to avoid in an online course: 1. instructors that do not return messages within 24-48 hours without warning. Two classes were taught by airline pilots, they took their laptops with them and responded from some pretty interesting locations. 2. Large classes. About 15 students is enough. More than that and you don't get much attention, which feeds into #1 and means your questions go unanswered. There are no writing labs or teaching assistants for online students. #3 instructors that refuse to use office hours time with their online students. Run away. Run away now. #4 instructors that don't understand being stranded in a sleazy pilot lounge somewhere without any method of connecting to the internet to turn in an assignment and a broken airplane. #5 instructors that only assign term papers for the entire class. Gee, why get the textbook?
The courses themselves are like Riddle’s undergrad courses. If you were really bored you could complete them in a weekend, one weekend per course. There is very little interaction between students or between professor and students. Your grades for many courses depend on how well you do on written tests. UVSC should accept the local regulatory equivalent for the exams – talk to your flight school.
However easy the courses may seem, if you run into a question, ask for assistance NOW. Do NOT delay. Call the professor or your CFI. Delaying causes many unneeded failed grades. In the same line, if you become too busy, a “W” for withdrawing is far better than a “F.” If you can, go after the best grades possible. “Dean’s list” does look good on a resume.
For the textbooks, get your ground instructor certificate ASAP, join NAFI, and use your discounts to buy the books. Then keep the aviation texts. Get the CFI as soon as possible and begin instructing, you’ll have a lot of experience by the time you graduate.
Do not ignore internships and scholarships. You are attending a UAA school which opens the door for many opportunities. Canada also treats their students well with grants and scholarships for residents. The more other people that pay for your degree, the fewer years you have to spend paying for the degree. And if you graduate to no job, defer payments on the loans instead of letting them become defaulted.
I probably don’t need to go into credit cards except to advise your mailbox will soon be jammed with offers and the fine print says 23% is an average DAILY interest rate. Not a good idea to put tuition on, but great to have for emergencies and fueling. I think COPA (
http://www.copanational.org) has a card.
Good luck and Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein
Current UVSC student
