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United States Colleges and Universities
Help for Student Victims of Hurricanes
Staying Where You Are
- Introduction
- Issues to Consider: Will you be allowed to stay?
- Applying for admission
- Financial aid
- Student stories
1. Introduction
Hopefully, you have had a positive experience
at the institution you relocated to this
semester. We hope that you will be able to
return to your home campus in the Hurricane-affected
region. However, for one reason or another,
some students may elect to stay at the
colleges and universities who admitted
them this (fall) semester. If you are in
this situation, you must first check with
the college or university you are attending
to see what they require of you to stay
for the winter/spring term and beyond. Since
many colleges consider displaced
students to be visiting students, they
will require you to formally apply. You will
be held to the school’s normal
academic standards and may be competing
for a position with others who are applying
for admission.
2. Issues to Consider: Will you be allowed to stay?
It is important to note that remaining at your current institution may not be an option for you. Universities worked together to take in students displaced by the hurricanes on a temporary basis, and are working together to ensure that most students return to their home institutions. Read an article about institutions sticking to their promise of ensuring that displaced students return to their original institution:
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(From Pope, J. Displaced students hoping to stay put Associated Press, 11/28/2005)
After Katrina, colleges across the country took in an estimated 18,000 displaced New Orleans students. Now, the New Orleans schools desperately need those students to return next semester and pay tuition. Exactly how many will return won't be known until January. Tulane says 80 percent of its students have reregistered. Loyola University, which received little damage, just started registration and can only claim more than half, for now. The situation will likely be more dire at schools such as Xavier and Dillard, which suffered more storm damage.
Some students simply want to stay where they are, particularly freshmen who never got attached to their original schools. Student councils at Virginia, Harvard and the University of California at Berkeley have passed resolutions calling on their schools to be more flexible in letting New Orleans students at least apply to transfer. Officially, those and other colleges are saying no, wary of breaking their promises to other schools or, in some cases, of letting students use the situation to "trade up" to a more prestigious school. Of course, students won't be forced to return, and the host college can simply refuse to let them transfer there next semester. But there's nothing to prevent students from withdrawing from their New Orleans schools and trying to transfer next fall like anyone else.
The situation has placed college administrators in a bind.
"These students have been through a great deal here, and obviously they're just trying to look for a little consistency in their lives," said Esther Gulli, chief of staff to the vice chancellor for student affairs at Berkeley. "But our agreements with their schools were, when they were open and ready for business, we would send their students back."
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There are a number of students who do not
want to go back to their original institutions,
and a number of colleges and universities
who, while they may not give displaced students
special consideration in the admission process,
may accept applications from them as regular
transfers.
(from Phelps, L. Displaced Students See Cloudy Prospects Daily Tar Heel 9/30/2005)
Universities across the nation welcomed thousands of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina for the fall but are hesitant to make their status permanent. Many university officials say they don’t want to steal Gulf Coast students and will require them to go through regular admissions processes.
“We need to be careful that we have an even-handed approach and that we are not trying to poach students from other schools,” said UNC Provost Robert Shelton.“At the same time, students have every right to apply to any university that they want to and get fair consideration.” He said that UNC, which enrolled 14 displaced students, does not accept spring admissions, so displaced students must apply for enrollment for fall 2006.
Weston Davis, a Tulane University student who is studying at UNC, said he received notification from Tulane officials that the school will open for an abbreviated spring semester. He said most students are enthusiastic about returning to their home institutions, but he is wary of going back and plans to fill out a transfer application to UNC. “The city and the state is not what it was,” he said, adding that he will give Tulane a chance before making a final decision.
The University of Texas-Austin outlined its policy [on Katrina students transfer permanently] on its Web site. “Displaced students seeking spring admission will have to compete with all other prospective students for the spaces available for the spring 2006 semester,” it says.
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3. Applying for admission
Depending on how many years of higher education
you’ve already completed, you may have gone through the admissions process
very recently. Please check with the office
of admission or the academic advisor at
your current institution to see what they
will require of you.
If you are allowed to apply for admission
at your current institution, you may be required
to complete a formal application and provide
your official transcripts. In addition to
these documents, you may be required
to write an admissions essay, much like you
did when you applied to your original
institution. Some resources to assist you
with your essay include:
EssayEdge.com offers help with editing your essay, whether it be for undergraduate, graduate, or professional school admission.
The College Board offers tips and suggestions on writing your essay, including a recipe for a draft and many examples of winning essays.
4. Financial Aid
Your financial situation is likely to have changed
as a result of the Hurricanes. For more detailed
information about applying for federal aid, how to explain
your
new financial
picture, how to get documents you may have lost,
and how to search for other types of aid, please
visit the
section on Financial Issues.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The official website for federal aid.
Submit 2005-2006 FAFSA on the Web Applications by midnight Central Daylight time, June 30, 2006. File your FAFSA online. You'll get a personal identification number that will allow you to keep track of your application.
5. Student stories
Many students are in the same situation as you. Read about other displaced students who have been successful in their applications to stay at their current institutions:
(Taken from: Some college students displaced by Hurricane Katrina decide to stay in Rochester news10nbc.com, 11/28/2005)
It's been nearly three months since Rochester colleges and universities opened their doors to students from New Orleans. About 25 students came to Rochester after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In some parts of the country, colleges have been accused of poaching students who had to leave New Orleans after the hurricane. In Rochester most of the students plan to return to the big easy but what was supposed to be a temporary solution will be permanent for five students in our area including 4 from RIT.
Laura Sanchez is getting used to RIT where she's been attending classes tuition free for the past three months. She was forced to leave Loyola University of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. Now Loyola is accepting students back but Laura, a sophomore in graphic design, won't be returning. “They had graphic design but it was not as strong as here.”
Laura was one of 4 students who decided to stay. There were 8 others who decided to return to New Orleans. She says it was a very difficult decision to make. “My friends were like. Oh my god, you have to go back. You're the only one who's not going back!”
Laura says Loyola tried to discourage her from transferring asking her to fill out surveys about her decision, and letting her know it would be tough to return. “We didn't want this to be a recruitment program, but surprisingly enough, I always told them my door was always open,” said Marian Nicoletti, Director of Transfer Admissions at RIT.
That's what many gulf coast schools have feared that students once displaced by Katrina would be less likely to return and that other schools would benefit from the situation.
But Nicoletti says the students remaining here earned it. They fit our profile and in Laura's situation, she also had to provide a portfolio and her portfolio is very, very good.”
And fortunately for Laura the price of her education remains the same. “I think I did the right decision.”
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We hope that you will be able to return to the college
or university which you left, if that is what you want to do. It is important, however, to support your educational and personal goals as well as your financial realities at this time, and make the decision that is best for you.
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