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Admissions

Kolod Aljohani Finds Strength at EWU

05/12/2016 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

Kolod Aljohani is an International Student from Saudi Arabia. She and her husband Tariq Alrefai came to EWU three years ago after he researched midsized colleges with reputable engineering programs. He liked that EWU’s main campus was in a small town as this would keep distractions to a minimum during the week, but with Spokane close enough for weekend fun.

When her husband graduated with his Mechanical Engineering BS degree 7 months ago, he returned home to start his career, and Aljohani was forced to make a difficult choice: should she go home and finish her degree in Saudi, and perhaps never finish? Or should she stay on alone at EWU and keep her eyes on the prize?

She had invested too much in her US education to give up—two years of classes toward a Technical Communication major, plus a double minor in Visual Communication Design and German. She decided to stay.

Kolod chillin' on EWU's campus
Kolod Aljohani on EWU’s main campus (photo:Nick Thomas)

Her family, however, was nervous about her staying in the US, and some family members even tried to convince her it was wrong to stay. “Some Saudi’s have old-fashioned ideas about women,” she says, but there is also open-mindedness, she points out, “otherwise, they wouldn’t send us here.”

To make things even harder, new funding restrictions have created more hardships for Aljohani and others who are midway through their American degrees.  Under the new Saudi Minister of Education, and shrinking oil revenue, rules for scholarships for Saudi’s decade-old 6 billion dollar per year study abroad program have changed. “Many Saudi students had to return home,” she says. The new rules said she had to be 70% of the way towards her degree to qualify for a tuition scholarship, so she enrolled in 24 credits, almost double the normal full-time credit load, in addition to working part time.

“I needed to adapt to the situation,” she says, “not give up.” Aljohani is confident she made the right choice, though she emphasizes that a huge part of her strength comes from her parents, husband and siblings.

While her tuition is funded, living expenses are no longer be covered. She could have asked her family for assistance, but she wanted to prove that she could support herself. She has worked hard to establish a new sense of independence, something she says she never had back home. “While my family is not wealthy, I never had to work to support myself. Everything was provided for me. But here I pay for rent, and for food. I just paid a power bill for the first time!”

Being an International Student has given her a love of travel and languages. This summer will find her studying abroad in Germany. It will be her first time in Europe.

Since her second quarter at EWU, she has worked as a EWU Global Ambassador for the Office of Global Initiatives. She helps new International Students interpret, find their way around campus, and visit Spokane, as well as other cities like Portland and Seattle. Seattle is her favorite city; she’s visited about twenty times. She takes friends and students and they stay with an American host family in West Seattle. “I love Alki Beach, and Seattle has a lot of Middle Eastern restaurants.”

Aljohani has also become a real road warrior; besides Seattle, she’s driven to Los Angeles three times, and even cruised down to Las Vegas on a mad dash weekend trip. “I’m afraid of heights,” she explains. “I hate flying, but I love driving! It never gets old.”

Her fear of heights is yet another challenge she’s committed to conquering—three days a week you can find her climbing at the EWU EPIC Climbing Wall. “EWU made me believe I don’t have limits for my dreams,” she says. “I’m thankful that my husband made the right choice and brought me to this school. GO EAGLES!”

 

 

Filed Under: Admissions, EWU, International Tagged With: EWU, ewu global initiatives, ewu international students, ewu saudi students, ewu study abroad, international stuednts

Admitted Student Day: The Things You Missed About Admissions

05/31/2014 by cbrazell Leave a Comment

You can become an Eagle today!! Apply now!

In April, EWU hosted one of the largest admissions events in over 10 years, Admitted Student Day. We filled the two largest auditoriums on campus, nearly filled a third, and an estimated 1,000 people took part in the day-long event.

For those students looking to make their college decision, the day provided more than just information. Dr. Tony Flynn, a hilarious guest speaker and professor of English who teaches 20th century British and American literature, started the day off with the number one thing you needed to know about be successful in college. (Hint: it’s easier than you think. Send us an email if you’re still curious.)

Most of the day was filled with sessions which covered dozens of topics including financial aid, admissions, jobs after college, and more. Students also had the chance to attend academic fairs, to speak with department counselors, to devour delicious food, and to tour residence halls. To top it off, we had wonderful weather!

So how can apply or confirm if I missed Admitted Student Day?

There are two things you’ll need to do.

First, you should visit campus. I’m an EWU student worker in the Visitor Center, and I know that visiting campus matters whether you’re looking at EWU or anywhere else. In fact, I don’t think you can pick the right campus without visiting it first. If you missed Admitted Student Day, or if you’re planning for fall 2015, you need to take a tour.

Second, it means it’s time to take your next steps toward confirming to college.

At EWU, there are eight steps in the enrollment process after you’ve been admitted. You may already be a couple steps in, or maybe you are starting at step one, but either way, here is a link to our enrollment guide.

Let me break down some of the key steps.

If you haven’t applied yet, scroll down to the last paragraph and go from there!

  • The most important step of all, confirm to EWU!
  • Once that’s done, the next step is to confirm your housing plans. Here’s a link to our Housing and Residential Life page to answer any questions you may have. (You’ll need your official university email for this.)
  • Next, we talk financial aid. You may have already received your financial aid package, but if you haven’t, keep your eyes peeled and check your EagleNET account. Financial aid might seem like scary stuff, but if you have any questions about how the financial aid process works, our Financial Aid Office will be more than happy to help.
  • Finally, if you’ve confirmed EWU, confirmed housing, and confirmed your financial aid package, the next step is to sign up for firstStep. A summer academic orientation event, firstStep is your opportunity to familiarize yourself with the campus and to register for classes.

Now you may be asking, what if I’ve missed all these deadlines, or have yet to apply to college, but I finally decided I want to go to a four-year university? Don’t worry. Don’t stress. You can still apply now for fall, and we’d be more than happy to walk you through those steps as well. Contact our Admissions Office for more information. It’s never too late to start something big!

 

Filed Under: Admissions, College Fit, Student Life Tagged With: admissions, advice, application, apply, Cheney, college decision, deadline, decisions, Eastern, Eastern Washington University, Spokane

College Application Playlist

02/13/2014 by jlittleton1 Leave a Comment

Everyone needs good vibes in the last few days before a deadline, so we've put together a college application playlist to tell you how we feel about your application and to give you some motivational melodies this Valentine's Day weekend.

Fair warning: all links lead to YouTube. Good news: none of the links take you to a song that’s hard to listen to. Except that one.

The College Application Playlist

We’ve got 15 songs for the Feb. 15 deadline. Good luck with your application, and we’ll see you on the other side!

  1. One Direction: What Makes You Beautiful (Having a strong academic focus makes you beautiful to us.)
  2. Bruno Mars: Just the Way You Are (You don’t need to change for EWU.)
  3. The Doors: Hello, I Love You (We love it when you apply!)
  4. Tegan and Sara: Come a Little Closer (By closer, we mean “on campus for a tour.”)
  5. Aretha Franklin: Respect (We give every application the respect it deserves.)
  6. Depeche Mode: Just Can’t Get Enough (We get thousands of applications each year, but we can always handle more.)
  7. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: Home (EWU is home to nearly 13,000 students, and we’re happy you want to be one.)
  8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Maps (You can find a map for your campus visit right here.)
  9. Etta James: At Last (We still love you even if you’re applying at the last possible moment.)
  10. Bright Eyes: First Day of My Life (College is always a great new adventure, and we hope you love the journey, wherever it takes you.)
  11. The Jackson Five: I Want You Back (Hundreds of EWU students come back for master’s degrees, online classes, summer classes, certificates, and second bachelor’s degrees. Those folks have a special place in our hearts.)
  12. Richard Marx: Right Here Waiting (Our staff is definitely right here waiting to read your application.)
  13. Adele: Make You Feel My Love (As a sign of our love, we’ll send you dozens of emails until we receive your completed application.)
  14. Hunter Hayes: I Want Crazy (We actually want “crazy hard-working and crazy fun-loving”, but this was as good as we could do.)
  15. Mates of State: Palomino (There’s no pun here. We just like this song.)

Deadline Reminder

Your application for admission, your scholarship application, and your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are all due at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15. Good luck!

P.S. EWU’s FAFSA code is 003775.

Filed Under: Admissions, College Fit, EWU Tagged With: admissions, application, apply, deadline, Eastern, Eastern Washington University, EWU, music, playlist, songs, valentine's day, video, youtube

Waitlisted in California?

04/26/2013 by jlittleton1 Leave a Comment

EWU with WUE is the best out-of-state value of all Washington state universities

You may have seen the news: 472,000 students have been waitlisted for community colleges in California.

To put that number in perspective, that’s bigger than the entire population of cities like Kansas City, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis or Oakland. It’s almost as many people as the entire state of Wyoming. In fact, it’s bigger than a handful of countries in the world, including Iceland and the Bahamas.

Put another way, you could take all those waitlisted students in California and create 38 universities the same size as Eastern Washington University.

Why is this happening?

There  are a few big reasons.

  1. Lots of smart students in California want a college-degree because it means a chance for more and better jobs. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, only 3.8 percent of college graduates over the age of 25 are unemployed. In comparison, the unemployment rate for the whole country is 7.7 percent.
  2. Even as more people want to go to college, the California state government is cutting its budget for colleges and universities. That means California colleges can’t admit all the qualified students who want to attend.
  3. Many of these students are low-income and first-generation, and it’s often harder for them to find cost-effective alternatives.

WUE in Washington state can help

Thankfully, some schools do have room for students, and EWU is one them.

If you’re a student from California, you should know that EWU offers the Western Undergraduate Exchange program to all students from California and 13 other states.

You might also want to know that EWU is the best value of all Washington state universities for out-of-state students.

University 2012-13 WUE Tuition & Fees
Eastern Washington University $11,306
Central Washington University $12,890
The Evergreen State College $20,383
University of Washington (Bothell) $29,466
University of Washington (Seattle) $29,938
University of Washington (Tacoma) $29,457
Washington State University* $25,382
Western Washington University* $19,152

 

*WWU and WSU don’t award WUE to all eligible students.

All qualified students should have access to college

A greater percentage of first generation and low-income students call EWU home than any other campus in Washington, and we’re still accepting applications.

Students need to find the college that’s the right fit for them, and EWU might be that place.

 

Filed Under: Admissions, College Fit Tagged With: california, community college, Eastern, Eastern Washington University, EWU, state, tuition, university, waitlist, washington, WUE

I’m admitted, but where’s my financial aid?

04/03/2013 by jlittleton1 Leave a Comment

It’s the time of year when students worry less about admissions and more about financial aid, and because you’ve got questions, we’ve put together some answers.

But First … You’ve Got Time

Relax. Do some yoga. Find your inner Zen.

You have until May 1 to confirm your admissions to EWU. In fact, you have until May 1 to confirm your decision to attend any Washington state university, so there’s no pressure on you to make a choice based on incomplete information.

The one exception to the rule: if you’ve been asked to send more information, send it as quickly as possible. This is a federal requirement and we will not be able to make your award until the information on your FAFSA is verified.

Look for EWU Financial Aid Awards in April

Check your Eagles email often. (Setting up your Eagles email was Step 4 in the enrollment process.) It’s the fastest way to see if we’ve sent your award.

If you haven’t received notification by the end of the month, give us a call.

Why Does EWU Send Awards in April?

Well, there are few good reasons, and the biggest is that EWU doesn’t send preliminary awards.

Other colleges sometimes get caught in a “bait and switch” situation by offering estimated awards. Unfortunately, many of these estimated awards end up being less than stated after your FAFSA information is verified and corrected.

EWU works hard to avoid that problem and to provide the most accurate information possible.

How Can I Estimate How Much EWU Will Cost to Attend?

There are three ways.

  1. Use EWU’s net price calculator.
  2. Compare overall tuition and cost via our website.
  3. Compare net prices in the table below. The data comes from the White House Score Card. The net price is what average undergraduate students pay after grants and scholarships (financial aid you don’t have to pay back) are subtracted from the cost of attendance.
    University Net Price
    Eastern Washington University $10,587
    Central Washington University $13,775
    The Evergreen State College $11,686
    University of Washington—Seattle $8,739
    Washington State University $15,485
    Western Washington University $13,086
What If I Still Have Questions?

Give us call at 509.359.2397, chat with us online, or send an email to admissions@ewu.edu. We’re here to help, and we can point you in the right direction

Filed Under: Admissions, Tuition & Financial Aid Tagged With: award, Eastern Washington University, EWU, financial aid, letters

I missed the priority deadline? Now what?

02/21/2013 by jlittleton1 Leave a Comment

A record number of applications arrived on Feb. 15 this year, and that means more and more students waited until the absolute last minute to apply.

Unfortunately, many students who wait end up missing the priority application deadline, which means they’re at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving an admission decision, receiving scholarships, and receiving financial aid.

If you missed the deadline, here’s what you can do.

  1. Apply for admission as soon as possible. The sooner you get your application submitted, the better. Your place in the queue is determined by the date you completed your online application. (Or the date we received your application via the mail if you used the paper application.) This can affect how quickly we can process your application, how soon your college-level transcripts get reviewed, and more.
  2. Complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). EWU allocates financial aid with a priority given to students who applied before the Feb. 15 priority deadline, but you may still qualify for financial aid. Although EWU has had the lowest tuition and lowest housing costs of any public university in the state for the last several years, we know that students can always use grants, work study, and loans to help them cover the costs of tuition. Use Eastern’s school code (003775) to indicate that you want your FAFSA results sent to Eastern.
  3. Research Scholarships. You may have missed the deadline for EWU’s main scholarships, but the university has dozens of scholarships with deadlines spread throughout the year. You may qualify for one or more of them.

You always have options. And if you really don’t know what to do, give us a call at 509.359.2397, email us at admissions@ewu.edu, or chat with us online. We’ll help you explore your options and make a decision that’s best for you. After all, it’s not our job to get you to come to EWU. It’s our job to help you find the best options and the best fit for your situation.

Filed Under: Admissions

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