Enrolling in a community college is one of the more difficult aspects of going to school, as you have to make sure the steps go right to officially start going to classes. Luckily, community colleges have been innovating their enrollment processes, making it much easier for those who want to go to school to have access. In this article we shall see How Do I Sign Up for Classes at Southwest Community College?
To enroll in classes at Southwest Community College, follow the instructions based on their website will be your top priority, as well as keeping a record of what’s been done and what’s not. Doing this will give you ample time to work out problems that may arise. The process will be outlined below, with tips and tricks to ensure enrollment will go in as smoothly as possible for a first-time freshman.
Steps to Enrollment
- Apply
- Create your Account
- Provide Proof of Citizenship
- Provide Necessary Educational Records
- Provide Immunization Records
- New Student Orientation
The Application Process
The application process at Southwest Community college is fairly standard. Being entirely honest in the application process is imperative, as it will prevent any hang-ups resulting from information that contradicts each other. A good tip is to use your school documents to fill out the information that the application requires so that there is no chance of conflicting information. Application fees at Southwestern vary, with $30 required to apply to international students and $10-20 often standard for in-state and in-district participants. It will generally take two weeks to a month for your application to be processed and officially receive acceptance.
Creating Your Account
When you accept Southwest Community College, you should receive a username involving the first letter of your name and your entire last name. After receiving this username, click on the link to Mine. Southwest that is given in your acceptance. There, you will be prompted to choose between a variety of different login portals, of which you need to choose “First Time User.” This will then lead you to the steps in creating your account, such as setting a password and setting notifications for important processes in enrollment. In addition, it will give the college a better ability to contact you about processes regarding enrollment and give you a better way to access school resources and information. You can also download the NAVIGATE student app, but this is entirely optional.
Provide Proof of Citizenship
Providing proof of citizenship is one of the harder parts of the process, especially if you are applying as an international student. It will be a crucial step to receiving benefits such as financial aid, so making sure it goes correctly is important. According to the Tennesse Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act, providing proof of citizenship applies to all levels of collegiate study and applies to all applicants. The easiest way to prove citizenship and eligibility is to submit your FASFA, Tennessee driver’s license, or a valid US passport. Applying for a student visa will be a necessary part of this process for international students.
Provide Necessary Educational Records
Another crucial step is having your high school send your transcript to your college and having any dual credit work done at other schools transferred over as well. At the end of your high school year, you should be provided with something to give to your high school registrar, which is a transcript request form. This transcript request form should be used to send your high school transcript to the Admissions center at Southwest, or you can have it sent electronically for a faster processing time. The school should be notifying you of the receipt of different educational items and will often send you reminders to send in the documents at different points before school officially starts.
Provide Immunization Records
In the US, many colleges require certain immunizations for people who decide to stay on campus. This includes evidence of the two doses of the varicella vaccine or the vaccine for chickenpox. This means that college students have two options: file for an exemption or send in the immunization records by fax machine. Exemptions in this United States can be given on a medical or religious basis but may impede the ability to stay in dorms or participate in student activities. In addition, these exemptions will need to be signed off on by an authority, whether that be a religious leader or your healthcare provider. The alternative option is to fax in your immunization records. Call your local healthcare provider and request that a fax be sent to the Southwest or send them by email at records@sotuhwest.tn.edu.
New Student Orientation
New student orientation is a required part of joining on-campus life for many first-time freshmen, so you need to set aside a day to participate. Many colleges, including Southwest community college, have implemented this as their main way of ensuring that students can find their way around campus and get the equated with campus policy. New student orientation can be done online or in-person and generally comes with free T-shirts or festivals that you can participate in. In addition, once you participate in new student orientation, that subsequent hold should be taken off your account, allowing you to enroll in classes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should I Do if My College Hasn’t Received my High School Transcript?
The best thing to do is to first call your college, just to ensure that it isn’t a matter of the information not being input into their college systems. Then, if the college hasn’t received your transcript at all, call your high school to see what is going on and why it hasn’t been set. Your high school transcript will take about two weeks to a month for the transcript to officially be put into the system, so it could be a result of transportation. Regardless, communication will be key in ensuring that everything goes smoothly during enrollment.
Why Hasn’t My Financial Aid been Disbursed?
Financial aid can be held up for a variety of reasons. The best course of action is to call your student financial aid office and ask about any holds on your account. If there are none, it may be that it hasn’t been applied to your account yet. Do make sure to call your college before the financial aid deadline.
Can You Get Rejected From a Community College?
There is a small chance that you can get rejected. While most universities may reject you based on academic merit, limited entries, or even overqualification, this is not the case for a community college. Community colleges may not have enough resources to host any more students; you may not have the proper paperwork or behavioral matters given by other colleges.
