For many students starting college, orientation is the first step into the doorway of a secondary education. There’s so much to take in, understand and discover about college when you take those first steps through your new campus.
But for those who have already been through their first, second or even third year of college, orientation can be seen as a secondary hassle. UNT requires orientation for all students, freshman or transfer, as a way of directing all students in a simplistic manner of communication: just get everyone in the room and we will tell you all at once. This is the only way to get a class schedule at UNT.
If this is a program that UNT claims is very important, then why is there a pay wall in order to be a part of it?
UNT has a standard tuition per year of $25,680 for in-state students and $38,340 for those out of state and they are nickel and dime-ing people out of $63 for a transfer orientation that lasts half a day, feeds the students a box lunch, supposedly provides information on the spirit side of UNT and then sends the students on their merry little way to their advisors.
In my eyes, that seems a little cavalier of the college to expect a payment from the students for a mandatory seminar despite their desire to learn. UNT does state that there are financial aid options for students who cannot afford the orientation but does not go into detail on their website as for who is applicable and who would be turned down.
By requiring this orientation as a cost-gated and time-locked event, it doesn’t feel like our best interests as students are being considered.
I love UNT, don’t get me wrong, but going to an orientation in which the dates are very limited and costly when I am already having to pay for tuition, textbooks, meal plans and other expenses doesn’t make sense.
This sounds like UNT is behaving like a business rather than an education center, which at the end of the day is truly what college should be. The student shouldn’t have to pay any amount in order to simply apply for the courses they are already about to pay to take.
Featured Illustration: Austin Banzon