Nursing is the one major where students are expected to work hard to get their degree, without the support of the ASAP program.
By: Samantha Alderete
Signing up for ASAP was a beneficial decision for my college years, and I saw how it would make my experience easier. But while I was looking at the eligibility rules, I noticed that nursing students weren’t eligible for it. It made me wonder why nursing students weren’t able to apply.
ASAP aims to help reduce academic and financial burdens while assisting students in completing their degrees more quickly. Benefits like free MetroCards, textbook help, and advising are available to most majors, including business, journalism, and education.
These benefits help students better balance their lives, career, and education. However, nursing students are being left out.
Sure, they might receive financial support from FAFSA and TAP like many other students do. But nursing students often spend hundreds of dollars each semester from traveling costs to required textbooks, many of which cost more than the books used in other courses.
Meanwhile, students from other majors have the ability to swipe their metrocards for free, receive some textbook money, and meet up with ASAP advisors to be able to stay on track.
It doesn’t exactly seem fair to nursing students, especially since the ASAP program’s purpose is to help students succeed in their college career. Excluding nursing students leaves some of CSI’s hardest working students without any type of support.
CSI could help make a change by extending the eligibility for ASAP and giving nursing students the chance to apply. Another solution could be the creation of a program that specifically helps majors in high demand, like nursing.
These changes could give all students equal opportunities for success and help nursing students face less financial and academic stress.
Interesting 🤔