Indiana and Purdue: a Review of the Fort Wayne Campuses

IPFW, or Indiana University - Purdue University at Fort Wayne, is a great school. I've attended there myself since 1996. I've had few complaints, and many good experiences there. I'm not one for the campus life scene, so this review won't touch on that, except to state that it does have a lively one, with many activities, year round. I have an Associate's and a Bachelor's from the General Studies (Liberal Arts) programs, and I am currently working towards my Master's in the same field.

My complaints have mainly been centered around particular professors, and not the school. One algebra professor, when told I had missed an exam because I miscarried a pregnancy, said I could take the exam before the next class period, while he was teaching a previous class. However, when I showed up at the appointed time, he told me that he had rethought it, and that he decided that it wouldn't be fair to allow me to take the test since I had had extra time to study for it.

Another time was when I was taking a child development class, and I had to breastfeed my youngest son, who my older children, both in their teens, brought to me because he was inconsolable. That was fine with me and my fellow students, of which all were female. It wasn't fine with my instructor, though. She docked my grade a whole letter grade.

There is childcare offered on campus, at an affordable rate, and well worth the money. There are many activities provided, and the staff are main;y child development majors. This setting helps them and your child. The only drawback is the minimum age requirement, of two years old, for a child to attend.

University students of all ages attend. I myself am 40, and I know of one gentleman who is in his 70's who has attended classes there for some time. the professors are varied, as well. Most are very friendly, and I have not met any that attempted to shirk their duty when it came time to help students outside of class by giving them extra instruction regarding their coursework. For those students who need more in-depth help, there is free tutoring available. Students who have a better understanding of certain subject areas might wish to try their hand at work study in that department. When an essay or a term paper is the given assignment, and assistance is needed, the Writing Center is a student's best bet. They won't write your paper for you, but they will proofread it for you, offer suggestions, and also point out areas that you need to work on to make your writing stronger.

The classes offered at IPFW are varied, and wonderfully so. Their anthropology department is excellent, as is their Physics, Psychology, Sociology, and Health programs. There are many more offerings for the undergraduate student than there are for the graduate student, much to my dismay. To alleviate this problem, many classes that are at the 300 and 400 levels are eligible for graduate level credit. Most, but not all. There are requirements placed on the professors, as well. They must be tenured and have taught a graduate level class in the past. Your major will be with either Indiana University, or with Purdue University, but you can take classes from both universities.

I've had two different advisors during my attendance at IPFW. My undergraduate advisor was great. Never too busy for me to stop by, or to take or return a phone call. She had no classes she taught, as she was strictly an advisor. Things change when you reach graduate school, though. My advisor is not just my advisor. He is also an professor, as well as a department head. He's a very busy man, and I often turn to his secretary for information.

The financial aspects of attending college can seem daunting, and the financial aid office is staffed by students as well as permanent, full time people. These are the ones you will want to seek out. The financial aid process is really too complicated to understand without having been immersed in it for a long period of time. Work study students don't have that opportunity. This means they don't always know what the facts are regarding an established student's case. I was recently told I only had enough financial aid to put me through one more semester. I called back another day and asked to talk to the associate director, and asked him to check the information I had already been given. Fortunately, it was incorrect. I have another three years' worth. If I had been an undergraduate, the information the work study student had given me would have been correct.

Work study is an option for those who want to supplement their income, at decent pay, without pressure to work more hours. It's mostly on campus, so if you are taking traditional, sit in a chair classes, you are already there on campus, so there is no extra gas cost to you. To find out if you qualify, you begin the process in the financial aid office via your FAFSA form. You will receive a letter via snail mail, notifying you of your eligibility. If you are eligible, you take your letter to the careers office across campus, fill out a job application, and look through a book at which campus locations you want to apply to. I chose the library, as I also did during my attendance at Ivy Tech, across the street. Both were wonderful and enlightening experiences. You'll find many more areas in that book than what you knew existed. Colleges are like small communities, and since they are run as such, there are areas just like a small town would have.