According to data from the 2020-2021 school year 51% of NEIU students received Federal Student Aid. NEIU’s population is above the median age of a typical college student, and often come from working class neighborhoods in Chicago’s West and South Side. 

NEIU is not amiable either in its communications. Students receive hundreds of targeted emails that are disorganized and difficult to process, but by mining through these emails and doing some research one may find events and programs offered by the university that will surely help you feel supported on your academic path.

Beat the College Book Publishing Industry at the Copy Center

The Education Data Initiative says that the average price for a college book in 2021 was $105.37 and the average undergraduate student in a state sponsored university spent $1,226 in books over the course of the academic year. Moreover, 25 percent of college students stated that they had to take extra hours at work to pay for their books. 

If you are the kind of person that is not keen to read PDFs, you can go to the Copy Center located on the second floor of the Ronald Williams main campus library.

The place is different from those cubicles around the school where clanky copy machines can make you lose your temper. It is well lit, with seats and desks around three perfectly working copiers and two scanners for specialized purposes like copying film.

To use the copy services, you must bring your student ID card to the library since it is preloaded with a $75 credit. You can print your course’s book from a PDF by logging in with your student ID to the NEIU print website from any personal device or school computer. 

You can also copy your entire physical course book, since all instructors are mandated to leave a copy of their class materials at the library, just ask a library clerk for them. 

If you spend your $75 credit, you can reload your balance to make more copies both with cash in the reloading machine, by the copiers, or online at NEIU Print. 

Sign Up for NEIU’s Trio SSS

TRIO SSS is a federal financed program that the U.S Education Department describes  as being “designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

These services vary depending on the school. NEIU’s TRIO provides advising services that help students complete their academic goals by assisting them with registration, introducing them to their career fields through internship opportunities and providing them with general life guidance.

TRIO also has a network of peer tutors if you are struggling with time management, or with your writing, math and reading skills. 

These student tutors can also help you access online resources available for all NEIU students – like the Rosetta Stone app – and will guide you on the steps to borrow laptops or iPads for use in the Ronald Williams library.

The program also offers workshops to improve leadership skills to foster financial planning and to promote healthier lifestyles throughout the semester.  

TRIO also offers great travel opportunities such as last summer’s trip to Medellin, Colombia.

The objectives of the visit were to understand the differences between the higher education systems in both countries, to teach some English and to facilitate valuable networking. 

There are few steps to follow in order to register for TRIO. First, you need to be a legal resident or U.S. citizen (the program is not available for undocumented students), then you need to fulfill any of the following requirements: 

1.   Be the first member of your core family to pursue a college education
2.   Have a documented disability 

OR 

3.   Meet the qualifying taxable income rate as determined by the Federal Government.

Tap on this sentence to start your TRIO application now. If you have more questions about the services offered by TRIO, you can contact them at [email protected] or through their phone number (773) 442-498.

Get the most of your College Experience at NEIU with Student Leadership Development activities

The office of Student Leadership Development (SLD) offers a diverse array of activities like workshops, activities, trips and campus engagement that enhance the academic experience of NEIU students and strive to turn them into leaders in their professional fields. 

Veronica Rodriguez, SLD director, said that the “goal is to create opportunities for students to engage or connect on campus. To create memories, experiences and growth as a person and as a leader. To help students learn about themselves.”

SLD engages students through three main axes: leadership development, civic engagement and student involvement. The first consists of workshops and training sessions to foster leadership qualities, some of them even give you certifications. Pay attention to SLD targeted emails to participate in these activities. 

Through civic engagement experiences students can understand themselves and their place in society. Rodriguez said that one of her favorite experiences are the Alternative Spring Break trips because “so many students have life changing experiences on these trips. They come back wanting to change majors, really moved by what they experienced.” 

Last semester more than a dozen NEIU students took trips to New Orleans, Louisiana and Selma, Alabama.

These opportunities are available for all NEIU students. To know more about them and get involved you can reach out to student organizations. 

There are more than 70 different student organizations at NEIU, covering a lot of different interests, and they are in the loop about SLD events. 

Rodriguez said that “You can come to events like Freshmen meetups, outdoor activities, etc. You can join an organization, sign up for the leadership class, attend workshops, go on an alternative break trip. Or you can just stop by. I love helping connect students to others with similar interests.”