Polk State College — Local services in Winter Haven

I don't even know where to begin. Honestly, this place is almost making me reconsider furthering my education because they're making it so hard for me to get started. I am going to be a first time in college student this fall 2018 semester. I've been a FL resident for 2 years now, and they're giving me such a hard time trying to prove residency. I didn't have my license switched to FL as soon as I should have, and didn't have utilities in my name because I live with my fiance and they're in his name. But I've had everything else including car registration, w2's, tax returns, voter registration card to try to prove my residency and none of that was enough so they asked me to get letters from any past employers and write a petition letter which I did and then I had to end up sending the same information to them again a second time for them to submit it to some committee and I'm waiting on a response which I won't get until like a week before payment is due for classes. This has been going on for months and it's just a little ridiculous now. I guess they think I'm flying to FL every day from NY to go to work and show up to the school to deal with their nonsense. Also, I was trying to apply for the TRiO program and I called them last week to ask about it and specifically told her that today was my next day off I had during the week and if it was ok if I come in to do the application and she said yes..... I get there and that department was closed...... Not to mention the ladies in the cashiers office getting annoyed with me when I asked them how to get to the TRiO office... yea how dare me ask for help. I'm taking 3 classes online and 1 on campus because of my job and the online advising team never replies to emails. I've only dealt with a few staff so far that have been really nice. One of the girls that works in advising office, a gentlemen who actually helped me find the TRiO office, and the lady who did the pre-advising class was nice. I don't have an opinion for the one I've been talking with about the residency yet because I can't tell if she's actually trying to help because she hasn't actually told me why the documents I have weren't enough to qualify...... I just want to better myself, but they're making it...

This school makes you want to give up on Pursuing a degree. I have never had so much trouble, issues or headaches dealing with any other school like I have this one. You are treated very poorly by most, close to all of the employees. There has been multiple times they requested information for my financial aid and my transcripts and every time I go in and turn the information they still say they didn’t receive it until I have to argue with them and then it’s “oh I have it right here” I was supposed to start classes MONTHS ago and every time I think I’m there they pull something else out the hat. I went in weeks ago to turn in my additional verification for financial aid and then walk in a week before classes start just for them to tell me “ oh we don’t have it you need to fill it out again” after some pushing they take the time to search and find out they do have it and it never was submitted. Now I have the school calling me because classes are about to start asking for money because they haven’t heard from financial aid and trying to drop me from starting my class because of their mistake. I call financial aid then they tell me oh we can’t help you because it doesn’t look like you have ever been enrolled (I have my student ID and my class schedule by the way and enrolled for early child care management) and that I need to contact admissions. I call them only to be met with such disrespectful employees with no sympathy in helping with the problem. Finally was told a supervisor would call me back and never heard from her. This school is a complete let down and makes you just want to give up like your fighting a losing battle. If I ever get to start my first class I’m scared to see how the teachers are considering out of the many people I’ve talked to there maybe only 1-2 that was kind of decent or slightly helpful. If I could give them zero stars I...

I began this process on 11/25/20 where I started my first course 02/03/21 and withdrew altogether on 04/06/21. In just that short amount of time I experienced a delay in my financial aid process where I was not accounted for in the National Student Clearinghouse system in order to verify my enrollment for eligibility with my son's childcare cost at Early Learning Coalition, numerous attempts at contacting the college at both campuses to no avail as the only option was to leave voicemails and no one ever returned my calls, nasty demeanor from Kim DeRonda, no option for on sight tutoring, grammatically incorrect test questions and assignments from Rebecka Ramos, possibly taking a course I have already passed as I withdrew from ENC1101 at Indian River State College however, Polk State had me taking ENC0027 where I feel I was taking a course I was already ahead of and last but not least, I faced another problem with my financial aid disbursement check and had the absolute hardest time getting in touch with anyone to get a verdict on the process in which I stayed in contact with my advisor, Ms. D'Layna Estrada and she was able to catch me up to speed on the issue only to find out there had been a change in systems and my check was left in the old system. If I had not contacted Ms. Estrada, I would've never received that...