We sat down with Lee Harrell, the Vice-President of Admissions and Financial Aid to get the inside scoop on admissions and financial aid at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Noodle Education: What is a great insider tip for getting into Ohio Wesleyan?

Lee Harrell: Students should apply on time. This is important especially for scholarship consideration. In addition to being on time, the application must also be complete; you need your transcripts and your test scores to be submitted. These are all of the things that we need to make the decision about admission and scholarships for the student.

NE: What if you don't get the financial aid package you hoped for? Is there anything you can do?

LH: The school will notify students of their scholarship eligibility starting mid December. These scholarships are based on a number of things: including how well you did in high school from a GPA perspective, ACT or SAT test scores, and your involvement in the community and within high school.

If students file FAFSA in January, we will follow-up with them with a comprehensive award notification, which is online. They will get an email and in it there will be an online link that will include the scholarship that has been awarded, along with all other financial aid programs that they qualify for.

At that point if students would like to discuss their financial aid package, we are always happy to and strongly encourage student to talk about their packages. We also have a committee that reviews appeals for additional aid. They meet in March and April almost on a daily basis to review appeals. I always tell parents and students that there is no harm in asking for more money. Be prepared, however, that the answer may be "no." We are actually pretty flexible with appeals if there are legitimate circumstances surrounding the appeal situation. We do our best to really try to help students receive enough financial aid that makes it possible for them to attend.

NE: People know about FAFSA but are there other great places for financial scholarships?

LH: Yes, we have a couple of sources of scholarship and grant eligibility information on our website. It is updated with information with regards to the scholarship and grant programs we provide as an institution. We also provide some departmental scholarships and aid programs. Our theater, music, and art programs provide scholarships. Our economics management program provides a book award that helps pay for books, and our education department has an award for education majors.

In addition to what the University supplies, we also encourage students to seek out and apply for private scholarship programs. On our website we have a link to outside scholarships and we have posted over 100 scholarships and provide information about them, and links out to the organizations, foundations, and businesses. We also provide helpful tips for applying to scholarships

NE: Now assuming that I got my ideal financial package--when visiting your campus what is one thing that I should be sure to see or do?

LH: One thing that a student should see is the awe-inspiring Firkham Hall. This was the old library, and on the second floor there is a huge reading room three-stories tall. If you look up you can see the stained-glass roof, which expands the entire length of the room. The stained glass is a spectacle for students and visitors alike; they don't make roofs like that anymore.