By Kent Milligan; The Whetstone

DaQuan Martin has been a Wesley College for five years and said he is finally graduating this year.

“One of the main reasons I didn’t graduate on time is the lack of advising as well as taking classes that I didn’t need,” he said.

Students may find themselves staying a little longer in college than four years if they don’t keep an eye on their credits.

“You thought you were taking the right classes and you take classes that don’t go toward graduation credits,” Martin said. “Now, I stay on top of my classes and do everything that is needed to graduate and advise myself.”

Nazire Jordan also has been in Wesley College for five years.

“I was lazy, chilling too much, lack of adviser help, and a lot of unnecessary classes I didn’t need to take,” he said. “To ensure that I make it out of here I am doing my homework more. It’s important because if you don’t do it, your chances of passing are low.”

Jordan’s said for students to stay on top they might try doing homework as a group.

“Get a group of friends and make sure they keep you up and do your homework together and figure it out as the year goes on,” he said.

Martin also has advice for students.

“Work harder,” he said. “Ensure that you are on the right path and ensure that you are diligent to yourself. Wesley is a stressful environment, but at the end of the day we all got to get out of here.”

Senior Kai Lee, multimedia communication major said he has been at Wesley for five years because he changed his major.

“I waited until my sophomore year to do that and they said it would be an extra year,” he said.

It was his own fault.

“When I was about a freshman and sophomore, I was really irresponsible,” he said. “I wasn’t doing my homework and doing nothing but playing a lot of games. Now, I’m turning my work on time, not missing every single class, and communicate with other students by starting or joining group messages to understand what we did in class. I talk to teachers and show them that I care.”

Lee’s advice to students is to understand what you are doing.

“Stay on top of your stuff,” he said. “Make sure you know what you’re doing and know your whole curriculum, prerequisites and triple check with financial aid.”

If you don’t do that, you and your adviser could make mistakes.

Danielle Archambault, the assistant director of student success & retention, said students need 124 credits to graduate. Each major has different requirements.

“Sometimes students who come in underprepared for college academically must take certain courses to take them up to speed and that may put them behind,” she said.

Archambault said she helps students who ask for help with an advising folder.

“When they get their folder ready, it’s going to have things that I hope in the future they can benefit for themselves – such as a change of major form, add/drop form and an academic calendar that can tell the dates and deadlines,” she said.

Archambault said there are many ways a student might get organized.

“We have time management seminars and excel files that are preprogrammed to help students when their free blocks of time are,” she said. “We have organizational tutors and academic coaches which are great resources.”