
David Zach
Senior Academic Advisor
zach.11@osu.edu
4th Friday Reminders
- September 19, is the 4th Friday of the semester, which is the deadline to drop a course without it appearing on your transcript
- If this is your first semester at OSU, you must do this through your advisor – please try to get all requests in to me by 5:00 pm
- If this is not your first semester at OSU, you can do this on your own through Buckeye Link before 11:59 pm
- Note: it is not possible to add a full-semester class in place of a dropped class without a petition right now since we are past the 2nd Friday of the semester.
Session 2 courses can still be added at this time and do not begin until Monday, October 20. A list of Session 2 courses that were open as of yesterday afternoon is attached. If you are on the Legacy GE (GEL) and need to find a specific kind of GE course, please reach out to me if you have any difficulties doing so.
- Last day to get a 50% refund for dropped courses (only if your tuition bill would change as a result of the dropped credits)
- Deadline to switch a course to Pass/Non-Pass (PA/NP) or Audit (R)
- Both must be completed through an advisor before 5:00 pm. Auditing a course requires written (email) instructor approval, but switching to PA/NP does not
- Note that the PA/NP option can only be used on free elective courses. A grade of PA cannot satisfy any major, minor, certificate, or GE requirements.
It also cannot be applied to any graduate-level courses (6000-level or higher).
To drop a class, log in to BuckeyeLink ( https://buckeyelink.osu.edu), use the search bar to find the ‘Drop a Class’ function, and proceed using the instructions. You will be able to do this until 11:59 pm EDT on Friday, September 19. However, if you are a first-semester student here at Ohio State, you may only make schedule changes through an academic advisor, so please contact me before 5:00 pm EDT on Friday instead.
This Friday's deadline is for 15-week, full semester courses. Session 1 and Session 2 courses have different deadlines. Refer to the Academic Calendar on the Registrar's website for information about these deadlines: https://registrar.osu.edu/academic-calendar/
After Friday, you can still drop a course up through October 31 through your academic advisor. A course dropped between September 20 and October 31 will result in a “W” (withdrew) on your transcript. A “W” grade does not affect your GPA. No courses can be dropped after October 31 without a petition and documentation of extenuating circumstances.
Please remember - if dropping a course puts you below full-time status (12+ credit hours), it could affect:
- Financial aid (including work study, scholarships, grants, loans, Consortium Agreements) (call 614-292-0300 or visit https://sfa.osu.edu/contact-us for more info)
- Benefits received under the G.I. Bill (call 614-292-3453 or visit http://veterans.osu.edu/Pages/Ohio-State's-Office-of-Military-and-Veterans-Services.aspx for more info)
- A tuition reduction is received when parents work for the university (call 614-292-1050 or visit https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/tuition-assistance/dependent/ for more info)
- Automobile insurance, if you receive discounts for being a full-time student
- Health insurance, if you need to be a full-time student to be covered on a parent's policy
- Your residence hall contract (call 614-292-8266 or visit https://housing.osu.edu/ for more info)
- Your tuition waiver, if you are a university employee (call 614-292-1050 or visit https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/tuition-assistance/faculty-staff/ for more info)
- Your athletic eligibility, if you are a varsity athlete (you must see your athletic/SASSO counselor and assigned academic advisor in order to drop a course.) (call 614-292-7088 or visit https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sasso/ for more info)
- Your visa, if you are an international student (You must see an advisor in the Office of International Affairs for approval.) (call 614-292-6101 or visit https://oia.osu.edu/units/international-students/immigration-information/scheduling-appointments/ for more info)
Advising Hours this week
You are always welcome to schedule a 30-minute appointment with me through OnCourse (go.osu.edu/oncourse) to discuss any concerns you have: https://buckeyes.campus.eab.com/pal/DBhUypnYKD
In addition, I have my usual drop-in hours this week (no appointment needed):
- Wednesday, September 17, at 9:30 am-12 pm EDT
- In-person: 1140 Physics Research Building
- or over Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- Thursday, January 30, at 1:30-4:00 pm EDT
- In-person: 4012 McPherson Lab
- or over Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
More detailed information can be found on my staff web page: https://astronomy.osu.edu/people/zach.11
If you’d like to discuss how dropping a course will affect your future semester plans, please do not hesitate to contact me either via email, by scheduling an appointment through OnCourse, or by attending my drop-in hours. If you know you need to remain full-time but would still like to drop a course, we can discuss the possibility of adding a Session 2 (second 7 weeks) course in its place. Please note that I do not have any information on how dropping a course will impact your financial aid (scholarships, grants, or loans). You must talk to Student Financial Aid (see item 1 below) to discuss possible consequences with them.