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Stone Laboratory Frequently Asked Questions | Ohio Sea Grant

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Stone Laboratory Frequently Asked Questions

A collection of the most frequently asked questions regarding Stone Laboratory

Frequently Asked Questions

If your question is not answered here please check the handbook or email us.

When your application is complete, the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page (Step 7) will be enabled and turn red. If it’s not red, check each step to see what required sections you may not have completed.

Test scores are mandatory for high school students. If you haven’t taken a particular test, just open the pop-up form, leave those fields blank, and click “Save”.

Your current place of employment. If you have more than one job, pick one to designate as your primary affiliation.

Yes. The deadline to enroll in dependent tuition assistance is the first Friday after classes begin for that academic term. More details can be found here https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/tuition-assistance

If you haven’t received an email that you were anticipating, either from Stone Lab or from Ohio State, please check your junk or spam folder in your email box. If you don’t see it there, email us at ohioseagrant@osu.edu.

If you’re having trouble uploading a certain file, make sure your application actually requires it. Depending on the application path you chose, some document uploads may be automatically disabled.

If you officially submit your application, you will no longer be able remove submitted documents. Please make sure everything is correct before hitting the “Submit” button.

Recommendation forms should be submitted here and should include the author”s business email. Please send this link to individuals you have requested to complete a recommendation form on your behalf. Receipt of completed recommendation forms will be noted in the Uploaded Section.

Scholarship requirements and deadlines vary depending on what kind of student you are, but one important thing to note: If you are not currently an Ohio State student, you will need to be admitted to Ohio State as a non-degree student by the scholarship deadline (including payment or waiver of the application fee) to be considered. If you need to complete this step, you will be guided through this process via email after you are accepted to Stone Lab.

Current OSU Student Next Steps


Within about a week of submitting your application you will be notified whether or not you have been accepted to Stone Lab.

Once your course registration has been completed, your Buckeye Link account will reflect your tuition and fees. Stone Lab room and meal and course fees, if applicable, will be posted to your Buckeye Link account by April 20 or as soon as possible.

New OSU Student Next Steps


You will receive an email from Ohio State Admissions containing your Ohio State Username, which is your last name, a dot and a number.

lastname.#

We recommend that you check your junk and spam email folders when looking for University/Admissions communications. Once you have your Ohio State Username, visit my.osu.edu and select “Activate Now,” followed by “I need an Activation Code.” Once you receive the activation code, click “I have an Activation Code.” Proceed following the steps to complete the activation of your account.

Your Ohio State Username and password are essential to accessing online student services.

Call 614-688-4357, Office of Technology and Digital Innovation, if you experience problems with activating your account.

New Undergraduate / High School Student Next Steps


Within about a week of submitting your application, you will be notified of whether or not you have been accepted to Stone Lab.

If you have never been enrolled at Ohio State, you will need to pay a $60 admissions application fee to The Ohio State University. You must complete this step in order to be considered for a Stone Lab scholarship. Students applying for the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Scholarship Program need not pay the admission fee unless they have been selected for an REU (in which case they will be reimbursed upon successful completion of the program).

You will receive an email from Ohio State admissions letting you know how to activate your Ohio State username (Buckeye Link) if you do not already have one.

After you activate your Buckeye Link account, Ohio State will send you an email with instructions on how to pay the application fee.

Upon processing of your payment, you will be prompted to accept Ohio State’s offer of admission.

You will receive an email from SL Student Health Services prompting you to submit your vaccination information. This documentation is required by Ohio State for all students age 16 or older.

You must complete the Financial Responsibility Statement within your Buckeye Link account by April 12 or as soon as possible. After you have completed this statement, email ohioseagrant@osu.edu to let us know this step is done.

Your Buckeye Link account will reflect your tuition and lab fees. In addition, Stone Lab room and meal and course fees, if applicable, will be posted to your Buckeye Link account by April 20 or as soon as possible.

Graduate Student Next Steps


Within about a week of submitting your application you will be notified whether or not you have been accepted to Stone Lab.

Former Ohio State students should download and complete this form to reactivate their enrollment. If you have been away from the university for two years or longer, the reactivation form will need to be signed by your former graduate studies committee chair. Once you’ve completed the form, email it to grad-schoolregistrationservices@osu.edu

Once you have been reactivated, your Buckeye Link account will reflect your tuition and lab fees.

If you have never been enrolled at Ohio State, you will need to pay an admissions application fee to The Ohio State University. You must complete this step in order to be considered for a Stone Lab scholarship.

You will receive an email from Ohio State admissions letting you know how to activate your Ohio State username (Buckeye Link).

After you activate your Buckeye Link account, Ohio State will send you an email with instructions on how to pay the application fee.

Upon processing of your payment, you will be prompted to accept Ohio State’s offer of admission.

You must complete the Financial Responsibility Statement within your Buckeye Link account, it is required before enrollment in courses(s) can take place each term. After you have completed this statement, email ohioseagrant@osu.edu to let us know this step is done.

You will receive an email from Student Life Student Health Services prompting you to submit your vaccination information. This documentation is required by Ohio State for all students age 16 or older.

Your Buckeye Link account will reflect your tuition and lab fees. In addition, Stone Lab room and meal and course fees, if applicable, will be posted to your Buckeye Link by April 20 or as soon as possible.

Workshop Student Next Steps


An invoice for your workshop, room and meals fees is available in your Account Manager. Payment is due 30 days prior to the course start date and can be made with a credit card at by visiting shopontherock-osu.nbsstore.net/workshops.

If your workshop fees will be paid by a third party, please complete the form before downloading your invoice and send the invoice to ohioseagrant@osu.edu.

If a purchase order number needs to be referenced on the invoice, please also attach a PDF of the official purchase order and the workshop invoice.

General Questions


Your course schedule only shows classes in which you are approved for enrollment. If you applied for additional courses that do not appear in your schedule, you have not been approved for these courses. Your Account Manager will display a message about why you were not approved to enroll in the course.

That depends on the course! Most meet between 1-3 p.m. on South Bass Island on the first date of the course, but some courses have different meeting dates, times and locations. Some courses may have assignments that need to be completed before you arrive. We recommend you read through the full descriptions of your courses.

To view your course description(s), click here and choose “Introductory Courses,” “Advanced Courses,” “Educator Courses” or “Non-Credit Workshops,” then select your course from the listing. If an arrival time is not specified in the course description, check the handbook for more details.

In addition, texts and supplies will need to be purchased in .

Textbooks and supplies are not available on South Bass Island or at Stone Lab. You must order your textbooks in advance and bring them with you to Stone Lab.

We encourage you to place orders at least two to three weeks prior to your class.

Ohio State’s policies regarding penalties and refunds can be found at the University Registrar

To get to Stone Lab, you have several airport options – Cleveland, Toledo or Detroit. From there, you can rent a car (recommended) or take an Amtrak train or Greyhound bus to a ferry station, where you will travel by boat to South Bass Island.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)

70 miles (1 hour, 30 minutes) from Catawba (where you will go to catch the ferry).
On-site car rental: AlamoAvisBudgetDollarEnterpriseHertzNationalThrifty.

5300 Riverside Dr.
Cleveland, OH
Directions
Toledo Express Airport (TOL)

60 miles (1 hour, 15 minutes) from Catawba.
On-site car rental: AlamoAvisBudgetEnterpriseHertzNational.

11013 Airport Hwy.
Swanton, OH
Directions
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)

100 miles (2 hours) from Catawba.
On-site car rental: AceAvisBudgetEnterpriseHertzNational.

1 William Rogell Dr.
Detroit, MI 48242
Directions
Miller Ferry Schedule At Catawba

Miller Ferry offers five free parking lots: https://millerferry.com/directions/parking/. Ferry service is $16 roundtrip. You won’t need a car while you’re at Stone Lab. Miller has a full schedule of departure times with ferry boats running regularly. Please note that the ferry stays on a tight schedule and will not wait for passengers. Be sure to allow for plenty of time to pick up your luggage and rental car at the airport, drive to Catawba, park and walk to the ferry.

Public Transportation

It may be possible to take an Amtrak train or Greyhound bus to Sandusky, Ohio, where there is a Jet Express Ferry dock.

Amtrak trains run from both Cleveland and Toldeo to Sandusky. A Greyhound bus runs from Cleveland to Sandusky. However neither of these options have stations at or near the airports, so you would need to take a taxi or arrange a ride from the airport to the station and also from the Sandusky station to the ferry dock. In addition, the bus and train schedules are extremely limited – often just one run per day beginning between 2-4 a.m. Check the Amtrak and Greyhound websites for more details.

Jet Express Ferry Schedule At Sandusky

Ferry service is $79 round trip. The Jet Express has limited departure times (approx. every 1-2 hours) beginning at 9 a.m. Please note that the ferry stays on a tight schedule and will not wait for passengers. Be sure to allow for plenty of time for each step in the process of getting to the ferry.

If you are enrolled for Summer 2023 Term at least half time (6 total undergraduate semester credit hours or 4 total graduate semester credit hours), The Ohio State University’s course registration system will automatically enroll you in the Ohio State Student Health Insurance (SHI) and bill you for the insurance premium unless your status is Continuing Education or Graduate Non-Degree.

If you have health insurance from another source and would like to waive SHI, you must log in to your Ohio State username account at Buckeye Link. Instructions for waiving SHI can be found here. You are encouraged to do this at least a week before the waiver deadline of May 1, 2023.

International students are required to have SHI unless they meet one of the specific exceptions allowed by Ohio State.

Remember that adding or dropping courses for Summer 2023 could impact your eligibility for SHI. Students who drop below half time enrollment will lose coverage for the term. For more information, visit https://shi.osu.edu.

For information on arranging your transportation to Stone Lab, check the Stone Lab Handbook at go.osu.edu/SLhandbook.

Any grades for your completed college credit courses will be posted in your Buckeye Link account. Select “Grades” in the “Academics” section to view.

The credit courses you take at Stone Lab are part of your Ohio State University permanent record and are officially recorded, along with grades, on an Ohio State transcript. Ohio State does not automatically send your grades to you or to the school you are attending. If you would like a transcript for yourself or would like one sent to a specific person or school, you can order one here.

We encourage you NOT to bring a car with you. If you bring a car, you will have to pay to transport it on the ferry. You will spend most of your time on Gibraltar Island, which is too small for cars. Put-in-Bay is very walkable, and if your class takes trips farther away, transportation will be provided. If you need to bring a car to South Bass Island for some reason, it will need to stay parked at the Bayview Office.

Students are encouraged to share their photos from their time at Stone Lab with us. Selected photos, including class photos, will be posted on our Flickr account at flickr.com/ohioseagrant.