Not every university operates the same way. My impression in Georgia was that there were just to many students and staff with issues, and just too few staff to take care of those issues. Sometimes at the beginning of the semester it's almost impossible to get hold of graduate advisors, HR, payroll and bursar stuff. Me and my wife were both international students started at different semesters and we didn't have any issues. But then both my cousin and my brother-in-law nearly lost their student visa status. At that time we were there to bail them out. But others may not be as fortunate.