GAH!

Manwaithiel

So...

I had this huge hooplah with financial aid over the summer. The way it works at my school is that you fill out your FAFSA, then they post your loans on the student website. Then you go to accept your loans. I was registered at 3/4 time (11 credits) when all this was happening.

Well, financial aid took their sweet freaking time posting my loans. I called over and over again for 2 weeks convinced something was very wrong because everyone else had gotten their money and I hadn't. Well they finally fixed it (after I got the Director of Fin Aid on the phone) and posted my loans.

Fast forward to a week before the semester starts. I drop to half time. Naturally I assume my loans will drop a little bit, but I don't think it's going to be that much because the difference between 3/4 time and 1/2 time is literally 2 credits. Not a big deal right?

WRONG! The loans they offered me, the loans I accepted, and the loans they used to pay my tuition over the summer...are you ready for this...were for a FULL TIME STUDENT. Why the HECK they offered someone who has never been and was never going to be a full time student, full time loans and let me ACCEPT them and pay BILLS with them is beyond my comprehension.

I of course did not figure this out (after calling them with more worries) until after the add/drop period. Great. So it's too freaking late to fix this. The woman I talked to was completely useless and basically thought I should have known this. I'm thinking, after spending hours on the phone and over emails with your office all summer, NO ONE thought to mention the 'Oh hey, these loans are for a full time student so don't expect that much money.' It's so shady and it just boggles my mind. She also expected me to wait until the end of the 3rd week of the semester to find out what I was even getting. I read their policies on this and it's not clear in the least and I'm still amazed that after the whole song and dance over the summer that no one thought to at least MENTION the potential issue.

This all ended with my dad (he has the larger loan, I figured they'd listen to him more than me) calling and demanding they calculate the loans immediately so we can least know what we're getting.

End rant. Sorry, just so frustrated and sick of this. It's my last semester and I just want them to do their job and leave me in peace.

frogurt814

Wow!  What a mess!  Sorry you're having to deal with all that, and I hope you can get it all worked out.

Things like that make my head hurt.

emilyinchile

'Oh hey, these loans are for a full time student so don't expect that much money.'

So does this mean that they post the loans you're supposedly getting but then don't actually pay you that much, even if you had stayed at the enrollment level you were at when they posted them? What kind of sense does that make?

I'm so sorry, this sounds like a nightmare. And what do you have to do now? Sorry, I don't really know how these loans work, but is it something where they'll pay you a lump sum later on, and it'll just be way less than you expected, or have they been paying you in installments and you now owe them money?

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_gah?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:37Discussion:bb878548-cbb9-4963-a8ca-26a7463e6650Post:0e3b3d81-7888-4863-9773-48cb745e4665">Re: GAH!</a>:
[QUOTE]'Oh hey, these loans are for a full time student so don't expect that much money.' So does this mean that they post the loans you're supposedly getting but then don't actually pay you that much, even if you had stayed at the enrollment level you were at when they posted them? What kind of sense does that make? I'm so sorry, this sounds like a nightmare. And what do you have to do now? Sorry, I don't really know how these loans work, but is it something where they'll pay you a lump sum later on, and it'll just be way less than you expected, or have they been paying you in installments and you now owe them money?
Posted by emilyinchile[/QUOTE]

Yeah they said they "always" assume full time no matter what enrollment you're at when they award you money and then "go back and fix it later" AFTER the add/drop period when you can't do anything about your enrollment. If they cut my loans enough where I can't pay tuition they'll bill me for the difference. Lovely, isn't it?

In their policy it says "We <strong>generally</strong> assume full time status." Generally? Or always? Which is it? How come this is buried in some newsletter instead of emailed to affected parties? They bombard me with millions of emails and for some reason didn't think it was necessary to say "We offered you this money, but you're not eligible for it, so take some more classes or prepare for a cut in funds." Or...something!

I'm just waiting to see how much I get now. They said they'll take care of it by tomorrow (ha). And then I might apply for a private loan *cringe*

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_gah?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:37Discussion:bb878548-cbb9-4963-a8ca-26a7463e6650Post:0e3b3d81-7888-4863-9773-48cb745e4665">Re: GAH!</a>:
[QUOTE]'Oh hey, these loans are for a full time student so don't expect that much money.' So does this mean that they post the loans you're supposedly getting but then don't actually pay you that much, even if you had stayed at the enrollment level you were at when they posted them? What kind of sense does that make?Posted by emilyinchile[/QUOTE]

Yeah, they would have actually cut my money either way, because I was never full time. It's completely senseless.

emilyinchile

That's just stupid then. It makes far more sense - although of course makes more work upfront for them - to award loans based on your status and then go back to check if that's changed after the add/drop period. And I agree it should be clearly stated that the loans they appear to be promising you are based on full-time status if they're not going to do things the more logical way.

I hope that tomorrow they tell you that you at least get enough to cover most of your tuition.

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_gah?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:bb878548-cbb9-4963-a8ca-26a7463e6650Post:80cb55f4-521f-47a4-9cb8-da27f7de7e11">Re: GAH!</a>:
[QUOTE]Wow!  What a mess!  Sorry you're having to deal with all that, and I hope you can get it all worked out. Things like that make my head hurt.
Posted by frogurt814[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Frogurt =) I think we'll sort this all out, but in the meantime, I need a fuzzy navel or something.

gottahavashorti

I had something similar happen last semester when I switched from being a full time graduate student (9+ credits) to half time because my teacher recommended it based on our capstone course that was only worth 3 credits but supposed to be the equivalent of 6+. 

I knew for undergrad the part-time maximum loans were different and everything I was able to find for grad students said that you could borrow $X and I could not find a single thing with a different amount for part time students.  Turns out you could only take out $Y as a part time student. They didn't tell me until a couple months into the semester that my loans had been drastically reduced - by much more than the decrease in my tuition costs by taking 3 credits less than usual.

Sorry you have to go through with this.  I can't stand the financial aid system.

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_gah?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:bb878548-cbb9-4963-a8ca-26a7463e6650Post:e8da1628-abd2-4e75-bbba-85fd1c36eb11">Re: GAH!</a>:
[QUOTE]I had something similar happen last semester when I switched from being a full time graduate student (9+ credits) to half time because my teacher recommended it based on our capstone course that was only worth 3 credits but supposed to be the equivalent of 6+.  I knew for undergrad the part-time maximum loans were different and everything I was able to find for grad students said that you could borrow $X and I could not find a single thing with a different amount for part time students.  Turns out you could only take out $Y as a part time student. They didn't tell me until a couple months into the semester that my loans had been drastically reduced - by much more than the decrease in my tuition costs by taking 3 credits less than usual. Sorry you have to go through with this.  I can't stand the financial aid system.
Posted by gottahavashorti[/QUOTE]

It is the worst system in existence. Our school is rated in the Princeton review as one of the Top 20 Worst Financial Aid Services in the country. Sad, but completely true. Also, the EFC things on the FAFSA are complete BS. I don't even know where they come up with these things. Apparently my parents are taking $6000 out of their back pockets to pay my tuition...Um no...

quotequeen

I'm pretty sure that for purposes of most loans, 3/4 or more is considered full time.  So you would have been eligible for these loans if you'd stayed at 3/4.