That bump is more commonly known as tuition. Every semester, it seems as though I have "issues" (to put it nicely) with my financial aid. I qualify for it, the government awards me money, and then my University thinks of a reason not to give it to me... I often wonder if they are just pocketing it for themselves. This semester is no different.
After applying for financial aid, the government awarded me $6,2500 for both the Fall 2011 and the Spring 2012 semesters. Insert sigh of relief because I will finally be able to finish school and not have to take out another loan... I was so excited. Not only would I able to finish school and graduate, but I would be able to continue saving money for my house down payment!
Holy crooked criminals Batman, the greedy University monsters are at it again!
Shortly after being awarded my government money, I received a letter from my university stating that I was not eligible for financial aid. The reason? I have exceeded the maximum credit allowance for my university, which is 186. What?! That seems like an awful lot of credits to have earned without a degree... I met with my financial advisor, and she assured me that in fact I only had 125 attempted credits, but typically, "students who reach 100 credits are flagged," and thus forced to appeal the revocation of financial aid.
Of course I submitted an appeal, but found out that the process will take about 30 days to complete. Meanwhile, my tuition is due in 2 days. If it is not paid in full by Friday at 5:00 pm. I will be purged from my classes, with very little chance of getting back in due to wait listed students. So what do I do?
I tried signing up for the school's offered payment plan which would allow me to make payments for the next three months, and because I would be paying, I would not be purged from my classes. I am so upset, why should I have to pay, when I was awarded financial aid?!
At least until my financial aid is appealed and the money goes through, the payments on the plan are something I can afford. So, with much lament, I decided to sign up. At the very least, at least I could be reimbursed later when my aid goes through.
Not so fast!
Because I have "Pending Financial Aid" I am not eligible for the payment plan. I was to told I would have to pay my bill up front.
"If I had the money up front, I wouldn't have applied for financial aid, or tried to sign up for a payment plan," I complained to the undergrad freshman who was manning the Financial Aid office and being very unhelpful about finding a solution to my problem.
So, it looks like I am stuck paying a bill I had not counted on paying. The only money I have is the money I have saved so far from my Spending Fast, and even still, I am still about 2/3 short. I have emptied my money market account and am in the process of taking out a signature loan through my credit union to pay the rest. I am determined to pay the loan back in the same amount of time that the school's payment plan would have allowed, 4 months, so that I can continue saving again as soon as possible. As sad as I am about my diminishing house fund, I have to pay for school, so all of my Spending Fast savings for the next four months will not be going into my money market account, but now will be going to pay back my tuition.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that my financial aid appeal goes through, and I will be reimbursed so that I am not completely deterred from my saving.
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