Financial Aid Woes...

babynursewannab · Aug 11, 2003

FA is great. But, it's amazing how much it can suck, huh?

same boat here.

4loveoflife · Aug 11, 2003

Think thats bad? Last semester I was in the same sitch, only they sent the loan check out in two installments, so I had to come up with $700 in the mean time. I think I ended up putting it on a credit card (good thing i actually kept one), and paid interest on it for 2 months till my loan came through. I dont know what the FA brainiacs are thinking but like you said sagelola, if we had the money to begin with we would have just saved ourselves the headaches of filling out those darn fafsa in the first place. (or whatever the heck they are called)

flaced · Aug 11, 2003

My school sends out the checks 3 weeks after the school starts, but they let the students register and withheld the classes for them if they had applied for financial aid. Those that are not approved for FA have to pay. Also, you can charge the books at the bookstore on your financial aid account a week before school starts. For the uniform, kit and other things I had to charge the credit card until the checks are coming...

Hopefully you will find a way to pay what you need! Good luck!

bedpan · Aug 11, 2003

wow! Our school simply credits any loans/grants we have and only requires that you pay any amount you might owe past that!

sagelola · Aug 12, 2003

Thank you, everyone, for your replies!!

Life would be SOO much easier with a credit card...or if they were NICE enough to let us charge the books, etc. I am sure I would be able to come up with the $ needed for the uniforms if they did that!

My other school mailed checks out at the end of the week, so we would get them on like Thurs of the first week. At least there I KNEW when I would be getting it, unlike now...It could be next week, or it could be in the middle of Sept.

We will get through somehow...I might have to go take a loan out at the bank of Daddy! (Just hope they have the extra...I have a 19 year old sister who they are paying for in college right now!)

Jen2 · Aug 12, 2003

I know how you feel. Don't have a pot to pi@@ in or a window to throw it out of. We always get our checks the first week of school. However, I get paid tomorrow and have alot of O.T. comming, so I will pay my car payment late and buy books tomorrow so that I can at least read the first few chapters in my fundamentals book before classes start. I can't help it. I am a dork. Who will care if I was 2 weeks late on my car payment 10 years from now? Also I realize that I am having alot of financial difficulties, and I always will. Until I finish school anyway, I know that education is the key. When I graduate I will have acheived my dream and be much better off financially. This is why I make school a #1 priority.

essarge · Aug 12, 2003

aaaaahhhh....financial aid. My favorite love hate relationship! Our school does not give out refund checks until at least 6 weeks after school starts. Although they do allow $XXX for book vouchers so that you can purchase books, everything else is out of pocket. After the first year of fighting with them and turning them in to US Department of education (who threatened them with an audit), I buy my books online and save the arguing for the Dept of Ed....who I call immediately when they drag their feet or say "I don't know" or even give me an inckling of an attitude.

Good luck!!

manna, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2003

You think that's bad! Let's see... this is August... at the school I'm enrolled with, we'll probably get our financial aid refund checks in early December! And they don't have a "voucher" system for us to charge our books/supplies against. It's a royal PITA! If there was someone I could complain to about this school, I most certainly would...

(I don't have a credit card either or enough income to spare either - very discouraging!)

sagelola · Aug 12, 2003

Manna-I am so sorry about that! That totally blows! They shouldn't be able to do that to students, ya know? Believe me, I can empathize with your position. We've got 3 children in daycare, a car payment, rent...you know the drill. It just doesn't seem fair that there isn't anything in place to help out the students who need the help and don't "qualify" for some of their other programs.

manna, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2003

Originally posted by sagelola
We've got 3 children in daycare, a car payment, rent...you know the drill. It just doesn't seem fair that there isn't anything in place to help out the students who need the help and don't "qualify" for some of their other programs.

Thanks - I know what you mean. I mean, I understand why the college has to do it that way (small community college, can't afford to "front" the refund to students who might withdraw, etc).. but it's still frustrating. That's a large part of why I haven't been able to quit my job and go back to school (days) yet... I get very aggravated that the people who don't work get food stamps and federal assistance, but in this state if you're in school full-time (but not working at least 20 hours a week), you don't qualify for those programs.

Sorry for that vent. I hate my job, and I want to be in school worse than anything, and it just burns me up that while I want to better myself, I don't get help and many of the people around here who could care less are abusing the system. *sigh*

Oh wait, I said I was going to stop venting!

I'm through now, I promise. LOL

bedpan · Aug 12, 2003

Vent away manna! Sometimes that is the only thing we can do to keep from losing our minds! (or in my case - what everyone laughing refers to as my mind)