College is trying to screw me over?!?

tk21769
Sat, 17 Oct 2015 15:47:30 +0000

The college incurred up-front costs.
It allocated a space for you that otherwise might have been given to another student.
So it’s reasonable to expect you to cover some portion of the semester’s housing costs.
The amount would depend on the terms and conditions of the school’s housing agreement.
Get a copy of that. There must be one. See what it says.

Here is an agreement posted by the University of Maryland:
http://reslife.umd.edu/termsandconditions/newstudent/2015-2016/

According to this agreement, if a new resident’s signed request for release from this agreement is received after August 12, 2015 and prior to check-in, the resident is liable for 2 weeks’ housing/facility cost. “After keys are issued, the University retains the right and discretion to release students from this Agreement upon documentation of valid grounds. Possible grounds for release include the following: withdrawal from classes …”

Near the end it refers to “appropriate … release fees, to a maximum of two weeks’ housing charges … and prorated charges through the official check-out date.”

I’m guessing that if you were a University of Maryland student, in this situation you’d be liable for about $1,000 (the semester costs pro-rated for 2 weeks, as a release fee, plus 1 day). You could offer to pay such an amount in several monthly installments, in exchange for an official release. They get a reasonable settlement and avoid the costs of trying to collect more money that you simply don’t have.