<p>As I have one daughter that has already graduated, another daughter that is a junior, and a girlfriend back in school, I have had a little experience with financial aid. It will likely be one of the most frustrating things you have ever dealt with. Here what you MAY experience:</p>
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<li><p>Complete imbeciles working in the FA office. I wonder how some of the people I have dealt with have lived this long.</p></li>
<li><p>Absolutely no regard for when school starts, add/drop dates, etc. Even if you do everything that is required of you on time, if they are slow, tough luck. They will expect you to pay on time, even if your FA is late due to their incompetence.</p></li>
<li><p>Disbursement dates 2 weeks or more into the semester. Hey, if you didn’t need the money you would not be applying for aid. Have you books when school starts, even if you haven’t received you FA.</p></li>
<li><p>Book advances. Usually not enough, and they require that you use it on campus where you will pay 4-5 times what you could buy it for used and/or rent. You can save quite a bit of money if you use your own money. On campus books prices are ridiculous. If you do need the book advance, use it as soon as you get it. If some of your aid is delayed, the school ALWAYS takes their money first. So find out what books you need and get them immediately or you may lose the advance to tuition costs.</p></li>
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<p>That being said, if you can save some money after starting school, it will make it easier next semester and thereafter. Good luck.</p>
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<li><p>I’ve never experienced anything of the sort. Don’t like it? Don’t go there. </p></li>
<li><p>Where I go, if you have everything in on time and it’s their fault then they extend the dates that things are due. Don’t like it? Don’t go there. </p></li>
<li><p>Where I go, it’s a week and a half before school starts. A lot of schools that disburse after the start date allow you to use FA in bookstores and such. Don’t like it? Don’t go there. </p></li>
<li><p>You can easily work in the summer to more than pay for books. I don’t use any of my refund to pay for books because I buy them ahead of time with summer earnings. Did your daughters or girlfriend work at all to earn money for books and such? </p></li>
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<p>Don’t like the way a school does business? Don’t go there. It’s really that simple. But it’s people like you that make me feel really bad for FA officers.</p>
<p>I think that people only get frustrated when they view financial aid as an entitlement and not a gift. Sure, there are problems sometimes (I usually have to call the billing office and remind them about my kid’s scholarships to get them credited on the bill, for one) but my kid and I are very grateful for what she gets. The school doesn’t owe her a free education; the rare hassles are worth the assistance that they give her.</p>
<p>No, big al, I don’t put up with anything. I understand that I chose where I attend and can freely go elsewhere. Higher education is a business. Not happy with the product or the company? Then go elsewhere. Same with anything else in life.</p>
<p>I have two kids in college and even when there were delays, the FA officers couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. </p>
<p>The last couple of years we have fallen into the audit phase, since our income fluctuated so much. It held up financial aid offers for a while - but every question was answered and haven’t encountered an incompetent FA person, yet. </p>
<p>I would much rather contact my kid’s FA office than ever calling my cell phone service provider, no matter how easy a question it might be. It never is. That is an exercise in frustration for me.</p>
<p>KKmama, grants are a gift, scholarships are earned and loans must be repaid. Organizing these things in a timely matter is what the FA people are paid to do. It’s their job. I will admit that the problems have varied from school to school. The FA people at my youngest daughter’s school are pretty good. It’s more of an institutional policy issue. At my girlfriend’s school, almost without exception, every person we have dealt with is a complete idiot. They lose forms that you hand deliver (they lost one form 3 times!), they take too long to get things done, etc. </p>
<p>It’s not even really of an entitlement vs. gift issue. It’s just expecting people to be competent at a job they are paid to do. If you have done what you are supposed to do, your financial aid should be set up before the first day of school.</p>
<p>At most colleges, you have a small number of people working in the financial aid office taking care of thousands of students. Regarding grants and other entitlement aid; if there is a hold up it is usually because the school is waiting to receive the money from the federal govt or the state. I remember our state grants being late because the state was late in passing a budget. Because the school knows that they are eventually going to get this money, it usually shows up on the bill as anticipated credit.</p>
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<p>EFC means expected family contribution. Most schools ask for a student contribution from summer work. The main reason that students are suppose to work over the summer is to have start up money until you get your disbursements. </p>
<p>Even with a 2 week disbursement, students are expected to come to class prepared. This means student is responsible for getting themselves to campus, purchasing books and school supplies (unless their are in an opportunity program that provides for these things or they have a scholarship that includes a book stipend). Most students work summer jobs, some work 2. </p>
<p>Did your girlfriend attempt to work a summer job and put aside some money for school supplies or did she just sit back with holding her hand out waiting for someone to give it to her? If she has not book money, she has no one to blame but herself. Grown folks going to school as a day student is a luxury as most of the adults that I know are working in the day and going to school at night.</p>
<p>I know mine worked every summer and the expectation was that she set aside at least $1000 for start up money for books.</p>
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<p>This is only common sense that we talk to our children/students about the importance of money management, whether it is coming in through extra monies in their FA packages, a work study job, gifts or a job during school breaks.</p>
<p>Wow. I’m kind of surprised that everybody jumped all over Big Al.</p>
<p>There have got to be hundreds of parents across the country who would agree that the FA process can be a hassle, or frustrating at the least.</p>
<p>Maybe Big Al’s choice of words in bullet “1” got everybody riled up. They were kind of strong. I wouldn’t ever say the people who work there are imbeciles. They’re good people who work hard. But in some schools, there’s a lot of red tape and policies that are old and past their prime – but that must be followed anyway. That IS frustrating.</p>
<p>“Don’t like it? Don’t go there.” is kind of a silly response. After all, most of us don’t know how much administrative red tape we’re getting into when our child chooses a school. We have a nearby state university that comes across as organized enough during the application process (we’ve only done summer and part-time schedules there), but once you’re enrolled, you learn that nearly every office is WAY overburdened with red tape. It is VERY, VERY hard to get anything done at that schoool. But, if everything else about the school works for you, it doesn’t seem practical to pass on an education there just because of a twice-a-year headache with administration.</p>
<p>I guess I’m thinking: There’s nothing wrong with being frustrated by the process. I believe it’s frustrating for a lot of people. But it’s just something that has to be waited out. Can’t fix it.</p>
<p>Sorry, it really irks me when people get aid and then whine about them or whine about the people that are trying to help you get them. Calling people “imbeciles” was extremely unnecessary and set the whole negative tone of this thread. </p>
<p>And if there’s too much hassle, transfer out. That’s what I meant by “Don’t like it? Don’t go there.” If you’re that upset by it, why continue? </p>
<p>And truly, you shouldn’t need advanced money for books unless you’re extremely poor and all money you make as a student goes towards helping your family. If that’s not the case (which it won’t be in the vast majority of cases), then you should work over the summer to pay for books.</p>
Being frustrated with the process is one thing. Blaming the personnel who have to evaluate all the documentation and process the paperwork is another.</p>
<p>I have to say that my FA experience with DS’s school has been nothing but positive thus far. In fact, I misinterpreted how they would apply a pre-paid tuition plan we had purchased and once I realized it would be subtracted from our FA, they advised me to cash it in so it would be available to cover our EFC.</p>
<p>There may some folks you encounter in your life that don’t know how to do their job. </p>
<p>They could also be new, having a bad day, or dealing with a slow computer system. </p>
<p>I have learned over the years to try to be gracious with those trying to help me, particularly those who wish to give me money. Where I work, it’s common knowledge to make nice with those who clean our workspace, process our mail and phone calls, etc. </p>
<p>When I worked in food service, I learned an important lesson from the cook that he doesn’t like grumpy patrons. If they are rude to his servers, particularly those who sent back food and were discourteous to the wait staff, he would season the food a bit in an unconventional manner (drop it on the floor). After the first time I saw that, I never told the cook again when people were rude. But I never forgot it, either.</p>
<p>Even when people are snotty on the phone, I try to ask them how their day is, or make idle chit chat. Even if I am calling to deal with a mistake or a problem. You would be surprised at how pleasant the conversation is and how helpful people can be. </p>
<p>Hope that Al’s experience with Fin Aid is better this year.</p>
<p>It can be very frustrating when money is on the line & you feel that your needs are not being met adequately. I do understand. However, I also know that other side of the story. There are many, many other factors at play in providing financial aid. It is not as simple as it may seem.</p>
<p>I am sorry your financial aid experiences have been so bad. I will say, though, that many, many students will find that their own financial aid experiences are positive.</p>
<p>I have to say my experiences with my daughter’s (and now my) school’s FA department has been almost 100% positive. A couple of glitches along the way, but they have always been very responsive (emails usually answered withing 24 hours) and helpful and sorted glitches out as far as was within their power. They genuinely seemed to want to make sure the student’s get the best aid they are eligible for. Their refunds come about 2 weeks into the semester which I think is fine and we make sure that books etc are covered (we usually do them well in advance to take advantage of cheaper online prices anyway). They are dealing with tens of thousands of students with not that huge a staff and I think they do a remarkable job (and are exceeding patient with people like me who have numerous questions). </p>
<p>My son’s school was a little more frustrating to deal with. Their refunds took several (5-6 weeks) to come. But that is a school policy rather than the fault of FA employees. I think it is because it is a school that has a lot of people dropping out mid semester so they don’t refund until a few weeks have passed. I must admit his last semester was just a big mess - not sure what happened there, but his loans had not paid out until almost the end of the semester. He had moved home to save money for job hunting and moving by then, so it was not as big a disaster as it would have been if he had still been living in his own place.</p>
<p>Maybe a bit off topic, but regarding #4, I don’t think I will ever buy textbooks from the school. Hand-me-downs, online resellers, and of course, Craigslist have netted me $100 books for $35. And for some, I’ve been able to resell them higher than what I even paid for.</p>
<p>"Did your girlfriend attempt to work a summer job and put aside some money for school supplies or did she just sit back with holding her hand out waiting for someone to give it to her? "</p>
<p>My girlfriend worked all summer, but she wasted her salary on trivialities like groceries and utility bills. Last year she worked full time while going to school full time, so she is not waiting for anyone to give her anything. We both make half the money we used to, due to losing jobs. That’s why she is back in school.</p>
<p>I don’t know where all this free money is that everyone keeps talking about. Grants are hard to come by if you are working. Scholarships are earned and loans must be repaid. Hardly free money.</p>
<p>Sorry for the lame quote setup. I cannot find a “reply with quote” feature on this forum.</p>
<p>I don’t know where all this free money is that everyone keeps talking about. Grants are hard to come by if you are working. Scholarships are earned and loans must be repaid. Hardly free money.</p>
<p>No free money??? Why are you hanging around whining?</p>
<p>If you don’t have grants, and your scholarships were earned on merit, and you’re borrowing the rest, then you don’t receive financial aid, do you? Honestly, it seems like a strange hobby to stand around complaining about their incompetence when you don’t even qualify.</p>