The $$ is being divided into 4 semesters, and hasnt been transferred to her yet (I was told) my daughter was worried and I was advised by her counselor to tell her & myself not to worry that she has $$ coming and blah blah blah, and that she wouldnt be thrown out of school. I called and advised her and explained to needed to talk to this gentleman Bryan Scott & that he could even cut her a check from that $$ for personal items, rent, utilities or food..after 2 weeks of trying she finally got in after waiting in line like all the other days. She calls me crying that he told her she owes $9000.00 dollar and she passed the deadline to try to transfer her $$ to our college in town and that her transcript wont be given to her until the $9000.00 is paid. My daughter is 18 and was happy to be making something of herself and know because we dont live in the alley and I work my blank off to try to put food on our table for my disabled husband my daughter and I.... I hate this I feel trapped I feel I let down my daughter !! auuugh I just needed to vent out... I hope there is a solution she wanted to become someone, someone professional... I wish I could be like ok baby heres a check but unfortunately we are not.
Thanx to anyone listening
I would try and iron it out , if not maybe find a cheaper school.They sound disorganized. I couldn't go to college, I had too much on my plate. I have my own successful business and we do fine.
Is this the University of Arizona, or another college? Have you spoken directly to the financial aid office?
As others have asked, who gave her these scholarships? Have you spoken directly with their representative?
My son went to college too, in Tempe Arizona. The financial stuff was incredibly difficult to understand. I found a helpful person in the financial aid office and spoke directly with that person who helped me understand all the complex stuff.
Keep track of names, numbers, times and dates you spoke with people. Don't let your daughter just rely on what she hears - get everything in writing.
I'm sorry you're going through this.
Where did the scholarship come from? How was it to be dispersed?
You listened to someone who said don't worry. When your dealing with college tuition and fees, it's very important that you stay on top of all dates and deadlines and rely on no one to look out for you or your daughter. It's completely up to you and your daughter to stay on top of these things.
Talk to the financial aid office and get the info you need for deadlines.
My daughter's college does not send out notices. It's up to us to know due dates and pay on time. She has received scholarships and most of the time, they've been applied to her account AFTER due dates and I've already paid tuition.
This setback should not stop her from pursuing her education. You don't just give up when something goes wrong or you'll never make it.
Good luck and talk to financial aid office .... as in yesterday.
Ok I am confused as your post was all over the place. But you may be as confused as I am.
I worked in the Business Office for a University for 14 years. So I do know a little about how this stuff works. Was the scholarship through the school or an outside source? Has school already started? If classes have not started there should be nothing to worry about. Contact her high school and get a new transcript. If she's not taken classes at this new school she has nothing to transfer. If she does not attend the federal aid will not be given to the school. If it's an outside source have them contact the school and ask for any money back that they have already sent. You may need to contact the Business Office (or what ever they call the office you pay at, some schools call it something else) The admissions councilors don't always know everything even though they try to make you think they do. If you have to go to the MGR of the Business Office or the Admissions office. Go above the councilor. You might get better results.
It sounds like your daughter is already taking classes. So the semester has begun, and she is registered for classes. Has she received some type of notice that she will be dropped from her classes if she doesn't pay? If so, have her immediately contact the financial aid office at her school and ask very specific questions - how much does she need to pay and when does she need to pay it (what's the deadline). If there is something that she needs to pay right now,she needs to ask them how she can go about taking out a federal loan.
The person she spoke to said she needs to pay $9,000 in order to get her transcript. Is that her college transcript? She doesn't need that until she's graduating and applying for jobs. Or possibly if she is applying for an academic scholarship or an internship, but either way, if she is a freshman, she will not need her transcripts any time soon.
Colleges/universities will not issue transcripts if any money is owed. This could be tuition, housing fees, library fines, gym locker rental fees, parking tickets ... really any money owed to any office on campus. But again, this is not an immediate concern.
She missed the deadline to transfer her scholarship to the college near you. Was she planning to do this? Did she want to go a school in Texas and not the one in Arizona? It sounds like this is a moot point. Who cares that she can't transfer her scholarship. She wasn't planning to do that ... I think.
This is new and very scary, as you didn't go to college yourself (I'm assuming). I teach at a university, so it's not a scary environment to me. Well, it isn't anymore. When I was a college freshman it was downright terrifying. And both my parents went to college!
Is there a program at her school for "first generation" students? Our school has a great program for incoming freshmen who's parents didn't go to school. They offer guidance and support and really, really support those students right off the bat. The students get to know each other and form a very real community.
Encourage your daughter to get to know someone on campus - an advisor or a professor - who might be someone she can turn to when she gets lost or confused. She is going to be a pro at this in no time, but right now things are scary. Hang in there (both of you). Keep talking to people. But do not give up!
Is this the state university? Did you fill out the FAFSA to determine financial aid? The student aid report from that should list what federal loans she qualified for and what the family contribution would be (this is not the amount you owe). Next, the financial aid office would have sent a Financial Aid Award letter, listing all the tuition, fees, loans, and scholarships. It would show what she is receiving and what she would owe. This would also show if she qualified for work study and if you could apply for federal parent loans. The people to contact are the financial aid office, not her academic adviser. The financial aid staff can go through every charge and every offset. She can also contact the bursar, who is basically the university bookkeeper, to go through every line of how this $9000 was billed out. They will also have information on payment plans and how to apply for parent loans (if you want to try that). I know it can be difficult to navigate all this, but she should have received documents that show all of this well before the semester started. Also, if she has never attended, what transcript are they holding? With no classes there, she hasn't got a transcript. Her high school will allow her to get her transcript because she does not owe them money. She can choose to not attend this college, void the financial aid and scholarships, and apply to other colleges or community college. Her life is not over and she can still attend a college somewhere. Starting a semester late is ok. Remember there are trade schools as well.
She got accepted and got financial aid. Sounds like she should have received an award letter. That letter would have listed each money she was going to receive. Then you should have been able to see the exact amount at the bottom, then looked at how much her cost was going to be.
I'm sorry that didn't work out like it should have. I assume she's living on campus. You might need to find alternative housing options for her. She could rent a room if at all possible, some freshmen aren't allowed to live off campus. Some dorms and meal plans are completely way too high. I imagine the out of state tuition is what's driving the bill up too.
I would suggest you take a day or two and go to the campus, stay there and go to the financial aid office over and over if you have to, go to the Bursar's office too, tell them you were told her entire 2 years of school was supposed to be taken care of.
I've never heard of them predicting how much financial aid a person would get for 2 years though, they usually do it by year and divide the money between fall and spring semesters.
They have to have an entirely new application each spring for the following fall/spring semester since income changes each year, even on disability and a regular job.
But I would take each letter and note I've ever taken and go there, and stay until it's sorted out. They have an obligation to explain themselves.
If she can't pay the rest of her semester then she has the option to drop out and just not go back. She can just start fresh at the local school near you.
I fully understand that you need to vent...
But don't panic and keep it rational. Model your daughter how to handle it in a constructive way and make a plan which steps you need to do next to work this all out.
This is a good way for both of you to learn your lesson and not putting you head in the sand. Stand up for yourself. I expect that you have it in writing that this scholarship is awarded!
This will not be the only obstical in her future path to overcome.
If she does not get the scholarship she can apply for a loan. Please let her continue university and encourage her to be proactive which will lead in a successful future.
Good luck!
She won't need a transcript until four years from now when she graduates and starts applying to jobs.
So just tell her to focus on studying hard and getting good grades for the next four years.
You have all that time to figure out the $9000 for the transcript. She does not need that now.
R.
Welcome to mamapedia...
Explain to us what you want and expect of us? I don't see a question here.
WHO gave your daughter scholarships?
WHAT do you have in writing?
Her counselor should know that she has scholarships.
You need to provide proof that she had the scholarships, who was covering the funds for the scholarships and get everything documented on what she needs to do.
Why does she need her transcripts right now?
What exactly do you want?
Are you saying that there is a $9000 shortfall AFTER the scholarships have been applied? That's a huge shortfall.
I think one of two things has happened:
1). The school hasn't received the scholarship money yet. That's easily remedied by contacting whoever issued it.
2). She is being charged out of state tuition rates. $9k would be about the difference. Does Arizona have a reciprocity agreement with Texas? If so, you need to contact the bursars office to find out have to get the tuition changed.
Call the bursar this morning and find out if they received the scholarship, and if they are charging her in-state resident tuition
I'm so sorry you and your daughter are having these difficulties.
College, FAFSA, scholarships, tuition, room and board - all of it can be pretty confusing.
I'm not sure what I could tell you that might help but maybe you all need to sit down with a financial planner and lay all the cards on the table to get things all smoothed out.
That's what we did when our son started his junior year in high school and it was an enormous help to figure everything out.
