I currently a grad student, and was apparently issued an incorrect scholarship amount for my summer semester (without my knowledge). I had received a full scholarship for the Spring semester, and was told I would receive a scholarship with an unknown amount at the end of May. I was emailed in late May stating that I received a full scholarship for the summer semester, and assumed this to be correct information. I then was issued a refund for some extra money I had in my account due to loans I took out for living expenses in early June.
Recently I received another email stating that the scholarship amount given to me was incorrect, and that it had been reduced to 25%. I now owe the school all of the money I had taken out for living expenses in loans, and was basically told that even though it was their mistake they would not take any accountability for it.
While I understand that errors can occur in any business, this seems completely unacceptable to me. I had made significant adjustments to plans for my financial future because I had thought I received this award, such as turning down a part time job offer. I now will have the burden of taken out extra loans due to the incorrect information I received (which would have been offset had I taken the job offered to me). Is there anything I can do about this situation with my school, or am I stuck where I am? If there is something I can do who would you recommend I talk to at the school? I have tried reaching out to financial services, as well as the college within the school that I am attending but the only answer I seem to get is to try talking to someone else.
Thanks for the response, I appreciate your input and I think the school views the situation in the same way. In my opinion though the situation is a bit different when the error is made in the school’s favor vs. the current situation. Ultimately the school is a business, and if a business were to make a billing error or tell a customer the wrong information they usually hold themselves accountable for their mistakes. I have worked for a number of both retail and corporate business, and this has always been the case.
I understand that mistakes happen, but in this case the misinformation given to me caused me to make financial decisions that ultimately are now destructive to my future. Had I simply been issued the correct amount in the first place I would have been able to plan my life accordingly. For example, as I mentioned I had turned down a part time job offer. I had searched for a job since the beginning of April, and got an offer at the end of May. If I had accepted this offer I would have been able to pay the difference between the 25% and full scholarship for my summer semester without an issue. Due to the information provided to me I deemed it unnecessary for me to have a job, and more important to focus on school.
My point here is that because the mistake was made in my favor the consequences of the mistake are exponentially higher than if the mistake was made in the University’s favor.
I would ask for an explanation of why the 100% amount was given and why it was reduced. Sometimes it is federal regulations and there isn’t anything they can do about it. Ask if there is any institution money you can qualify for, if you can get on a repayment plan for the money.
The amount was given initially because there was record error, and they thought I was supposed to get the 100% scholarship. When they reviewed the scholarships given out at the end of June they realized that they were only supposed to give 25% I guess.
The money is all merit based, so I don’t believe any federal regulations are affecting the situation.
Not only should you ask for a repayment plan, but it should be a very generous one (low or no interest) over as much time as you can get. That’s the best you can do.
Yes, the program that I am in requires everyone to go to school full time during the summer semester. The scholarships are applied to the summer as well.
You can make an appointment with the Director of Financial Aid, although you may not get it quickly. She should be able to explain what happened, and she may be able to help you get a payment plan that will allow you to be making payments and still taking fall classes (otherwise normally you have to pay back what you owe before you can continue, so ask for this.) It’s not possible for them to give you the 100% scholarship, if you weren’t qualified for it, so just know that going in.
My D’s school clearly post charges and aid before the bill is due.
Why were you not told how much of a scholarship you were going to get for summer so that you would know how much in loans you need?
I wasn’t told the scholarship I would be getting until the end of May (the semester started at the beginning of May). The amount given to me at the end of May was incorrect as well. I have no idea why I wasn’t told earlier, I had inquired multiple times from march-may but was always told I would be notified at the end of May.
I can probably get another job eventually, but it’s difficult to find one that fits well with my school schedule. I need something that is flexible and gives me plenty of time to work on school work. I worked full time to pay for my undergrad degree, and have no interest in doing something like that again because I feel as though I didn’t get as much out of my education as I would have liked (despite getting straight As). All things considered I would estimate that it would take another month or two to find a suitable position, meaning that I miss out on about 3 months of pay due to the school’s error.