Hi there. Major financial aid crisis that I need some help with.
So, I owe over $35,000 for one semester of tuition at the University of Pennsylvania. How did this happen? Long story. I’ll try to keep it short.
For 2 years, I used my dad’s GI bill to pay tuition. It ran out 2 years early because Penn is crazy expensive. I found out at the end of the spring 2021 semester that I had no more GI bill aid left. I was scrabbling to get my mother to fill out the financial aid paperwork. I asked her for months to do it. She kept saying she would get around to it but never did. Now it’s far too late. I’ve given up on trying to get her to do any more. I would do it myself but I don’t meet the standards to be an independent (even though I’ve been financially independent for years now).
My financial aid office said they can’t help me and that my only option is a loan through my bank. My bank said they can’t help me and that my only option is to talk to my financial aid office. I’m 21, don’t have credit, don’t have my parents financial information, dropped out of school because of this whole situation so now I don’t qualify for scholarships. I feel like I have no options.
What I do have is $35,000 of debt, that keeps collecting interest, for a past semester at a university that will not help me.
If your mother won’t help you fill out the FA forms, there really isn’t much the university can do. It’s required for federal aid for those who are still dependent students. You can wait until you are 24 and return to school. It is too late to get loans for past semesters, but not too late to get money for future semesters, including financial aid that doesn’t need to be repaid (grants). UPenn is one of the most generous schools with grant aid but you (including parents) have to fill out the documentation (both FAFSA and CSS)
What is the $35k owed? Loans, just an overdue bill? That may dictate your options.
Will UPenn allow this student to move forward with an outstanding balance? Most colleges will not…even if their parents complete the financial aid forms.
If the balance is owed to Penn, I doubt there is much OP can do about it except work with Penn. Won’t be able to transfer to any other schools because Penn will not release a transcript. If it is a loan there may be more options, like refinancing it or deferring it. It would really depend on what kind of loan. I don’t think Penn has an internal loan program like some schools do. The original post mentioned ‘interest accruing’ so thought maybe a loan was involved, but Penn may have a system where an unpaid balance accumulates late charges or ‘interest’ but most schools don’t want to be in the lending business so will sell off bad debt to a collections company.
Most students are pretty stuck if the parents will not complete financial aid forms, especially after they accrue a bill from a prior semester.