Complicated Payment Situation. Need Help ASAP

<p>Okay so long story short, I got my SAP appeal approved and they will give me aid for this semester. However, the financial aid has not come in yet and I need to pay for classes or else I will be disenrolled from them. The cheapest way to pay, as far as I know, is their payment plan which is still very expensive for me. I spoke with Student Financial Services and the lady told me that my college won't disenroll students anymore. The only options I have are risk this new info & not pay & wait for financial aid, or somehow pay the first payment of the payment plan and wait for financial aid. Do any of you know a third option or anything else that could be of use to me? Please help.</p>

<p>At my first semester at school their was a problem with my financial aid. For some reason my loan never got processed properly. However I was able to go to the financial aid office and they gave me a form stating my loan was coming through. I had to give this form to the bursar’s office. </p>

<p>Is your school able to do this?</p>

<p>I have not tried that, but I will definitely ask if I can. Thanks for this advice. Anyone else reading this can still give me suggestions as I have not tried this method yet.</p>

<p>Oh, brendank21. Sorry about this second post but I remember the Financial Aid Office telling me that I have to pay out of pocket and then when the financial aid comes, I will be reimbursed. I feel like they would mention some sort of form if they had one. I will still ask but now I’m less confident.</p>

<p>It would be worth talking with YOUR FAid office to see what you can do in this situation. IF you FAid is supposed to cover the expenses you need to pay for and you have no other funds to even cover the payment plan, ask the FAid office what to do to avoid having problems you described.</p>

<p>I did ask and the advice they gave me was pay out of pocket using the payment plan, because the payment plan is the cheapest (still expensive for me). Then when financial aid comes in, I will be reimbursed and that’s the end of that. The problem is, of course, I don’t have the money to pay for a single payment.</p>

<p>Talk to your Financial Aid Office again and tell them

</p>

<p>I did tell them that. They still told me the best they could do is tell me about the payment plan.</p>

<p>you can ask for installments or what ever money you have right now u ask them to enroll u with that much amount and assure them that you’ll pay the rest asa u get the money</p>

<p>djmettle: I asked if I could pay a portion of my tuition and they said I have to use the payment plan. I asked if I could pay a portion of the payment plan and I believe I got a no. I don’t understand why the payments are such a large amount but that’s their beautiful system.</p>

<p>If your aid is actually being processed … that is, you filed your FAFSA, submitted any necessary documents, accepted your aid, did any necessary loan counseling/signed your Master Promissory Note … what is holding up the payment? If the issue is not you but the aid office (that is, they are behind in processing your aid), then they should be working with you to make sure you are not disenrolled — this is assuming, of course, that your aid will cover your entire balance. Will you owe more than the aid? If so, you may have to pay that amount now. Do you still owe for a prior semester? If so, that may have to be paid before they will release aid for this semester.</p>

<p>My suggestion is to start with a financial aid officer (not a student peer advisor). See if that person can help you. If not, make an appointment with a manager (associate director or customer service manager) — that person may be able to help you get things straightened out.</p>

<p>Um…do you have aid which is covering ALL of your costs? If not, you will have to pay something at some point.</p>

<p>As others have said…USUALLY once the aid is all approved and you have accepted it and done any necessary loan stuff…(say you got the Pell Grant and a Direct Loan), the money is usually sent directly to the college. The college takes what you owe them out of the aid money to pay any billable costs, and ONLY a balance is refunded to you.</p>

<p>Have you received your award? Did you complete acceptance documents? Did you do any loan acceptance stuff? If so…call your financial aid office. And ask to speak to someone other than the person who answers the phone.</p>

<p>@thumper1 & kelsmom: Yes the financial aid would cover ALL my costs. The reason why my aid is slower than normal is because it’s apart of the SAP appeal process. I was told that my situation is different so the aid must be inputted manually and they have not gotten around to it yet. I’ve spoken in person a few times but I keep getting the same answers.</p>

<p>You will need to advocate for yourself. Be calm but firm, and ask to schedule an appointment with a manager. Explain to the manager that you need assistance in making sure you are on track to remain in school - tell him/her that you received mixed messages about whether or not you will be disenrolled, and that you want to make sure you know what is going to happen. I am in the financial aid field, and I assure you that this is an appropriate step for you to take.</p>

<p>This sounds like great advice but unfortunately since my college is so dumb, they gave me the notice about disenrollment on such short notice. Basically if I can’t get that appointment today, I’m screwed.</p>

<p>New situation: My mom agreed to help pay for the first payment of the payment plan. Still a lot of money and she’s expecting the financial aid to be true to their word and reimburse us. I’ve also thought about just going to community college or joining the military. Should I just let her pay this money and pray that I will get my financial aid along with the reimbursement? Or should I start over with community college or military?</p>

<p>

What is your goal?</p>

<p>My goal is to just live a good life. A good job with good pay so I’m not so damn useless. Just as long as the job doesn’t make me want to kill myself, I’m fine with whatever.</p>

<p>

Military may not for you.</p>

<p>You need to speak to someone higher in the food change. My daughter’s school allows the portion of the bill that is covered by FA to be deferred until the FA comes in. If you cannot defer payment then you will likely have this problem every semester. Note as other posters stated, you are expected to pay for anything that is not cover by FA by the due date which is usually before classes start.</p>

<p>Check with the school about how fast they process refunds in case you pay upfront. My daughters’ school was extremely fast in issuing refunds. You might was to see if you can set up direct deposit for any refunds. This can be faster than waiting for a check.</p>