So my counselor was intimidatingly encouraging us to lie about our income so that we could get a free fee waiver, but I’ve been worried ever since. My counselor actually punched in the numbers for me. The deadline for CSU apps has passed already and the deadline to send money is approaching fast. I don’t mind paying the 55$, in fact I would rather do that, but the application has already been sent. Also the difference in the amount of money my parents make compared to what she put is significant. Any advice to fix this or at least calm down?
You told her your income but she put something else? What is the actual income? Are you on a free lunch program?
Your counselor really needs to check his/her morals. I would call if nothing else.
Pay it for your peace of mind.
You would be surprised at the number of times that lies come back to bite you, not to mention what they say about your character.
Call, explain it as a mistake (it was-- a huge one!) and pay the $55.
What @bjkmon said. If you file the FAFSA then they will learn your income. Not sure if the FA office speaks to Admissions in this case but many times those offices coordinate things for FTF admissions so the possibility of getting caught is probably quite high. You can just explain that your counselor was providing guidance on the application process and informed you that the fee was going to be waived. When you finally thought about that it sounded weird and so you made an appt. to see the counselor and found out the specifics - that he/she might have misrepresented your income. Once you found that out you took steps immediately to remedy which is why you are calling Admissions to pay.
The problem here is letting anyone enter something on your application that you sign and represent as accurate. I’m betting that there isn’t even a paper trail or equivalent (an e-mail perhaps) that documents the counselor’s dishonesty during the advising process. So the person who will get burned by this is going to be you and you alone. Valuable lesson for next time.
My parent’s income is pretty high, and yes I am on a reduced lunch program, but that’s thanks to my counselor…
I’m considering calling but I think it’s too late??
what do you call “pretty high”?
I don’t know of anyone whose income truly is “pretty high” and is a on reduced lunch program. It could be your perception of “pretty high” isn’t that high (people in the US tend to assume they’re middle class.)
Your counselor should be fired for fraud.
I guess you’re right, but in comparison to my peers… I’m in the middle-low class
Just an FYI, there are schools that classify for all of the above (reduced lunch, waivers, etc) if a certain percentage of their students are from a lower income level. It doesn’t matter what the individual status is. My brother and father work at one of those schools, every student is eligible for the reduced lunch if they want it and for the waivers regardless of family income. These are the same schools you get loan forgiveness for if you teach at them post-graduation.
That was the case last year, but for some reason, I wasn’t accepted for reduced lunch meal this year ):