It could be that when you set up the payment on their site that they actually tell you how many days it takes. If so, then this could be another root of the problem for this student who may not have read that completely.
I have a small business and when someone pays by e-check it can vary by as much as a few days to up to a week. It depends on the bank and day of the week often times. For ACH payments it can also vary but usually it’s within a day. I’m surprised Purdue charges a fee for the deposit to use a credit card. I have paid all of my kid’s deposits for 4 different colleges with a credit card, even though not all take credit card for tuition and none charged a fee for the deposit even though they do charge a fee to use credit card for tuition.
An e-check is an EFT processed through the ACH network, so there is a delay, but no physical check produced. Schools use e-checks because of low fees vs CC, because it means fewer physical checks to handle/process, and because many payment amounts (tuition, r/b) could easily exceed a parent’s limit on their CC.
Sounds like bill pay. They send a check on x date.
But they are not refunding her ? So which is it ? If you are keeping $ then you are acknowledging acceptance ?
Maybe it’s a sign. Find another school on the NACAC list. You might get a great deal. They need butts in seat. A school Like Evansville. Or Purdue Fort Wayne with transfer.
Thanks! you are trying to understand what happened so I am going to try to share the details.
There was no pop-up. When she opened the portal to accept - there was a selection list of two terms 1. Spring Term 2. Fall term. She realized that she can pick either. She was excited to start early so she read through the website to figure out the subject she would pick in summer term. This did take about a week.
She Accepted on April 29th (Two days before the deadline). The website confirmed acceptance. She took a screenshot.
On April 30th she logged in to the site and was not seeing further links that she expected to start showing up for course selection etc. She had not received the confirmation email either. So, she called Purdue admissions. She still had two days 30th and May 1st.
4, Admission person listened to her. She explained that she has selected Summer and she is not seeing the confirmation information. They said it is normal, please wait 24-48 hours.
On May 1st, she was worried as it was the last day, so she reached out to me. I checked the portal and called Purdue’s phone number. There was no one on the other side because it was weekend.
On May 3rd, first thing in the morning, she called admissions. They said they can’t find the payment information. She panicked, contacted me. I checked bank transaction and noticed that money has been transferred. The payment date was listed as May 3rd. I took a screenshot and called Purdue.
The listened to me and informed me that they are aware of such glitches and they are going to escalate it to right set of people. They wanted to see the screenshots as they were not sure why these glitches happen. As I had the screenshot, I sent it them and sent the proof of payment.
We called again letting them know that we are extremely freaked out as it is May 3rd and my daughters has lost admission on only school she has accepted. We requested them to expedite this review if possible.
After a few hours, they sent an email an email informing us that they cannot reinstate her because they have no seat. I started escalating it to Purdue management
I called then again, the next day to discuss it again. This time I got a very nice individual who listened. She explained to me that they are oversubscribed. She agreed that the issue was with the website and what happened was unfortunate. She further spent time explaining that there is nothing Purdue can do even though the fault is on their side.
Regarding plan B, that is a good point. One option is community college I think.
If she starts at a community college while you get this figured out she may lose the opportunity to qualify for grants at a 4 year college. I wouldn’t let her take classes at all until you figure out which university she’ll be attending and make sure you can cover the costs all 4 years. If she takes community college classes after high school many colleges will consider her a transfer and she’ll get $0 grants from the school.
My daughter made that exact mistake- one class post graduation. She was still offered scholarships and grants. I can’t say what they would’ve compared to at the same school as a freshman, because she wasn’t accepted as a freshman, but it’s not a zero aid game for transfers. I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but knocking off some requirements cheaply (for a 4 year that accepts transfer credits) also offsets some of the cost to graduate.
Is this where it stands right now? That is not acceptable. She accepted for summer and used their approved payment method to pay for summer. Beyond that, she made a phone call the next day prior to commitment day and they told her it was fine and she needed to wait. They then made the decision to have their commitment day on a Saturday and have no one available to answer the phone. They created the system, you paid in a timely manner through the mechanism they prescribed, you documented your payment through a screenshot and a phone call, etc. The only acceptable solution to me would be that your daughter starts in the summer.
People are drowning in the weeds about the date the E check payment was received. That is irrelevant. They designated echeck as an appropriate way to pay the deposit prior to the deadline, they place no restrictions on the cut off date by which you must use an alternative payment, and the payment was requested in a timely manner. The bank and the school should have a record of the date the payment was requested. Unless you resubmitted the payment after the May 1 deadline, you should be OK.
It is not you or your daughters fault that Purdue made too many offers. She followed the rules, a contract was created, and they need to honor it.
I agree that cc can be a money saver. We’ve used that option too (mostly during summer sessions). But OP seems really new to this. For it to work for them they would need to research the colleges their daughter hopes to attend and make sure they understand their policies. At some colleges, any classes taken after high school makes you a transfer. OP needs to know which of their targets have that rule.
OP I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I’d be so angry if this were my child. This is encouraging me to have my d16 double check on her acceptance to grad school and make sure that went through before the May 15 deadlines. Schools send so much mail, and make your child feel special and wanted; so this has to be a shock to your system. Hoping it all turns out for the best.
in regards to community college classes: if she were to go that route for a semester, absolutely check with Purdue. our local community college considers HS grads still HSchool students the summer after graduation with half price rates in their special HS/CC program. No idea what your local CC does, or what Purdue might or might not accept. But it could be an option.
After I escalated the issue and after this thread was started, I have received a correspondence from Purdue, where they have apologized and informed me that although they cannot accept her for fall session, they are willing to work with me to find a solution.
I am not sure. Initially they said that they are are returning it back, however now that they have accepted the problem and are willing to work on a solution, I assume that they are keeping it.
So I looked at both Michigan where my son just graduated from and Purdue on how to make a payment. If I am correct you go through the student portal first then make a payment. So there should be a time stamp of you doing that on the date/time besides you taking a picture of the payment.
Never thought to take a picture since you should of been sent an email of confirmation right away.
If Purdue is keeping the payment, I cannot imagine they will exclude your child. It sounds as if there are some communications issues in their office of admissions.
My suggestion would be that you get the name of someone high up in admissions and get there name, direct telephone number, and email address. Deal with them directly and ask for a resolution as soon as possible. Good luck!!!
Yes, she went logged in to a portal to accept the offer and made the payment. Since the money was taken from our bank, there has to be a sequence of records in their database.
This is confusing me: she applied to and has a screenshot of confirmation to start in the summer but they can’t accept her for the fall? She’s already on campus, taking classes etc…how does fall enrollment factor into all this?
You need to speak to someone who is NOT the first person answering the phone in Purdue admissions. Very often, those folks are not in a position to do anything but respond from a standard script. You need to speak to the head of admissions, if you haven’t done so.
Seriously, you need to get more aggressive with them. I wouldn’t be sitting back waiting for them to work something out. But I’m also aggressive by nature and make stuff happen. Have a lawyer friend? Have them call. It would get straightened out today, I promise.