<p>You’re “screwed” because you didn’t get enough of someone else’s money?</p>
<p>I say enroll in Philosophy 101 ASAP! And show a little appreciation that someone else is willing to invest a dime on you (actually more than you are spending on yourself) before they change their mind.</p>
<p>^Please read post #195.</p>
<p>This thread has helped the OP a lot and has turned a new page, no need to digress.</p>
<p>I am glad that you were able to talk to the finaid people to get some assistance with your issue. It is human nature that when we come across a blank, we fill it in … but as you found out, that can lead to unnecessary stress. When the aid office filled in your blank, you found that it wasn’t as bad as you had thought. One very important lesson I have learned in life - the hard way! - is to stop filling in my blanks. Most times, I find that things aren’t nearly as bad as I thought … so I try to save my worrying for the times when it is definitely justified. You were mature enough to follow up, you realized things weren’t as bad as you thought, and you learned a lesson from it. That’s success in my book. :)</p>
<p>Great news!</p>
<p>The FA office people could never answer my question about reinstating the grants and reducing the loans instead. But, I was finally able to get through to a FA advisor who could make more decisions at their discretion. She put the grants back, so now I’m golden. She reduced the unsubsidized loans by only three figures, and added in subsidized loans in the amount she reduced from the unsub. Not sure why, but awesome!</p>
<p>But, I need to call the FA office again. At the moment, my award overview does not include Bright Futures since they are processing stuff. So I’m worried that once it goes back on my account, an overaward alert will signal the FA office to take away the grants again. To avoid that, I’m going to ask if I should accept some of the loans. That way, if FA needs to be reduced when BF is added to my account, the reduction will come out of the accepted loans.</p>
<p>although that is rediculous i guess thats how it works now.</p>
<p>
She most likely did that to keep the costs down for you ok the long run. The lower the amount of unsubsidized loans, the better.</p>
<p>That’s great that you were able to tackle everything. I added in my scholarship and nothing has changed. :)</p>
<p>Got through to the FA office again. They confirmed that an overaward alert will not pop up on my account once Bright Futures is reinstated. So it looks like fixing this is all done!</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone that offered advice and set my head straight. I can’t wait for the semester to begin.</p>
<p>Great job. Life lesson. Best wishes.</p>
<p>I would go to the financial aid office and explain that your family circumstance does not allow for the extra coverage in fees. Usually they will work with you to come up with some sort of reasonable compromise. It might just be numbers they plug in, and talking to a real person will help diffuse the confusion. I agree that it doesn’t seem right that they would take away a grant when you’ve also earned a scholarship to help pay for your college. However, you must realize that even though you are a good student, you are not “owed” a college education by anyone. I have put 3 kids through school with very little in aid and no grants. While I’m not a huge wage earner (a teacher), I earn enough that my kids got little or nothing from their colleges. One actually gave a scholarship after I negotiated this for my daughter who was a straight A student. So, talk to someone in person, but try to go in with the spirit of working together, not that they are screwing you over. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Macmo…I think the OP to this thread has already solved the problem!</p>
<p>I’m a little surprised to see all the posts about wanting “free” money, etc. Why give the schools a pass because they’ve been jacking tuition 6-7% a year for a while now? What justifies this? Supply and demand? Because they can? Because they have to finance all the new food options and wellness centers? It seems a bit to ask of an 18 year old, fresh out of high school, to become a financial wizard to manage all this. If we value education, and educating our youth, this needs to be simplified.</p>
<p>Wow, brutal crowd. I can understand your frustration that with all your hard work, you find yourself further in the hole with an outside scholarship. A tough situation, even if it is how things work. And fyi, people, Bright Futures is merit based money intended to keep Florida’s bright students in-state. She will lose it if she doesn’t take it by second year out of high school. There is also no guarantee of getting the school’s scholarships later. We’ve explored all those things. And no use picking her poor parents’ a private situation apart is there? All I can suggest to look in to is this: we visited Western Carolina - a nice school in a beautiful setting with an extremely low cost - and maybe would offer a good student a great scholarship. Second, consider a job as a server in a restaurant. My daughter made good money at a good chain restaurant last year - although I know the summer is half gone. She also was able to cut expenses after her first year by getting an inexpensive apartment with three other students. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you. Your hard work will be rewarded in the end.</p>
<p>Recent comments are getting OT, closing thread. OP can start a new thread if they have follow-up questions.</p>