i received my financial aid to cover everything for this year but I have a $1322 balance from a previous year I have no money job and it’s too late to apply for a job. What should I do!?!?! Plz help
Why did you wait so long to look for a job?
Balance from same school? Different school?
SamE school
Why does it matter
If the balance is from the same school, the school will use current financial aid to pay any past due.
No, schools cannot use current year aid to pay a prior year past due balance.
Some lenders will give educational loans for prior year balances. If you have no other way to get the money, you can look for such a lender. Pay that loan off as soon as possible, trying to keep all loans federal when possible.
I was told I can make a payment plan and I only need 1/3 of the payment to begin and it would only be $442 … For 3 months…
I know a student that has debt at his school; couldn’t go anywhere else (cheaper CC, or even local university and living at home) with this debt in place because he can’t get a transcript with his outstanding balance. He planning to go back in the fall, but I don’t think he has saved enough/worked hard enough to not get in the ‘behind’ position again.
Hope you can do some things to get your finances in order - working enough but doing well enough at school too.
Did you know about the past due but not realize you would not be able to proceed onto school this term w/o taking care of it? What are the suggested options from your college’s FA office? What have other students done in your position?
I thought my financial aid would cover the previous balance because I receive so much to cover it, my school thought as well I was actually cleared financially for this fall semester.
I was told I could create a payment play to pay off the $1332 dollars which would only be 1/3th down payment. I don’t know if I should donate blood or something but I really need to be in school right now
Why is it too late to look for a job?
There is no tuition fairy - what kind of answers are you looking for?
Do you have family/friends/church to ask for the money?
If you have no job, what have you been doing all summer?
Why is it too late to look for a job?
You pay it off by obtaining money. You obtain money by getting a job.
" No, schools cannot use current year aid to pay a prior year past due balance."
They can IF the student authorizes them to. You need to call the school and tell them that you wanna cover the bill with some of this year’s aid. You’ll then need more $ for the current year, though.
If your aid was greater than this year’s billable costs, you should be okay. You’d just not get a refund. However, even if you still need to come up with cash for this year’s bill, the consequences/late fees will be less severe than those for previous charges, since the bill is more recent.
Lilliana.
Any aid that is awarded to the student is first used to pay billable costs to the college. Only if there is. Balance would the student get a refund…and honestly, for this student, that would have happened months ago for the 2014-2015 academic year.
^ no, I meant aid for 15-16
but yes, I guess they’d use all aid for 15-16 charges first, so there would be none left for 14-15 charges
And Lilliana, some schools will not disburse aid for the upcoming year until the previous debt is settled.
" No, schools cannot use current year aid to pay a prior year past due balance."
They can IF the student authorizes them to. You need to call the school and tell them that you wanna cover the bill with some of this year’s aid. You’ll then need more $ for the current year, though.
Only if it’s less than or equal to $200 (and only if the school chooses to allow it). From the Blue Book:
Paying prior-year charges
In general, FSA funds may only be used to pay for the student’s costs for the period for which the funds are provided. However, a school may use current-year funds to satisfy prior award year charges for tuition and fees, room, or board (and with permission, educationally related charges) for a total of not more than $200. A school may not pay prior-year charges in excess of $200.