<p>My S is a junior at Stevens Institute of Technology. Just a few months ago we were very concerned that he was not going to be able to graduate from SIT, but we were able to pull together some things to keep him there. He had an acceptable FA package awarded in July - and the only contingencies stated in the FA award was that "all forms of aid are subject to adjustment at any time in the event that your enrollment our housing status changes; you receive additional aid from outside sources; information used to calculate your eligibility proves to be incomplete or inaccurate; you fail to submit any documentation required by this office; or you do not make satisfactory academic progress." (emphasis mine)</p>
<p>Then we get a letter out of the blue from SIT a few days ago, two weeks into the second semester.</p>
<p>They performed an "institutional verification" and determined he was ineligible for $2 grand of his financial aid package, and demanding payment for the balance now.</p>
<p>None of the reasons stated in the FA letter are applicable. This seems to be an institutional whim.</p>
<p>Also, this feels illegal to me. Shouldn't the school have to abide by the agreement they made last July?</p>
<p>What was their “institutional verification”? Could their verification be a mistake? It sounds like they did some kind of internal investigation into your FA app and determined that your income/assets were somehow greater than was initially stated, and therefore you have less need.</p>
<p>BTW…did your son have greater earnings during an earlier year?</p>
<p>You need to find out from the FA office what their “verification” turned up to justify this change. Their verification may be a mistake.</p>
<p>I am hoping this is a mistake. My H is composing a letter to them now.</p>
<p>They had all of our documentation (tax forms, etc.) last summer. This is not a profile school - only a FAFSA school. </p>
<p>Stevens is having some legal/financial difficulties and I wonder if this is related (i.e. trying to save the school money by rescinding FA). It would seem to me, though, they they would want to keep the parents on their side, though.</p>
<p>There are a number of types of aid that have very specific requirements. For example, a student receiving the SMART grant must be in an eligible major, be taking major-specific courses, be Pell eligible, have a gpa of at least 3.0, and 60-120 credits. If a student receiving SMART grant changed majors or wasn’t taking any major-specific courses, (or exceeded 120 hrs), the school would be required to pull the funds back.
What type of aid did he lose?</p>
<p>^^^That’s an excellent point. My daughter has the SMART (which is $4000 a year or $2000 a semester) and it is not disbursed to her account each semester until they verify that she meets the requirements. That is a federal requirement and the school would have no option but to pull the grant if the student was not eligible. </p>
<p>It is important that students familiarize themselves with any requirements for any aid they may be receiving.</p>
<p>The letter was probably generic and auto-generated. Some schools’ student account software will show the specific funds that were changed, but others only show the revised award. I’d suggest that the student email the FinAid office or go in for a personal visit. Too many schools contract for the financial aid/student customer service call centers or staff them with the newest hires.</p>
<p>He lost a portion of his need based Stevens grant. He still has his merit aid and his loans.</p>
<p>We are thinking it is related to having a second child in college. S’s older sister graduated in 2008. In the 2008-09 school year he was the only one in college. This year his younger sister started college. We think perhaps they missed that there is now another kid in college when they did a “verification” and we are hoping this letter clears things. up.</p>
<p>Start polite but firm. Save “angry” for the next step. If there is a glitch that can be figured out, they will be glad that you didn’t do “angry” and that may pay off down the road. </p>
<p>Keep “dismayed but open to suggestions” as a card you can play. If they insist that the new figure is correct, ask for advice. If they hand out advice you don’t like, then ask for a committee review (politely). Meanwhile, you can also assemble the “family situation” card, in which you offer to provide detailed information on medical expenses, other student expenses, eldercare, etc. </p>
<p>They may offer some options that you and student don’t like much (working in dining services, laundry services, etc) but keep an open mind – we have one young friend who keeps getting turned down for work because he has no prior work experience. Sometimes these bumps end up being bizarre opportunities. Hope so!</p>
<p>I hope you can get it all sorted out. It does seem strange. I know I would be pretty frustrated if my daughter lost a grant after the semester started that was not one that had specific requirements she should have been aware of (like her SMART grant). It does seem unreasonable.</p>
<p>Stevens never called us back, and S kept being brushed off @ Student Services. We were getting pretty stressed, as the letter we received said we needed to call to set up payment arrangements for our sudden balance. </p>
<p>So we wrote a letter to the woman who wrote the letter and cc’d several other people @ Stevens, including the president (soon outgoing).</p>
<p>She called me today, apologizing profusely.</p>
<p>Apparently they decided he was eligible for additional federal aid (Pell), and therefore reduced the Steven’s grant proportionately. His income for 2008 was only co-op and work study and she explained that the law recently changed, allowing them to subtract co-op or internship income when determining Pell eligibility.</p>
<p>The letter we got, particularly with the wording that we needed to make payment arrangements, should never have been sent, and she reiterated it over and over.</p>
<p>In other words, there will be no balance once the Pell is disbursed.</p>
<p>We are quite relieved. And if there is ever another problem (we have one more year of school @ Stevens) I will call this woman directly. The only phone number I had before was the main Student Services number, which got us nowhere.</p>