<p>I am appalled at Rensselaer-They made an error on my child's bill I have been trying to get them to fix it for over 2 months-so I can pay the bill-they just froze my child's account-in other words if registration was tomorrow she couldn't register-Bursar blames Residence life-No one gets back to you-Michelle at bursar says I have 6000 kids to worry about? Dear Lord-what if this was U at Maryland? Since I'v been in touch with the same person at Bursar for two months maybe I could have been notified about the freezes? No why would they do that? It may be a smaller school-but DO NOT let that fool you-the administration could not give two about the parents. And if they treat parents this way-imagine how they treat the students. So I spend another day on the telephone with RPI trying to fix their problem? (Oh that's right Michele told me it's my problem and she's helping me-RPI billed incorrectly and zero people took care of it after notification) Isn't this a MATH school? I had to speak directly to the Bursar-who is trying to help but is worried about removing the hold on my child's accounts-?????????? (because I won't pay??) I've paid $70,000 already all that is owed is approximately $5000. Are they kidding? I am trying to pay my children's bill (two attend)-Called the president's office-no response either-Anyone else have this issue with RPI?</p>
<p>Rensselaer said they would correct the bill so I could pay it today-RPI failed. ??? What to do?</p>
<p>I’m sorry you are having such a tough time. All of my interactions have always been very positive. </p>
<p>I thought at the beginning it would be like that also-during weekend visits for accepted students everyone is really on top of their game-but I am beginning to wonder-ie-there was a measles outbreak-one child in a group of three got the measles and is hospitalized-the three were working on a group project-professor said tough luck do it yourself-so the other groups have three students working for completion and this group had two-As i said I am really beginning to wonder about the actual commitement and interest in education as oppossed to professors and their own endeavors-publications, research etc.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t you have guessed it-bill is still wrong-i was guarantedd it would be fixed Friday-Day 64 and counting-</p>
<p>Ah they fixed the bill-and I paid it-never heard from the women who told me I owed her an apology-she was doing me a favor-Michele in Bursar-Really not pleased with RPI’s antics-and guess what-another bill came in from a soriority on campus-that is paid to RPI already-this should be interesting since they have all their financials askew.
I’ll keep you updated-</p>
<p>Oh pmbcts, the stories I could tell after just 4 semesters. I sooooo feel your pain. Our 529 plan will not pay until the drop add date has passed unless the Burser sends them an invoice. Every single semester, they mess this up and every semester is different. Further, D signed up for a really great room for her second year. It was one of the cheapest on campus. Imagine our surprise when we got a bill for $1000 over the cost she signed a contract for. Don’t even get me started on the food cost. $5000 for 10 meals of crap a week? And no other option. It’s a crime. Res Life is a joke too. One of her roomates was threatening suicide last semester. That was not taken seriously either. Oh, and her RPI provided computer blew up last night and the warranty seems to be worthless. OTOH, D has had some amazing opportunities through clubs and sports and just scored a super internship for the summer. I do believe her experiences here will help her in the long run. However, my other kids are not going there.</p>
<p>I understand totally-it seems administration just doesn’t care-I really wonder how a supposedly great math school can’t keep their billing straight-we know this isn’t due to a new system-for three years? Bout the laptop-they have to replace it-she bought it through the school yes? They make you buy it through them so they should support all problems unless it’s neglect-I find you have to stay on top of them which is a sad statement for a school of “this” caliber-I’m glad she got a good internship-what’s her major? I have two kids there different majors and one is having an easier go at it with internships, counselors, teachers than the other-it’s pretty sad when a student can’t understand his counselor-I told him get in there and ask for another one-but I can understand why he’s reluctant-there are repercussions for anything the students do-yet it seems admin can do as they wish-I really am wondering about Shirley Jackson and her leadership role in this-I have family that went there prior and did not have these issues-Good Luck-</p>
<p>I have to add my story of the chilly reception I received from RPI this week. My son goes to private school, so his spring break does not correspond with those of the public schools, which are typically off in April. He is unable to attend either of the Admitted Student Days listed on the postcard that was mailed to him. So I called the admissions office yesterday to explain that he is an admitted student who is considering attending in the fall and asked if he could perhaps go up this week and meet with somebody from the aeronautical engineering department to discuss the program and perhaps have a tour of the facilities. The answer I got was, “We can’t guarantee anything. Submit a request in writing through the website and we’ll get to it when we can.” When I asked who the person was who would be taking care of the request, the woman said, “That would be me, but I can’t help you until I get the written request. So go to the website.” I was a bit taken aback by this response. I understand that this is a busy time of year–I work at a university too, so I get it. Really, I do. But this is not a prospective HS student who might attend two years from now who is looking for special treatment. This is a student who has been ADMITTED and who will be making a decision about attending within the next few weeks! At the university where I work, the staff would be falling over themselves to be pleasant and accomodating to an admitted student who was expressing such interest just weeks before May 1. I have to say, this is making me question what it would be like to be an enrolled student at RPI, if the staff is rather dismissive of the ones they are still trying to attract. </p>
<p>I dealt with the same person in the bursars office as the OP. I told her what I needed, she told me what I needed to do, and it was all taken care of. Not sure how aggressive OP was on the phone, never hurts to be polite. It sounds like because she was overbilled, she chose to pay nothing. Sorry if I misunderstood that. You don’t have to wait to for the bill to show up online, you can pay anytime if you know what you owe.</p>
<p>I do understand about the visit problems. Even if they are busy, they should take the time for you. We scheduled our first visit unwittingly for freshman move-in week. I wished they had said something, the parking was crazy and we couldn’t even get near the dorms.</p>
<p>My son was very sick at the beginning of the year (mono), so I called the Office of the First Year Experience and they sent someone to check on him and made sure he worked with his advisor to keep things manageable. He had a good experience at the health clinic as well.</p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
<p>In reply to your two cents-I don’t know what you are referring to by OP-But don’t assume how I spoke on the telephone-I had a problem with the billing and I was told it would be fixed-it wasn’t for two months until I spoke directly to the Bursar herself. As I stated earlier-most of the $128,000 bill was paid-think it was $2,300 outstanding for each student-so approximately $123,400 was paid to RPI $4,600 was outstanding-RPI was informed of the problems with the bill (by the parent, bill chasee and payee) and was told the bills would not be paid till they were corrected.I was not informed by Michelle I needed to pay or my children’s accounts would be put on hold-RPI did not tell me ZERO! Except Michelle told me the billing would be fixed-it wasn’t.-FOR OVER TWO MONTHS!!! Mind you I AM calling RPI to get this fixed so I can get an accurate amount to pay my children’s bills and be done for the semester. Then Michelle tells me it’s not RPI’s problem-it’s mine-AFTER they put my children’s accounts on hold knowing full well I’ve been trying to pay these bills for TWO MONTHS!!! So don’t assume because you didn’t deal with this aspect of RPI yet…</p>
<p>Also make sure your kids go to school with adequate locks-my son just had his wallet stolen at RPI’s gym-his laptop was stolen the first year-If you decide to send your kids to this school make sure they are well prepared to watch their own belongings carefully and not look to administration for support for anything- they don’t give two cents…</p>
<p>OP = original poster. To be honest, your original post wasn’t very clear (to me anyway). Sorry for your troubles.</p>
<p>Hope it’s clear now for all those parents who are sending their children to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute! </p>
<p>OP, I am sorry that your experience with RPI has been so negative. However, don’t assume that everyone has had the same experience when giving advice. My daughter is a student at RPI, and we have never had issues with administration, billing, housing, or overall life on campus (theft on campus that you mentioned). Neither have her friends experienced what you are describing. I have no doubt that these issues have occurred for you and for the other posters on this thread, but I am not convinced that this is a significant problem at RPI. </p>
<p>Hopefully, the rest of your time will be better.</p>
<p>I appreciate that Big Nose but I have a bad taste after five cumulative years of disregard from RPI-speaking to RPI alumni they are appalled-as am I-RPI has a very good reputation but they don’t have alot of other things-and if they continue treating students and parents with disdain they are going to lose the talented students that give them their name and reputation-These students were accepted to other very good schools also and admin should keep that in mind-they are there to teach not pursue their own endeavors-RPI’s dorms, campus, athletics, surrounding area are not top quality-I thought their education was (which to me is of the most importance) but after five years I have to disagree with my original evaluation-</p>
RPI is back at it again-Jackie Allsworth-Bursar’ office-just yelled at me while I am trying to correct a problem they caused with my children’s accounts. They put the wrong check in the wrong account-I have two that attend. See if the account is not paid on time they slap you with a $250.00 late charge-even if it’s one day late-There is no rolling account-The account is billed monthly on the first. So they made the error and are yelling at me-no less they don’t even have a bill listed online as they should which would give me the answer so I don’t have to call and deal with rude people and answering machines. Left a message at Dr. Jackson’s office- administration-sure she will not follow up nor will anyone else from her office -just like last time. I’m so glad one child is graduating and only one year to go for my other child. The Bursar’s office just thinks they own you-such a shame.
RPI alum here with a son who is a JR.
I’d like to add another voice with @bignose. We’ve never had any problems with billing, housing, credits or anything else. Judging by your tone in these posts, maybe @pmcbts should look inward as to the root cause of the problem.
It is abundantly apparent that the OP and others think their experience is unique and unique to RPI.
It is not. My brother had the exact same trouble, possibly worse, with TCNJ, and his kid was kicked out of his classes during the semester because they lost his check. He couldn’t afford to repay so he had to go to the campus himself and meet with the Bursar.
This kind of crap goes on where I teach as well. Loans and grants don’t mesh with the Bursar’s due dates. Students are kept on who can’t pay and students are kicked out of classes even though they have enough grants and loans.
Sorry you are going through this, but if your case involves thousands of dollars, you can bet they aren’t going to say “oooh, a parent? Well, yes, I’ll just fix your account!”. Bureaucracy is king in academia.
I don’t understand the post about accepted students days - only kids accepted this year are ED, so they have to go if FA estimates are okay (and that poster mentioned prep school so…). No one in their right mind would expect to get a on-campus experience within a few days of calling. 3 - 4 weeks is usual from what we’ve seen.
Dreadpirit I don’t think you should be accusing the OP-myself- of my"tone"-you have no idea how I spoke to anyone-Looking inward will not adjust my children’s accounts and fix the problem RPI made with their error. I’m glad you haven’t had any issues-good for you-possibly if you had experienced the lack of administration support you may be writing differently.As a parent of two children at RPI I have experienced issues-I’m trying to pay bills-give RPI money.As I’ve stated before administration is NOT there to assist when there is a request. RPI misplaced a payment and then would not address the problem (one account is overpaid and the other is being hit by late fees). Jackie Allsworth would not help or offer any alternative to a paying parent to get this issue remedied. We (I say we since my brother is also an alum and tried to help out) want the accounts fixed and late fees removed-Period. I don’t want to have to drive up there to fix an error RPI made when depositing checks to accounts. Stay tuned-I am giving them some time to sort this out.
I was able to get through to someone in a totally different department who is going to look into this for me-I do not mention who since Jackie Allsworth had already warned me they should not be helping me. Isn’t it lovely? I’m just trying to pay RPI-can you imagine if I really was requesting something from them?
I agree that if one person is the bottle neck in these types of issues, it is better to avoid them.
When it comes down to it, if this lady is the Bursar, she is still not the highest person at the university. You also cannot discount that someone is stealing checks.
(I wish all universities allowed credit card payment through a third party service like PayPal, even if there was a fee, it is far safer than sending a paper check in. If someone steals my credit card number, I have protection from any unauthorized charges and I just get a new one. Even drafting through the payment plan is better than sending a check, one reason that is what we will do.)