<p>Shortly after meeting the man who is now my husband, I learned the college we attend was charging him out of state tuition. I thought his tuition was high and was shocked to learn of the college's mistake. They stopped charging him out of state tuition when made aware of the situation, but didn't refund the money he was overcharged. Now they're saying he's maxed out on his loans and grants when he's just a few credits away from graduating. Since they didn't refund the money he was overcharged, shouldn't he be able to attend school free equal to the amount he was overcharged? What can we do about this? Who can we go to other than the financial aid office that refused to refund his money? </p>
<p>more info: </p>
<p>They said the fact that he graduated from high school in Texas lead to their assumption and he didn't prove otherwise. I guess his in state off campus address, in state driver's license, in state vehicle tags, and independent student status didn't count as proof of his in state residency? Yes, he graduated from high school in Texas ....YEARS AGO and moved to the state we live in. (He had been living in state for approximately 10 years before he started college.) He was in his late 30's at the time they were overcharging him. I can't understand how they thought an older independent student with an in state id, address, and vehicle tags could be an out of state student.</p>
<p>I guess I would start by writing a letter to the school with an exact accounting of what you think the overcharges are and what you are basing that information on, and asking them to refund the money. See what response you get. Take it to an attorney for discussion once you have a response, although you probably will have to pay a few hundred dollars to get an opinion. But… I think if he graduated from a high school in another state the onus probably is on him to check on this BEFORE paying tuition bill. How would the college have any idea about his driver’s license and vehicle tags? And every student gets some kind of in-state address if they live in the state. I think there are very few people on these forums who would not notice if the bill was OOS vs. in- state tuition! Also not sure what kind of paperwork he may have signed as part of his enrollment or any statement on the bill that may get the school off the hook on this. Might just be a hard lesson for him to not just pay every bill that comes to you without checking out the amount on it first.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to say this, but I would be surprised if the university goes back to credit the overpayment to his account after the fact. I bet there’s some window during which a student is expected to challenge his term bill if he believes there’s an error in the bill, and I would expect that window to be fairly brief.</p>
<p>Of course they knew of his vehicle tags. They require that information from every student. How else would they know who to fine for parking tickets? I’m sure they asked for identification when he enrolled too. Also, he didn’t just graduate from high school. It was years ago. Do colleges think independent older students never move when they graduated years ago? How is the onus on him when the school ignored his address, id, and vehicle tag and treated him like a dependent student that just left his out of state parent’s home to attend college? Unfortunately, he didn’t notice how much the school was taking out of his federal loan and pell grant. If he had been actually writing checks for tuition, he likely would’ve noticed. I noticed when I started attending school there and my student loan/grant refund was much more than his. Please remember, we are talking about an INDEPENDENT student here that graduated from high school in either1989 or 1990.</p>
<p>Further, even if he had a valid claim against the school, if it’s been more than a couple of years since those payments were made, there’d be a statute of limitations issue, as well. More than a couple of years and it’s likely too late to take the school to court, even if he had a valid claim.</p>
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<p>All the more reason for him to have kept track of what he owed and what he was borrowing.</p>
<p>We are married. We had to get married before finishing college because my cervical cancer medicaid was being cancelled and as a cancer survivor, I couldn’t be without health insurance. Unfortunately, the US government doesn’t provide single-payer health care for its citizens. He’s been there for me throughout my cancer. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him and I don’t appreciate anyone asking if I’m sure I want to marry him.</p>
<p>A hard lesson? I told you HE WASN’T WRITING OUT CHECKS TO THEM. Tuition is directly taken out of grants and loans by the school and the remainder is refunded to the student, yet it’s all his fault? It’s pretty easy to overlook something when not writing out checks for it. The school ignored his independent status, ignored how long it had been since he graduated from high school. We requested a refund when we caught the school’s mistake awhile back and the school refused to give it. Now we’re just wanting him to attend free so he can graduate since they are the ones who made the mistake. Why is everyone acting like he asked them to charge him out of state tuition? I understand there may be reasons schools assume out of state status for DEPENDENT students who graduate in another state, but they in no way apply to INDEPENDENT students in their late 30’s.</p>
<p>“My kids’ school require the students to submit a Certificate of Residence in order to qualify for resident tuition rates.”</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of that. Why wouldn’t an in state driver’s license or tags count? Besides, aren’t your kids dependent students? He’s independent and it’s been years since he graduated. Big difference.</p>
<p>I have another question. Is the school always right even when they’re wrong? This whole discussion is starting to remind me of “customers are always right even when they’re wrong” except instead of customers always being right it’s the school.</p>
<p>I don’t think you know much about how universities work. Believe me, the person who deals with parking/vehicles does NOT interact with the financial aid office except to pass along any fees that should be billed to the student. They don’t share info like this. The onus is on the student to make sure the university is putting them in the right category and billing correctly. And even when your bills are payed by various grants and loans, colleges always send a bill. I think you married a guy who doesn’t pay attention to the details. Make sure you handle all the paperwork in your lives going forward, as you seem to be more on the ball.</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter… a bill was almost certainly sent and not carefully reviewed. My dad always taught me to “check the check” in a restaurant to make sure it is right. He also meant to look at all of your bills before paying them to make sure they are correct.</p>
<p>Schools make mistakes. If, when you pointed it out, they corrected it, that may be all they can do. Even when a student’s full bill is paid with aid, that student receives a bill. It’s his job to see what’s billed and then what is credited. Yes, my bills are for a dependent student, but you can bet I go over every one to make sure everything is in order. If it’s not, I’m on the phone. </p>
<p>The school isn’t always right, no matter what. They admitted the mistake when they stopped charging the OOS tuition. But they may come back to you and say, “Look, we sent you bills (or posted them to your account). You saw the error and did nothing.”</p>
<p>Take intparent’s advice and make a request in writing (and pester them a little until you get a written response). They’ll give you a reason for denying the request (unless they grant it), and with that, you can consult an attorney to see if you have grounds for a challenge. </p>
<p>Does what happened sound like it goes against common sense? Yes. But at a large public institution, data is entered according to the box checked. There’s probably not anybody reading files and noticing something doesn’t make sense.</p>
<p>Anyone can get a driver’s license and register a car in a state shortly after arriving there–in fact, I bet out-of-state students try that every now and then in an attempt to get in-state tuition. So even if there had been communication between the registrar and the parking administrators, the information would have meant nothing. But I think the school has a moral obligation here that transcends any statute of limitations and the student’s own mind-boggling negligence (really, OP, I know you love him, but he sounds like he’s horribly disorganized). I’d keep pressing the issue–to the Dean of Students, the Registrar, the President, the Board of Trustees, etc. And don’t forget the student newspaper–this is the kind of story that will have the editor salivating. At some point the embarrassment of the school unjustly enriching itself at the expense of a student’s ability to graduate will overcome the desire to hang on to the money and this will be straightened out. (I also wonder if the feds would have an interest in Pell and Stafford funds being misapplied, but I don’t know how and with whom you could raise that issue–maybe someone else will have a thought.)</p>
<p>Schools, as well as any organization make mistakes. The question now is whether or not the mistakes can be fixed. I can tell you that if you make some mistakes in terms of taking out loans before certain deadlines or getting aid, you are done. Federal government won’t go back. When the year is done, it’s done.If you don’t get your insurance to pay for a charge during a certain period and due to everyone’s mistakes, not yours, it doesn’t get done, you are still on the hook. YOU are the one ultimately responsible for making sure you were billed properly and that all went the way it should even if you didn’t get your hands on any of the money.</p>
<p>Having said all of that, you need to find out specifically what can be done here. Your husband and you need to go into financial aid and show the mistakes and see what they can do. If they throw their hands up, you may need to get an attorney and get advice as what can be done. That’s what one has to do when a dispute cannot get resolved between two parties.</p>
<p>At the end end of the day, the onus is on your husband to prove that he is a state resident and is an independent student so that he could obtain the correct financial aid and be billed correctly for in-state tuition. </p>
<p>Somewhere along the line before even the financial aid was issued, he would have received a bill and saw that he was charged out of state tuition. Even when he first registered he would have received a bursar’s receipt demonstrating that he bill was going to be covered by financial aid (again , it would have had the amount that he would have been charged). </p>
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<p>Not necessarily, as I know tons of people who have their cars registered in other states (and yes, this is not unusual for students to have cars registered in their home state while attending school in another state). By the same token, it is also not unusual for students to have insurance their school’s state because it is less expensive than their home state.</p>
<p>If he received any refund of financial aid, again there would have been a statement with the amount of aid - what he owes the college .</p>