<p>Today I received the dreaded invoice. My D was awarded two scholarships and Stafford loans according to her financial aid award letter. The invoice only reflected one scholarship so I call the fin aid office...and they said...Oops, that was a mistake. Several other kids had the same mistake. Sorry.</p>
<p>SO, I am in the process of working my way up the ranks...any advice on this? How hard do I push? Will I put her other scholarship in jeopardy?</p>
<p>I.am.not.happy.</p>
<p>Yowza. That’s an unpleasant surprise. If it is a deal-breaking or very uncomfortable amount, I would launch an appeal to see if they could make it up to you, at least in part. If not…I don’t know how hard I would push. In my experience, if asked nicely schools may be willing to help, but more aggressive approaches often lead to more aggressively protective responses.</p>
<p>We once had the opposite happen. In her third year, we got the bill, and it didn’t reflect my d’s financial. Our financial situation had changed for the better (and we so reported.) But, it turns out, they “forgot” to figure it out. So rather than do a new assessment, they awarded her the same amount they had the previous year. Go figure.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear this and feel for you. I agree with Consolation. If it’s a big/deal breaking amount, I’d definitely take it up the ladder. Our son chose where he’s going to attend to a large degree based on his financial aid package. For that to change seems so wrong on so many levels. I can’t imagine it would put her other scholarship in jeopardy. Everyone makes mistakes of course but this seems wrong on so many levels. Let us know what happens?</p>
<p>Well, they are not going to honor the award. I could take legal action but it isn’t worth it …all parties involved have been very professional but at the end of the day they are claiming admin error…sorry. It leaves a bad taste and a lack of confidence in the system.</p>
<p>Don’t feel too bad, I know someone whose kid was awarded a grant their freshman year and not only didn’t get anything her second year but the school said they had made an error initially and wanted them to pay back the amount of the grant! I believe they told the school to go pound salt.</p>
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You should double check if that really was a mistake? You should also try to understand what kind of mistake that they made. Income? High school grades?</p>
<p>I can tell you that most schools would do the same … if it’s an administrative error, they will not give money just because someone made a mistake. I am not saying this is right or wrong, just that it is standard procedure. Usually, there isn’t any money to cover the mistake (aid is awarded up to the max available, and then there ain’t no more). Again, I am not saying it’s okay … just that this school is not alone in how it was handled.</p>
<p>What would I do if I made this mistake? Cry. 
My budget is gone …</p>
<p>I think if I were in OP’s position I would be really steamy mad and make their life hell. What if OP’s kid had multiple offers, and they picked the one that they thought was affordable then only found out it was NOT affordable? Schools can’t mess with people’s life like that. </p>
<p>How would people feel if they chose a rental which was affordable, but only found out on the moving day that the rental was 2X of what they could afford? Would people just say, “What can we do, it was just a clerical error?” or would they say, “YOU made the clerical error, we had a contract and you need to live up to your end of it.” </p>
<p>What would the FA person do if he/she had gone to a store to buy a shirt and the shirt’s price tag was $20, but then at check out found it was $80? Would he/she just roll over and play dead? I bet you that FA person would tell the store to eat the mistake.</p>
<p>I would ask the school what they would they expect you to do at this point? The school had a contract with you. They made a promise to you of what the discount would be for your kid and you signed the contract that your kid would attend based on the offer. I don’t think they could back out of it now.</p>
<p>I agree with Oldfort.</p>
<p>This strikes me as fraud on the university’s part. They are raising the cost of attending that university after your daughter turned down any other options. You had the awards in writing. In your position, I would speak with a lawyer. </p>
<p>It is not your problem that they made a mistake. It is not your responsibility to say, “oh, o.k.” You have a financial aid letter, thus you have their promise in writing.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to bet there is some small print on the award letter that gives them an out.</p>
<p>They said if we wanted to to contact legal assistance. They are just not going to honor it and it feels very wrong…almost like a bait and switch. Unless I contact a lawyer, then there isn’t much I can do. It is too bad because we loved the school up until this point.</p>
<p>I could be very difficult but I am afraid they will pull the other scholarship next year…but I do have to scramble to make up the difference.</p>
<p>Is the other scholarship that has been awarded renewable with certain terms of agreement? If the scholarship is merit-based, there is usually some promise that as long as a gpa of x is maintained, the scholarship may be renewed.</p>
<p>Did your D get both a Presidential and an Engagement Scholarship? If so, the website clearly states that they cannot be combined. Presidential states that it can be renewed for 3 years “pending acceptable academic performance.” If your D was awarded this scholarship, does the award letter define “acceptable academic performance?” I am assuming that you are only referring to scholarships & not to grants … if it was a grant, and later a scholarship was awarded, the manual adjustment to remove/reduce the grant may not have been made - but due to internal policy, might have to be & so was when the mistake was caught.</p>
<p>I am just trying to offer suggestions about what might have happened …</p>
<p>“if it’s an administrative error, they will not give money just because someone made a mistake.”</p>
<p>That’s exactly what we had happen!</p>
<p>I was telling my husband about what happened on our way home from work this evening. Bait and switch is exactly what I thought as well. I’m so sorry - I’d be screaming right about now.</p>
<p>What school did this? And I think if at all possible, switch schools and get the deposit back. If you take the deposit part to small claims court, it won’t be worth their cost to fight it, so they will end up having to pay.</p>
<p>I am so sorry this has happened to you! What an awful start to your D’s college experience. And from a school that supposedly runs so smoothly! What about going to the top - contacting the President of the university. If they won’t honor the scholarship, they should at least give you more time to come up with the additional funds.</p>
<p>Initially I was horrified by this, but upon thinking about it, it depends. If it is one of those deals where you knew that someone couldn’t get both scholarships but she was awarded it anyways, obviously in error…I wouldn’t fight it. If you read about the scholarships and see that they are in conflict, or see that she wasn’t qualified for the one they pulled anyways, I wouldn’t fight it. You probably have a good idea already if this was a scholarship that she should have gotten, or was it a bonus that you kind of knew she shouldn’t be getting?</p>
<p>If this is something you think she was qualified for, and it didn’t conflict with the other one, I would be angry and fight it. If you knew something was in error and went with it anyways, I wouldn’t press it. Just like when the cashier accidentally hands me back a $20 instead of a $1, I give it back, I don’t think, “Yoo hoo, bonus!” And then when they follow me out of the store looking for their $20, I wouldn’t say, “No way, you gave it to me already.” Only you know what the situation was. I would be enraged if both scholarships were allowed and appropriate, thinking it was a bait and switch.</p>
<p>Not saying this with any legal ramifications, but moral ones.</p>
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<p>If the financial aid person actually brought up contacting a lawyer, s/he may have been trying to tell you that the FA office would never “agree” to giving both scholarships UNLESS they got a letter from a lawyer. S/he might have been giving you the best advice (and biggest hint) on what to do, so I think I’d be contacting a lawyer. There’s no way they could deny that the FA is a major factor in choosing a college. Good luck!</p>