I am looking to return to a school I last attended in 2006. On the application it asks about prior schools. I spoke with admissions about this and they said if you don’t put them on there, financial aid will find out. Now one school from 1998 I don’t believe I put on my application back in 2002 and I had no issues. The school in 98 is trying to charge me for things not having to do with school itself i.e. classes; but rather lies about their housing. Honest to god, lies. Back then cell phones to take pictures were not as prominent so, it wasn’t thought of. Anyway, I attended an online school in 2007 that had extremely stringent coursework, so I left mid semester and all financial aid was sent back; thus a bill for the college exists. Neither of these schools are on my credit report and most if not all financial aid was returned. Also, I am NOT needing any transcripts from either school at there are no grades and I did not use the 98 school in the past. The school I am returning to; I will absolutely not take out any loans due to a different online school taking advantage of people like me and running up 90 grand in loans; these were discharged due to disability but I can never take out another school loan. Not a problem, after that ordeal I have no desire to. What I do not understand, is if I am already approved for financial aid; I was on the Dean’s list four times, I do not owe them any money and haven’t; I am not taking out any loans, the prior schools were in different states… why do they need to know about what I owe prior schools and how does financial aid find out? I was in very bad situations in my past and now 10 years later I am in a very stable environment and know that I will do fine as I did before in this school. I cannot pay these schools back because I am on disability and cannot afford to. The 98 school I refuse to as the charges are made up; they say I didn’t clean an apartment I vacated, but my mother’s day present from friends that year was to clean the apartment for me and I did look, it was sweet of them. They’re adding a charge for not cleaning screens on windows (I lived there about 4 months) on the second floor! How was I to do that? And why would they need cleaning after only four months; no one told me it was a requirement. Just ridiculous charges. Anyway, I desperately want to return to school; finally get a degree (no, the 90 grand for online school did not get me one) and finally get a job in my chosen field. I have spent many years learning about myself, my skills and what I truly want to do. A degree and certificate is required. I don’t know what to do; I don’t want to lie and be found out later, but I don’t want something from years and years ago and another ridiculous online school to get in my way. How will financial aid find out? They did not in the past. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Please help … asap. please.
Advice for all situations and all times: live your life as honestly as you can. Be true to yourself and others.
If you’re much more stable then you should pay your creditors. It’s extremely likely the college will find your name in the clearinghouse database.
OP- anytime you need to give your social security number (to a new employer for example) you are going to be at risk that your past will catch up with you.
Don’t spend the rest of your life living in fear. Move forward. Surely the debt to clean the apartment you vacated has been moved to a collections agency- aren’t they chasing you? Call them-- work out a deal- five cents on the dollar? to clear the debt and move on.
If you live near a university with a law school call them- there will likely be a clinic staffed by law students who are supervised by professors who can take on your case to get you current on your past obligations so you can move ahead.
You need to be honest and list all past co,legs on your applications. You also need to reconcile ANY and ALL outstanding bills with these schools. Until you do, they won’t release your transcripts, and you will not be able to get financial aid elsewhere.
How much are you talking about in charges anyway?
While this is excellent advice for any low income person with legal issues, law school clinics are typically swamped with requests for assistance, and they have limited resources. Usually, only a small minority of those asking for help receive it.
My guess is that someone who is disabled who is making a good faith effort to become financially independent via a college degree except for a pile of educational debt which did not result in a degree could make for a compelling case for a law school clinic.
Agree 100% that there are no guarantees. But the typical “I’m getting evicted because my boyfriend spend the rent money at the casino” case doesn’t have nearly as much pedagogical value as the OP’s case (if I’m understanding the issues correctly- a for-profit online college? Predatory lending practices but no degree? Not sure of all the facts here).
But Belknap is correct- and anyone else with a suggestion of how to find a low cost lawyer- hop on here.
Minimally the federal government now has a database if you have received federal aid. It will be a matter of time before the dots are connected. You would be better served to straighten out your stuff now vs being charged with is representation ( by not disclosing your previous schools) and possibly fraud. You could end up facing charges, having to repay all monies you’ve obtained fraudently getting your admission rescinded or your degree revoked, leaving you with a worthless piece of paper
Ok. Being in a more stable place does not mean I should have to pay a school for fake charges or for 2 weeks of “instruction.” No neither of these schools are calling me, hounding me or anything. The 98 school did not come up in any database in any schooling from 2002 forward. I cannot make a good faith effort. I just finished paying off a private student loan and a tax debt so that I could buy a new-to-me car. I now have a higher insurance premium and a monthly car payment. This is also why I cannot afford a lawyer. The school that took advantage of me; I do not owe any money to. I don’t have a pile of educational debt; one school from 1998 and one school from 2007. Why wouldn’t the current school who let me go there up to 2006 and never said a word about the 98 school and talk to me and let me attend school so that maybe I could afford to pay back schools that have never bothered me and the 98 school that has not obviously been concerned about it ever. I do NOT need transcripts from either school. I do not have any grades from either school. Why is it even important that this information is known? It wasn’t important the prior years I attended this school; why would it be important now?
Ok. well, thank you and I guess I shouldn’t have bothered (school, not you guys). I don’t know why I ever even thought I could do anything better with my life; thanks for your time; I appreciate it, I truly do. I’ll be honest, because I am an honest person an they’ll deny me and I’ll go back to what I have been and let the dream go.
Color me confused. If you answer the questions honestly, why will “they” deny you?
So confused.
If you don’t owe any money, then just list any college you’ve ever attended, mark either “no degree, 50 credits” or “no degree, no credits” or whatever your transcript would state if you had one, and then move on.
You don’t need a lawyer if you aren’t disputing charges that they claim you owe and which you claim you don’t. You just need to honestly list your past educational history…
Done. Nobody is denying you anything here. If you don’t owe a prior school money there will be no problem if the current school contacts them to verify that you were enrolled and then you withdrew.
It’s about your financial aid eligibility, it would show if you have received federal grants or loans. So they can tell you what you would qualify for/have left to use.