What would happen if we miss the tuition payment?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I thought this kind of thing could never happen to us, but it just did.</p>

<p>We were so happy to pick up our DD from the airport today. After some small talk, DD said "the deadline to pay my tuition is tomorrow, just to remind you." That did catch me by surprise, I kept thinking it will not due until 1/09, even so we did get an e-bill the other day (did not pay attention). </p>

<p>This past month, I had an unexpected mideical condition, we paid DD's next plane ticket, our caribbean vacation, etc. Our budget was to pay the tuition in 1/09. Our checking account has less than $1200 as of today after paying that >5K Visa bill. </p>

<p>We plan to call school tomorrow and hope they will let us pay the bill late.</p>

2

<p>If a big chunk is paid, many privates will be flexible, sometimes they offer a payment plan option that you effect through a 3rd party.</p>

<p>In our case, we asked to pay over three month and there was no issue.</p>

3

<p>If you're only paying $5,000/semester and you just paid off your $5,000 Visa bill, can't you just call up tomorrow and pay the $5,000 by Visa?</p>

4

<p>The really worst it can happen is they charge you interest on your tuition. D's college charged on a portion of tuition that was not paid because of a partial scholarship.</p>

5

<p>The school would charge a huge fee if we would pay with a creditcard. </p>

<p>I think we could transfer some funds from other account and pay 1/2 of the bill. Hope the school would give us 30 days to pay the rest.</p>

6

<p>I would focus on the unexpected medical condition, not the Caribbean vacation, in making that call :-). Hope all is well with your family's health.</p>

7

<p>Re "our caribbean vacation"? is this query for real?</p>

<p>Obviously one always is sorry to hear of an illness or medical difficulty and I hope that is being resolved. </p>

<p>BUT: If you were on top of things enough to pay the airfare and plan a vacation I find myself hoping that your D's school will not be too gentle in explaining the issue of fiscal responsibility to you. If school originally had the 1/9 deadline and bumped it earlier because of its own financial woes, that is one thing. But if you just had the wrong date and were budgeting on the basis of your own error, I don't really see where the defense is and why there should not be a hefty penalty. I am sure many people are budgeted tightly and are paying tuition and other commitments before making vacation plans. That may sound self-righteous, but from where I sit it is very true. People set priorities; if the vacation came first, so be it. But why should other people (such as a college business dept or parents who are paying on schedule) pick up your slack regarding tuition?</p>

8

<p>I believe the penalty would be a late payment charge. No big deal except a few wasted dollars. Unless signing up for next semester's classes is held up because of the late payment. But I'd assume that the student is already registered for next semester.</p>

9

<p>folks, the reason we are in this mass is because we misunderstood about the timing. We would have no problem if we were to pay in 1/09. </p>

<p>I believe the classes have been registered. We will find out which is higher, late fee or the creditcard fee tomorrow. I guess we will pay alot more attention to the e-bill next time.</p>

10

<p>Policies vary from school to school. At some schools they charge a hefty late fee, at some schools you are locked out so you can not check in for the next term, while at others some your registration is on hold or dropped if the bill is not paid by a certain time.</p>

<p>Stanford states the following</p>

<p>Undergraduate students: All tuition and fees are due the 15th of the month prior to the start of the semester or quarter. Bill sent November 20, 2008 due 12/15/08. Spring bill sent 2/20/09 due 3/15/09</p>

<p>Fingate</a> - Overview: University Billing</p>

<p>
[quote]
Late Payment Fees </p>

<p>Late payment fees are charged to students who fail to pay the balance of their University bill by the due date displayed on the bill. **The full amount of the bill must be received by the Cashier's Office on or before the due date. **Reference Overview: University Bill Payment Methods.</p>

<p>If full payment is not received by the due date, a late payment penalty of 1% of the amount past due will be assessed. If the payment is more than 30 days past due, a financial hold will be placed on the student account. Holds will block future enrollment, transcripts and diplomas. For more information, see the Delinquent Account section below. </p>

<p>Delinquent Accounts
Students at Stanford University must pay all tuition and fee amounts prior to the end of each term. Unpaid amounts will result in the following actions:</p>

<p>*Holds will be placed on the student account which block future enrollment, transcripts and diplomas from being issued. *
Delinquent accounts may be reported to one or more of the national credit reporting agencies.
Severely delinquent accounts may be referred to a collection agency and/or placed in litigation in accordance with state and federal laws.
Students with delinquent accounts may be held responsible for collection costs, attorney fees, and court costs.
Fingate</a> - Overview: About Student Late Fees, Penalties, & Delinquent Accounts

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It sounds like your D registration will be on hold and she will not be able to attend class until the bill is paid.</p>

11

<p>When does your d's term begin? Where my kids go to school, their registration is not valid and they cannot attend classes UNTIL the bill is paid in full (or arrangements such as a payment plan are in place). Does Stanford participate in Tuitionpay or one of the other monthly payment plans? You can find this out by looking on the Bursar section of the school website. If your school allows a monthly payment plan, you can sign up for this immediately and indicate that you want the first payment made immediately. My D also goes to a school on quarters. For the winter quarter, there are three payments. For us, the first was due on December 1, the second Jan 1, and the 3rd Feb 1. Check and see if this is an option. If it is, I would suggest you do this.</p>

<p>In the meantime, I would also have your daughter sign the FERPA consent that will allow YOU to view her student account online and receive billing notification. We did this with both of our kids...after all....WE are paying the bills, not them. In DD's case, we get a monthly email notification to view the student account (the nice thing about tuitionpay is that you can set it up with auto withdrawal from a bank account...all YOU have to remember to do is have the money IN that account). For DS WE get the bill sent here.</p>

<p>Yes, you need to pay attention to the e-bill. My mantra...DEADLINES...DON'T MISS THEM...and that applies to paying the bills also.</p>

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<p>The reason you are in this mess is because you don't have the liquid cash to pay the bill right now. If you hadn't paid for a vacation, that money would be in your account right now to pay the college bill. Of course, it was your choice to take an vacation and everyone deserves one at times...but if money is that tight, perhaps it was not the best choice.</p>

12

<p>I think that DadII posts this stuff for our amusement.....Thumper, you are way more tactful in your last line than I would have been....cudos to you......</p>

<p>typical: brilliant kids, but can't figure out that a Caribbean vacation may eliminate the ability to pay for school....okayyyy...what am I missing here? Hope it all works out and that all is well with the medical issues.....good luck.....</p>

13

<p>I agree, I think he enjoys baiting us. </p>

<p>DadII, what are you thinking? From all news reports and anecdotal evidence here in NYC where everyone is hunkered down sitting on any cash they have left, I think you might be alone on that Caribbean island! We have a crowd here in VT in my parent's modest ski house of folks who used to spend the break in the islands!</p>

14

<p>we did add up all our expenses and all paychecks the other day. We should be able to do all except a new TV. So we did not buy the TV and use an old one for the time being. However, in that exercise, we counted the December and the 1st of 1/09 paychecks. So, by 1/09, we should be fine. Looks like we could pay 1/2 of the bill tomorrow and pay 1% late fee for the other 1/2 within 30 days (that will be 1/15/09). As long as we do not have any more big item purchases, we should be fine. </p>

<p>Thank you all. A lesson well learnt.</p>

15

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<p>Then make it a lean Christmas and pay the college bill. If you're living from paycheck to paycheck as you described above...next time, you might want to rethink that vacation.</p>

16

<p>We are living p to p per our checking account now because we put all other money into a high yield CD. Another mistake on our part. Should have kept 5K at least.</p>

17

<p>Agree with those who feel like pawns in a chess game around here. Besides-- easy solution-- sell that 52" flat screen HDTV, eh?? :D</p>

<p>The school has every right to charge a late fee, to hold registration, or what have you. Why should they float a parent a free 30 day loan? I doubt that is their policy. They have every right to require immediate payment in full on a credit card (even if there is a "convenience fee" to use a credit card, that usually covers the fee that the credit card co charges the school) and/or to assess a late fee. The fact that the studnent or parent didn't check their email and pay on time isn't the school's problem. I am sure with the economy the way it is, they are hearing lots of sob stories about payment problems. I agree-- claiming that one's funds are low in part because of payment of a spring vacation is not likely to win any brownie points with the Bursars office.....</p>

<p>We had to overnight a check one year to the Bursars office one year NOT because we owed tuition $$ but because they hadn't gotten a scholarship payment that came from THEIR INSTITUTION. They didnt care. As far as they were concerned there was a balance on the tuition that HAD TO BE PAID or they considered the bill delinquent. So, I spent some ridiculous amount of $$ to have a check sent via overnight mail (this school didn't take Cr. card payments), and when the scholarship payment posted a few days later, they merely posted it as a credit on DS's account (I didn't get a refund for an overpayment). This was their policy and their right. So, sorry to the OP for his situation-- but time to pay up , IMO.</p>

18

<p>^^ jmy626, didn't you read. We did not purchase that 52" because our budget would allow that.</p>

<p>It is just me or some of you actually, for lack of better words, are enoying our hardship?</p>

19

<p>All busting the OP aside since the rest of you have already done that and apparently have never made a mistake or had a budget issue...this in my mind is another good reason to sign up for the tuition pay plan. You can adjust from month to month and as long as you are signed up and the payments are paid regularly to tuition pay there are no issues with registration, classes, etc.<br>
At least that has been my experience. We are on a direct deposit with tution pay so the money does come out of an account and you do have to be mindful of the date and make sure the funds are there to avoid being overdrawn.</p>

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<p>Please Dad II...stop portraying yourself as a hardship case. People who have hardships financially are not doing any (read that ANY) discretionary spending. They would not be going on an carribean vacation, they would not be buying a SB-800 regardless of the discount. They would not HAVE money to put in a high interest CD. You are not a hardship case. </p>

<p>You forgot to pay your d's college bill. Remarkably you remembered to pay your discretionary bills. </p>

<p>And as I recall, in addition to the large screen TV that broke, you had at least several other TVs in your house that work just fine. Folks who are hardship cases don't have that either.</p>

<p>You constantly whine about your finances...but your postings about your spending consistently contradict your "low income" "hardship" status. Please stop. It is very offensive.</p>

<p>Agreed with ebeee..sign up for tuition pay and just make sure the money is in the account..do auto withdrawal and you'll never forget again.</p>