Student Perkins Loans were canceled for my WHOLE university?? Why, how, and who to call,?
November 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Student loans
I’m attending school this fall a Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. I’m a graduating senior w/ only 24 units left (about 6-8 classes). I have no help from anyone except myself & govt aid. My parents’ house is in foreclosure & I have bad credit (from medical bills) and am unable to get a private Student loan & have no one to co-sign. I just checked my award and it was ~$4,000 short. . . just enough so that I wouldn’t be able to pay rent. I called my Fin Aid office and was told twice that the reason it’s short is because my Perkins loan was taken away (~$4,000), I asked why and was told that ALL Perkins loans at Cal Poly Univ. were canceled mid-summer for any student who had not already accepted the loan (there is no deadline for accepting fin aid awards). I asked why, she said it had to do with the state of California budget. I asked how I could possibly get this money back, she said there is no way & that she can put me on a “wait list” for “help. ” So as of right now I am short too much money to leave for school at all. I don’t want to get stuck in california w/o being able to pay rent. So basically, after being in school for 6-7 years (!) I’m going to have to drop all of the classes that I’m scheduled for this fall (school starts sept 22nd), not get my degree, even though I only have 24 units left?! What the heck do I do? I’ve talked to ACS (servicer), BofA (lender), Wells Fargo (lender), my Fin Aid office, and my gaurantor (EdFund) and everyone is clueless and giving me the run around.
and I already have all the grants I can get (3: cal, pell & seog)
This is happenning all over the place. The state is essentially broke and they took money from every area. The problem lies with the state constitution requiring the budget to be passed with a 2/3 majority. And since some Republicans are needed to pass a budget and since the Republicans insisten on no new taxes, instead cutting programs all over the place, you came out on the short end of the stick.
Basically fault lays at the feet of the Republican members of the state legislature who insisted on all theseprogram cuts. And the idiots in New York who brought the financial system crashing down.
Of course, knowing this does not help you a bit. You may have to ry to find a job and try again next year. Ir see if a church or some place can help you find a cheaper place to live.
I suggest seeing if you can make a stink about this in the press to see if people might step forward to help you out. Maybe say that you will still go to school but they have to expect this homeless person livingon the campus.
I don’t get it. Perkins Loans are a federal program, not a state program, so I don’t understand how your Perkins Loan was affected by the Cal State budget mess. The only thing I can think of is that the entire program ran out of funds, or that funds are dispersed by state, and Cali used up its allocation early. Wow.
If you withdraw from school, your loans will require you to start repayment in 9 months, and you won’t have a degree. That’s not an option.
You only have 24 credits left. That’s two semesters. We need to find you a way to stay in school. Some options:
- Ask your school about becoming a resident assistant, and live on campus. Give up the apartment. RAs are the students who live on the hall and plan programs for students. You often get free room with that job.
- If you currently are not sharing an apartment, do that instead of living on your own. If you do have a share, ask your roommates if you all can take in an additional person, and share your room with them.
- Get a part-time job and earn the money. Do you already work? You may need a second job. Try to get a job on campus, because those tend to be the most flexible re: studies. Security, for example, is great, because you can study on the job.
- See if the school itself will loan you the funds. Not many schools will do this, but some will. You’d then need to pay back the school before you graduate – but if you worked during the term and made payments, you could do so.
- Join the National Guard or military reserves. They’ll pay for your schooling.
- Speak to your department head. Are you a good student? It’s worth discussing your situation with the head of your academic department. If they have any merit scholarships to give out (if, say, someone had said they’d attend, got the scholarship, but then chose to go elsewhere), you may get it. Don’t count on this. It’s a 1/1,000,000 chance, but it’s worth a shot. BTW, don’t ask for the scholarship. Just tell him your situation, and ask for help.
When I was a sophomore, I was short of funds, having spent all my money on my first year. Even with financial aid, I had unmet need, as you do. I was desperate. I did all of the following:
- Spoke to my dept. head, who gave me one of the scholarships I mentioned. I just about died. That covered tuition. Believe me, I know I was blessed. I then needed to fund the rest, so I. . .
- Got an extra job on top of the jobs I already had, and
- Became an RA, for the free room.
My back up plan was the US National Guard.
I want you to finish school, but you may need to do some/many of the things I suggested, to get through the year. But Cal Poly SLO is a really good school, and you are SO close to graduating, it’ll be worth it. If it’s the National Guard, it’s the National Guard. You do what you have to do.