Navigating the financial aid process is not a breeze, according to opinions writer Livie Hall
BY: LIVIE HALL
Managing Editor
The number I pulled from the ticket machine was C26. The number B88 glared in red as the out of tune buzzer rang for the next person to enter the Financial Aid office. I sat with around 20 other students in the DMV-like waiting area, each one of us with the same scowl sitting upon tired faces.
“89. B89,” the grumpy Financial Aid lady called to the room.
The lucky student followed her and her bad attitude into the office. I looked down at my number. I let out the first of many heavy sighs and seriously questioned how bad I wanted to go to Meramec.
If you have dealt with Meramec’s Financial Aid office, then you know annoying is an understatement. As a transfer student and a sophomore, all I wish for is a peaceful transition and quick start to this new school. Between the miscommunication and lack of organization, my paperwork and I have made it into classes by the skin of our teeth. Basically, Meramec’s Financial Aid office is where dreams go to die.
This is not coming from a negative place, but rather, a realistic one. The diversity of students at Meramec is a beautiful thing, but it can hurt each of us in the enrollment process. There are freshmen, transfers, older students and part timers – all of whom are lost souls in the financial aid line. We all have different problems and financial woes, and most of the people that work in the office show zero sympathy.
The average college student has close to no money and is trying to afford school with the help of their parents, a part time job and loans. Society has told our generation to graduate high school so we can graduate college so we can have a career for the rest of our lives. Yet the price of the college experience is such a difficult cost. Not only is the price of college excruciating in itself, the financial aid office makes it so much more complex than it needs to be.
I have gone into the office around ten times, and each time I have sat down with a different person. They all gave me different advice. The advice they gave hardly brought me to the place they said I would be – every new road was a dead end. At one point they took my contact information to get back to me, and I am still waiting on that phone call.
I have waited for a scholarship to go through that should cover the total cost of my classes, and I am still waiting on it because an advisor put me in the wrong program. Shame on the advising program for that crucial mistake, as well as financial aid who should have known I was not where I needed to be.
I have found my solace in my fellow classmates who have encountered their own problems with financial aid. Together, we have helped each other make sense of our situations and tried to come to solid conclusions. At this point, I am riding on a wave of hope and blind faith that my classes will be paid for. I have fought for two months to be at this school, much like many other students, and it would be nice if the financial aid office showed a little appreciation for our efforts.
Now that I have made the issues very clear, let’s talk about ways to handle it.
The best advice anyone could give is to get your paperwork done as soon as possible. Begin planning for your next semester while you are in your current one.
If you are a first time student, there can be almost ten separate forms of paperwork you need to fill out. Use your Banner Self-Service account to find the paperwork you need. Financial Aid will not call you and ask for anything or let you know what you need. It is all on you.
This is frustrating, but make friends and have them help you. They will be better help than anyone in that office.
Rather than letting it get to you, just take a deep breath and call someone else -–I have learned the hard way with that; trust me, you will never talk to the same person twice.
After the initial ridiculousness, the Meramec experience is an awesome one. Get to know your teachers and show yourself the campus. Your wallet will take a punch, as well as your nerves, but nothing worth fighting for comes easily.
