| Show Points W Nests West's est s C Columnist 0 1 L Looks 00 k s 1 At At Financial Aid Frustrations J f l t if en Green n fP i I WAS MAD On the first day of sch school l I waited waited in li line e an hour to claim my financial aid check An hour was a long time long time to wait walt to find put out that my money was not there ere More than on once e I r wa waited fed in line am i than n once e I t r wa was as s told wid l rid 6 U money S Like many others I was frustrated I felt like my Equal Educational x Opportunity had been denied I had no money to buy books I was getting behind i k in m my my classes I want wanted d ar answers awers answers and nd a action t n as as ai result d and made an i. i appointment to see Gayle Norman director of financial aid k Ms Norman Norma was a good listener She listened to all my woes and complaints f then she explained the problems r. r First the State Board of Regents mandated the use of a new system starting r this quarter The new system is complicated at best it requires four four days to rE f s complete the process Second the new system came complete with new problems Financial Aid personnel were as frustrated with the new system as t. C were the students Ms Norman apologized to me and to all students for the r m inconvenience Finally she explained that as I had not registered pre-registered for twelve t credit hours my check had been sent to the sidelines early in the game If I received my check two weeks later than expected By that time I had talked 17 vf with Gary Carpenter head cashier and with again Ms Norman The 1 L. L 5 experience nce taught ugh me e four rules that everyone should follow to avoid frustration K ff and a financial crisis J 1 If you make it through the application and are finally awarded a grant or loan dont don't mess things up by registering for less than the minimum required r credit hours If the classes you want are full register for anything Ch Changing classes is easy but waiting two weeks for your money is not 2 Dont Don't lean on financial aid especially for expenses other than college If H r you plan on using the money to pay rent or the light bill your payment will surely be late Ms Norman stated that all students should have an emergency A survival plan to fall back on in case of delays in If receiving ng fin financial aid 3 Do not and I repeat do not get angry with the cashiers One cashier One cashier said that no noo one e person o is s r responsible spon for d delays Jay Complaining Complain makes o only rp iS every r vf r r o one e unhappy L h J if t r 4 Try to wa wait t a week or orm more re before picking up your money Dont Don't waste wast yo your r A time in that crazy line Registration will hold your classes well past mid Here at we should feel privileged Some schools in Utah wait until the third week of the quarter before issuing checks at all The Financial Aid offices help approximately students to receive aid each quarter That means that over a third of our is given the chance to receive an education that they otherwise would not receive I WAS MAD But not now Im I'm okay Gayle Norman summed up our responsibility best Along with the receive aid comes the responsibility ry to contribute your own efforts in obtaining an education |
