Big Trouble! Fall Semester is 1/2 Over, Still no word on loan awards....transfer?

[hockeyguy109]

Hello everyone,

So I was pretty stupid and decided to go to graduate school in Puerto Rico. This is my first semester, working towards my MA. It has been a whirlwind of pain so far. Before I moved here in July, the financial aid office said all my paperwork looks good and I should have financial aid loans coming in at the end of September. Somehow, they misread my FAFSA info and decided I wasn't eligible for loans. I called the Department of Education and FAFSA, and came to the conclusion that I'm eligible for about 128,000 dollars for graduate school. I only need about 10,000-12,000 a year. So this all happened in early September. I went back into the office and they said "now your eligible for 4,000 per year." I asked where they got that number, and if I could see anything in writing, and the head of the financial aid department said "I need to do more research and find out the real number." I went into his office once a week for about 4 weeks, and he still said he's working on it. I don't know what is taking so long, it took me 5 minutes on the phone to figure out the FAFSA issue. About 2 weeks ago, he said "don't come in, I'll call you when I figure it out." I e-mailed a week later asking for an update and still no reply. It's half way through the semester, and there is no word of the reward let alone the loan money. I'm barely surviving week to week, working full time with full time grad school. It's a nightmare. I did the math, and I'll be okay for the semester (barely) but won't be able to continue at this pace for 2 more years. I can't even afford to buy a bed still!

I don't know what to do. It cost me thousands to move here and get settled. I'm thinking about applying to transfer to another school in the states that will give me financial aid. I'm more than qualified, I barely took out anything for undergrad school. It's just that this guy is extremely lazy or just doesn't care. I'm thinking about just applying for the Fall 2013 semester and dropping out after this semester. I'm sure the school I transfer into will understand these circumstances. I'm keeping good grades, love my classes, but if there's no money, I just can't do it. And why work 40 hours a week and take on full time classes when I could go somewhere else, get a litlte financial help, and concentrate on my studies?

Anyways, does anyone have any advice? The reason I'm so torn up about this situation is that the money is there, it's just one guys negligence that's costing me my education. I'm not even that mad anymore, just trying to figure out a way outta this mess. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I figure start applying to transfer now or wait a few more months and see if financial aid comes through? I hate to wait till the last minute.

Thanks for your help.

Edited October 5, 2012 by hockeyguy109