Financial aid nightmare

UCentral in The Tower at the UTRGV Brownsville campus houses the University Registrars, Undergraduate Admissions, Bursars, and Financial Aid offices.

Joe Castillo/Pulse

The natural light broke through the curtains, shining at my face. The cold air circulating my apartment caused my body to shiver and teeth to chatter. I threw my blanket onto the left side of the bed and opened ASSIST on my phone. I wanted to check if the UTRGV Tuition Advantage had been applied to my Spring 2021 student online bill. However, like I found the day before, it had not. I checked my email, no response from Financial Aid other than an automated reply. I called UCentral. No response for 10 minutes. During the afternoon, I called again but waited for 20 minutes; I got ahold of someone. “When will the UTRGV Tuition Advantage be applied to my student online bill?”, I asked. The staff member said that it would not be applied until Jan. 27, which is census day–the last day to drop a course without it appearing on the transcript. My heartbeat accelerated hearing this. I could not believe that I was not told this during the Fall 2020 semester. Technically, it was awarded, but I did not know that I would have to get an emergency loan.

After the phone call, I dashed to my laptop for more information about getting an emergency loan. I felt lost because my situation was too specific. I am graduating this semester and taking nine credit hours. According to the UTRGV Tuition Advantage webpage, a student must be enrolled in 15 hours for the fall and spring semesters. Although the award for Spring 2021 disappeared briefly, I still had it; the amount changed to reflect how much I owed. Nevertheless, I was still responsible for paying the bill. However, I wanted to make sure that I needed the emergency loan because I was told that once the tuition advantage was applied to my bill, it would pay off the loan. What was I going to do?

I also could not request an emergency loan from home. I grabbed a blue “dad” shirt and khaki shorts and headed to the Edinburg campus. While on the 15-minute walk to UCentral, I practiced what I wanted to say. “Should I rip into them?”, I wondered. That would not be constructive. Plus, the Financial AidOffice changed its process for speaking to a staff member because of the  COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, I entered the Visitors Center and checked in. The receptionist said it would be about an hour’s wait. “I wish I brought something to read,” I thought looking at my rapidly dying phone. An hour passed. Nothing. I could not wait any longer because my phone’s battery was at 2 percent. Without the phone, I would not know when it was my turn. Additionally, it was past 5 p.m. Although I was not sure when UCentral closed, I did not want to wait longerbecause it could have gotten dark. I am not comfortable walking in Edinburg at night after almost getting hit during the summer last year.

The next day, I called UCentral to confirm that I should get the emergency loan. However, it did not go well. I was told that I might not get the tuition advantage because I am only taking nine credit hours. “I called yesterday and was told different information,” I said. “Can you get that confirmed?” I wish I asked for the names of the people I spoke to during all of this because the person on the other side of the call asked if I knew the name. They never introduced themselves. A few minutes later, I was told that I would get the tuition advantage. Why the person seemed not to know much? They were not aware of the changes. Relieved, I ended the call and thought things worked out, but I would get an additional scare.

At 4:34 p.m. Jan. 8, I got an email from financial aid repeating the 15-credit-hour requirement for the tuition advantage. “I should call, just to be sure that things are OK,” I thought. It did not take much time for an answer, but what was said shook me. I was told that a “system glitch” awarded me the tuition advantage. The new person suggested having a 9 a.m. meeting with a financial aid adviser via Zoom on the first day of my last semester. I hung up and started to cry.

The pain from the stress was too much. My body started heating up and hurting. While thinking of how to let it out, I remembered the scene from the Lilo and Stich movie where two main characters, Lilo and Nani Pelekia, screamed into pillows. It helped at first, but the pain in my chest lingered. I did not want to eat or drink; dark thoughts overwhelmed my internal voice. Eventually, my body crashed, and I just forced myself to eat a sandwich. Nothing distracted me from the stress until my roommate returned to the apartment. We spent hours just talking and it helped. The tension in my jaw, shoulders and chest felt as if it had disappeared.

As the meeting came closer with each passing hour, the nervousness grew because I started weaving a web of “what ifs?” The web represented an overwhelming number of different scenarios that could play out.

Finally, it’s 7:30 a.m. on the first day of the Spring 2021 semester. The tip of my nose started to tingle in the cold.I did not want to leave the warmth of my bed. I prepared notes for my meeting with a financial aid adviser the previous night. Additionally, I practiced my voice, facial expressions and hand gestures. I waited for 8 a.m. to receive a Zoom link for the meeting but nothing. I gave them time; however, 9 a.m. came and still nothing. Right before I could panic, I got a call from the financial adviser. They explained they had technology issues and the meeting began. I came into it still thinking of every horrible outcome. Yet, the conversation was warm and helpful. I got an official answer. “You’ve done everything on your end, now it’s our turn,” the financial adviser said. That means, I got the money.

This does not justify what happened. I am grateful for the meeting and results, but the process was intense. Yes, I am a sensitive person. However, miscommunication should not have happened. I hope that the financial aid department works to improve its communication with students, pandemic or not.