Sunday August 22, 2004

Let me tell you how crazy financial aid is. After you've filled out a stack of paperwork; after you've given them your life story and your parent(s) life story; after they know everything about you from your annual income to your shoe size, then they decide to give you some money. They don't give you that money, though, even though you're the one that should get it. They give it to your school. The school then decides when to give it to you. In my case, I get it sometime after the first day of class.

Not all of it though. I have $160 tied up on my "gold card" because of them playing middle man with my dough. You see, you have to go to the business office and have your money put onto your gold card, which is like a credit card for the school. It works in everywhere from the bookstore to the vending machines around campus.

I'm not telling this very well. I'll start over. My financial aid was processed and apparently sent to my school and not to me. They automatically took out charges for tuition and whatnot. That's fine I guess, but then give me the goddamn money so I can buy books. They didn't do that. I had to go to the business office and have some of the remaining aid onto my school's gold card.

I had to buy books with it and wasn't sure what it was it was going to run me, so I put $500 worth of aid on it. Then I bought books. Sounds simple enough, right? It wasn't.

Books ended up being only $340. I think I saved some by not getting a few optional books because when I first price checked everything online a few weeks back, it was over $400. So I have an extra $160 on my gold card. No big deal, right? Wrong.

But let me back up a little before I tell you why that is. This is very unorganized, huh?

It was a lot of unnecessary work just to buy books. I had to make a special trip to the business office, wait in line, fill out paperwork, wait in line at the next desk, and have this woman go put it on my card. I have a checking account and a bank card. I can do all this on my own much faster and easier. Damned morons. I can put it in my checking account and use my actual debit card to buy anything I need from wherever I can get it the cheapest. I like that.

The business office was even closed for all but one hour on the day I had planned on doing this too, so it was that much more of an inconvenience. Took two days to buy a couple of textbooks.

Anyway. Back to why $160 left on the card sucks for me. You see, in that paperwork I had to fill out and sign, it said "the balance remaining on my Gold Card can be refunded only upon my graduation, termination, withdrawal, or transfer from the University." That means there's $160 I can't touch until I graduate... or transfer, flunk out, or drop out.

I had actually planned on buying books online because I can get everything I need for a fraction of the cost. That isn't so anymore. I pretty much HAVE to spend that $160 at the school or else it's tied up for a hell of a long time. Years. And let me tell you, $160 is a lot of money for an unemployed, full-time college student. It really sucks.

Waaaaah. OK, I feel better now. I start school tomorrow. Maybe I'll do another update... Or I'll do it at the end of the week.