Normally I would not subject my reader...er...readers to a vitriolic diatribe detailing my experience dealing with the probably Satanic/definitely sadistic Financial Aid Office at my school. But, honestly...I just have to vent. My school (by which I mean the Law School in conjunction with the University) distributes scholarship money according to the following process:
1. All students turn in a one page scholarship application stating what their financial need is along with a short paragraph of the "Why I deserve your money" variety.
2. Any student with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) can fill out a Revision Request Form asking to lower their EFC to $0. This is so that students who had an income last year but won't have any income this year aren't penalized in the financial aid distribution process (and apparently the scholarship process since the EFC is indicated along with other financial aid information on the one page scholarship form) for money they made (and spent to live on) while they were working. Per Financial Aid Spokesatan "We understand that 'student poverty' can take a couple of years to catch up with the financial aid distribution process."
3. Once all the forms are turned in and finalized the Financial Aid Office (Satan+minions) takes all the applications that STARTED OUT with an EFC of $0 and gives them scholarships FIRST.
4. Any person who has an EFC of $0 because they filled out the Revision Request Form DISTRIBUTED BY THE UNIVERSITY are considered LAST for scholarships.
5. The reason for this is because...and I quote..."if you filled out a Revision Request Form you have resources you can use to pay for school."
6. WHAT?
7a. Clearly the money I made at my job was used to live on, back when I had a job, over a year ago, when I actually had the job.
7b. Clearly I would not be filling out the Revision Request Form and asking for a $0 EFC if I had loads of "resources" just lying around waiting to be spent.
7c. Again, WHAT?
The absurdity of this process is overwhelming. I am someone who is used to dealing with bureaucracy at its most inane and still, I'm kind of shocked. The only thing that could make it worse is if they issued me less financial aid than last year, raised my tuition over $1,500, and then told me I would just have to spread the financial aid I am getting for next year over the summer as well (I'm doing an internship for credit) as there is no more aid awarded just because you're going to be paying tuition for an extra quarter...oh, wait, never mind....
