I recently got a refund (2k) from my scholarship since my tuition was already paid for. I'm going to be a college freshman, and I should be getting refunds from 2 other outside scholarships later in semester (5k in total). I plan on using them to pay for about 2-3k left of my tuition each year my last 3 years since I would no longer have my tuition waiver. However, I am having this strong urge to use it for a kpop concert I really want to go to and I've been waiting for years to go to eversince my childhood (plus flights/hotels, maybe around 2k).

I'm really tempted to use the refund money. Is this too irrational? Or should I go yolo and use it? (I live off campus at home with my parent)

I no longer live with my mother. I try to limit contact between us because she has physically, verbally, and emotionally abused me. She has allowed others to abuse me in the same ways, additionally letting others bully and sexually abuse me. I am covered under her healthcare so I don't know if that would disqualify me from being an independent. I read a post on a different subreddit where someone was in the same boat I was and they said that a third party needs to write a letter describing the relationship between the independent and their estranged parent/s. The person in the post said a doctor wrote the letter for them. Anyways, I live with my retired grandmother but I haven't listed her as a contributor. Will I get in trouble if I don't?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently at 112 qualifying payments under PSLF and have worked for the same state agency for 13 years. I keep meticulous records and have receipts for every single payment.

I recently submitted an Employment Certification Form (ECF), expecting my count to update to 114, but July and August were left off, keeping me stuck at 112. When I contacted Federal Student Aid (FSA), a representative advised me to open a complaint and attach the missing payment receipts. The very next day, another agent closed the case with generic PSLF information and told me to submit a reconsideration request instead. However, I can't submit a new reconsideration request because I already have an open one from over a year ago.

I’ve escalated the support ticket, but I’m at an impasse. Since they already have the payment receipts, what other steps can I take to get this resolved? Are there specific ombudsman channels, congressional inquiries, or other escalation paths you’d recommend? I live in North Carolina if that's helpful.

I requested a government loan from my school for a specific amount but only got $1500, does anybody know why I wouldn't have gotten the full amount? Have been trying to get answers from the loan department at my school but have had no luck! 😭😫💔

I still have a remainder of pending aid and it’s the loans i accepted, but the grants have been sent out. Does anyone know when the loans will be released?

Hi everyone, I’m asking for some help because I genuinely don’t know where else to turn. I need 5,000 MAD (around $540) to cover my university expenses. This university is truly my dream, and I really want to be able to continue my studies there.

Unfortunately, I don’t have my dad or anyone else who can support me financially, and I can’t afford this amount on my own. I have proof of my situation and the expenses and can provide it privately to anyone who would like to verify everything.

This is honestly my last hope. Even a small amount would make a difference, and if you can’t help financially, sharing this post would mean a lot to me. Thank you for reading. ❤️

Hi, I’m actually a transfert student at Unt. The issue is that I haven’t received my fafsa refund yet. I tried to call, they told me I will receive it before school starts but I still haven’t received anything. I have some bills to take care pff and was expecting it to arrive. Is there anyone in this situation or am i the only one?

I recently dropped all of my community college classes because I no longer wish to pursue an education at the moment. My Pell grant was already disbursed but I have t received it and my tech told me that when I receive it I have to pay it back. I read somewhere that my college will think that I’m trying to cheat them so they will ban me. I didn’t want to cheat them I simply wanted to drop the classes. How do I go about this.

I was searching for scholarships to do for my school cause yk we gots to get this money why I stumble upon this entry it says an essay between 1,000 and 3,000 words on what steps I’m going to take to further my career for 1,000 bucks 😭 HOLY SHMOLLY it’s definitely doable but dang

My son is entering his Sophomore year at UW Madison. He qualified for the Pell Pathway last year, which made Madison a realistic choice financially. Without it, he was going to settle for another UW system school which was offering a very attractive aid package. He loves Madison and is looking forward to his Sophomore year.

Here’s our problem, and I say “our” because my finances are complicating things. After 39 years as a public school teacher, I retired at the end of the 23/24 school year and began taking my pension. Unexpectedly, I returned to work 1/2 time for the 24/25 school year when they were unable to find someone to replace me. In addition, my financial advisor advised that I convert a chunk of my traditional IRA into a Roth IRA each of the last 2 years. This resulted in an inflated AGI (adjusted gross income) for 2024 and 2025 (Sophomore and Junior years). I’m now fully retired and living off my pension supplemented with cash savings which should carry us over until I claim social security in a few years. I had anticipated that our income after retirement would be low enough to continue making Madison an affordable choice for our family. The SAI result on our FAFSA this year was shockingly higher than last year, and I anticipate that it will be the same next year before this “high AGI bubble” passes by his Senior year. This puts quite a bit of strain on our finances. Being a novice to this whole process, I didn’t anticipate the impact my retirement/temporary unretirement would have on my son’s Pell Pathway. I was mistakenly under the impression that the “once you’re accepted into the Pathway you’re in for 4 years regardless of changing income” meant an affordable path through all 4 years, which gave us the confidence to believe we could afford a 4 year path at UW Madison. It’s now going to be a struggle.

Sorry for the very long post. Just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences in the Pell Pathway? Do you think a ”special circumstances appeal” would have any chance of success since I am now fully retired and anticipate a much lower adjusted gross income here in 2026 and beyond?

So I am checking my portal and it says disbursement August 23 which is a Sunday. Did anyone get a new update yet? I have never seen a disbursement on the weekend and I’ve been at the school for a year now I’m hoping the date changes again. I’ve been checking throughout the day. Did anyone else from University of Phoenix receive any information on this? I understand some people are in a situation right now due to whatever the bill was that the president signed, but I was told by a financial rep that it does not affect everybody and mine was not affected. I’m an undergraduate student that Bill only affected graduate students so my loans should not be affected at this time, any updates would be nice. The financial office never knows anything. They keep telling us to keep an eye on our student portal.
The first disbursement was supposed to be August 13, then it said August 22, now it says the 23rd. Also, the pilgrim has been released, but the other two loans have not which is weird because they usually release at the same time no matter what’s going on.

I’m entering my 3rd year of Nursing and recently applied for OSAP, but I was assessed for $0. I work part-time, but I don’t make enough to cover my tuition on my own.

There was also an issue with my mom’s tax information that she’s been trying to resolve with the CRA for the past few weeks, so I’m pretty sure that’s affecting my application. My brother is entering his 1st year and received OSAP, so I’m confused about why I received nothing.

I genuinely can’t afford to pay my tuition out of pocket, as I receive no financial help from my parents. Are there any options for me? I’m really not sure what to do.

So im on hold at the moment with financial aid. My loan is less than what fafsa offered me on my 26/27 letter. I am a full time student and with my pell grant and I only received 2,500 in loans and it's not enough to cover my tuition. Is anyone else having this issue?