Delays in financial aid disbursements are causing headaches for many Mississippi State students struggling to pay for their education.
Junior photography major Terrell Lindsey has been in Garner Hall many times since school has started hoping for answers about his financial aid.
“I came in, and they said I was missing a parent signature or something on my FAFSA,” Lindsey said. “I get that taken care of, [… then,] they said I need a verification form.”
Lindsey said he checked on the status of his financial aid as often as he could.
“I just keep checking. They just keep saying two or three weeks,” Lindsey said. “I’m so frustrated, just so pissed off.”
Department of Financial Aid director Bruce Crain said these delays are mainly due to changes in the federal regulations regarding Pell Grants.
“The changes allowed extra Pell Grants in the summer if they are enrolled full time in the fall and spring. On July 1, it was effective for the summer of 2010, but it could be started in 2009,” Crain said. “We wanted those students to get that money, so we did it. We charged head first.”
Crain said software issues required the information to be input manually.
“The Banner system was running slow as syrup. It’s fixed and back up to full speed, but everything was slowed down for a while,” he said.
Crain said this should not happen again because the department is back in its production cycle.
“We’ll be doing the summer Pell Grants with all the other financial aid for the summer. We were robbed of resources and had to back-track,” he said.
For the second time in MSU history, cash advances are being provided to students whose financial aid processing is behind. Crain said students can be allowed up to $750 in advance.
“The first time this happened was in the fall of 1998 when we first got the Banner system. There were delays because of the new software,” Crain said. “This year we knew students had to have a way to buy books and pay rent.”
Crain said he is aware that students are disappointed with the delays.
“I’ve heard students are kind of frustrated and we keep telling them to come back, but it’s hard to predict how long it’s going to take because we were having to process by hand in July. It’s hard to estimate, and we didn’t have definite answers,” Crain said. “The Banner system’s slow-down really caused problems and caused us frustration and caused students frustration.”
Senior communication major Josh Gosa said he had trouble with his Pell Grant and Federal Stafford Loan.
“I definitely filed on time,” Gosa said. “I had to go online to check and see what qualifications I didn’t meet.”
Gosa said he was surprised when he was informed he lacked a form required for processing. He said he straightened out the paperwork and could not understand why he had not received his financial aid.
“On a whim, I went and checked the Pell Grant and FAFSA Web site and saw what I qualified for, then called MSU about why I hadn’t gotten my money,” Gosa said. “They just told me junk.”
Gosa said he was told processing would take two to three weeks.
“After that, I finally got my award notification letter, and I went to the financial aid office. They said it’d take a week and a half to process.”
Many students have echoed feelings of frustrations, discouragement and aggravation.
Junior broadcasting major Sean Daves said he has been seeking answers for weeks about his Pell Grant and student loans.
“They told me just to wait. They keep telling me it’ll be about a week, but that was a month ago,” Daves said. “They won’t tell me why. They won’t tell me anything.”
Gosa said he still has not received his money.
“I just wish they would tell us when policies change or when we need to send in paperwork,” Gosa said.
Crain said students are provided with what they need through the Banner system.
“The award notification letter can be accepted or declined, you can check to see if the FAFSA has been processed, what’s pending and student requirements can be checked anytime 24/7. It’s a good system,” Crain said. “Well, when Banner is running it’s a good system.”
Crain said students are also given information through their e-mail accounts.
“I don’t know if students aren’t checking those or what,” he said.
Students hoping to make sure their paperwork is processed promptly should file their FAFSAs as soon as possible after Jan. 1. The deadline is April 15.
“Between late February and early March is a realistic time frame,” Crain said. “It seems like students turned those in a little later this year, but of course we also have more students this year.”