Debts holding you back from an education?
By Sophia Lubin
Have you ever had to pay tuition out of your own pocket even though you know that your scholarship from outside of the school would pay the tuition? Imagine obtaining a scholarship to pay your tuition, and having to take money out of your pocket to pay the school just because of the amount of time the process takes.
In order for the school to receive the scholarship from an outside source, students have to send verification that they are fully registered. Once the trustees get the enrollment verification, they send a check to the school. From my experience, this process usually takes a few weeks or more. The process is done just about every quarter depending on the scholarship requirements. Even though the school is notified earlier of receiving the scholarship money, students are asked to pay the scholarship amount. Last quarter, I had to pay out of my pocket, and when SCAD received the scholarship from the outside source, SCAD promised to reimburse. This process in itself took weeks.
Many students who borrow money to pay off the school expect to get money back as fast as possible. Andrea Hamilton, a first-year fashion student, said, “I believe that if the student is able to pay SCAD they should be able to get the refund back within the same week that the scholarship goes through.” This is an issue that many students go through.
If SCAD does not receive the student scholarship from the outside source before the quarter begins, students have no option but to be dropped from their classes. For example, if the quarter has already begun, professors will receive emails not to let those students in their classes until further notice. This happened to me last winter quarter, and I was so embarrassed having to hear my professor speak to me after class. This can be fatal to a student. If students are not allowed in class after missing five classes, they fail all their classes and loose the money they already paid.
“The concept of having to use your own money and having classes dropped because of a scholarship that the school knows is on the way but hasn’t come through yet is ridiculous!,” said Zoie Johnson, a second-year fashion student. “It’s hard obtaining money from other people to pay for something that has already been paid for by a scholarship. Then the school takes forever to reimburse the money back to the student.”
Many students who I know aren’t able to afford tuition unless they receive help by receiving a scholarship. Asking the students and or their families to pay up front or not attend school is unfair and unreasonable. Lauren Lightsey, a second-year graphic design student explained how she felt: “I feel like that is not a student friendly way of handling matters. If there is a written valid document that says that there is money set aside, and in the process of being sent to SCAD. I feel they should honor that and be a little understanding.” These unfair situations happen to many students. The stress of obtaining tuition money in such a short period of time is extremely difficult. Though the check for tuition is sent on time, the process for the school to show that the money is in the account is the main problem.
“SCAD has set payment due dates that are always the same date,” according to Douglas Belcher who works in the bursar office. He said that if a student has an outside scholarship he or she should share with them the payment due dates. If a student is having difficulty paying a balance, he or she should contact their bursar representative before the due date to see if there are other options available. Outside scholarships don’t have direct communication with the school so the information they have comes from the student/parent.
If any students have any questions about their scholarship the best bet is for them to speak to the bursars and make sure that they get all the right information in order to keep this unfair situation from happening to them.
