By Elizabeth Trexler

Everyone at the university knows that there have been problems with delays in student loans this year. But a deeper issue is the things that students were not able to pay for because of the loan holdup.

Kristen S. had to work twice the number of usual shifts at her job at a restaurant in order to continue to pay rent on her condo and to buy her books. This affected her sleep and her grades.

“Some days I worked from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. I didn’t really want to head home and do homework for two hours before work, and I definitely did not want to do homework when I got home from work at 1 in the morning,” she said.

Kristen usually works two to three shifts a week, but when she did not have her money for rent and books she had to start working five to six shifts a week. She said the weekends were the worst because teachers pile on homework but that is the best time to make a little bit of extra cash in tips.

Kristen knows that she is lucky that she has an understanding landlord since she has run into this problem in the past with her loans not coming in on time.

The week before school started Kristen and her boyfriend stood in line for six hours because she wanted to check on how much money she was to receive. When she was finally able to talk to someone she was told that one piece of paper was not signed and that she had not filed her FAFSA. Kristen had filed her FAFSA, but she did not know about this particular paper that needed to be signed.

“The school should send notices if something is missing—you don’t know if something isn’t there if you are not told,” said Kristen.

She had to go back to the Financial Aid office three times for various reasons when her loan would not go through. When it finally did, the semester was almost over.

“I got my money at the end of the first week of November,” said Kristen.

The thing she worried about the most was paying for her books. The university offered $400 to those students whose loan money was held up, but that money went on the ID Bucs system and if it was not all used, even after returning the money received in the loan, it will be given back the university upon graduation.

“You can’t get it back no matter what, and I wasn’t going to give them more money,” said Kristen.

Another problem with the money the university offered is that it can only be used at the campus bookstore. The money cannot be used at the College Store off campus or the SBX. Books at the campus bookstore tend to be more expensive, said Kristen.

Margaret Miller, director of the Financial Aid office, said that EdAmerica, a nonprofit student lender, had problems lending money this year because of new rules made by the government that made it difficult for lenders to access lines of credit. However, Kristen’s loan was not an EdAmerica loan. Miller said that the problem with the lender early this semester did cause a hang up with the Federal Stafford Loans.

There are two problems that normally cause a delay in receiving financial aid, said Miller. There are those students who do not file their information on time. Then there are those students who provide information but it conflicts with what is on their FAFSA.

The Office of Financial Aid has a page dedicated to the important dates for the 2009-2010 school year, and is encouraging students to apply now for scholarships. The office also has tips to streamline the loan process.

Since these problems with EdAmerica were not student-related but company-related, Miller said that the school stepped in to help out the students.

“We were not going to say, ‘Hey you didn’t pay, get out.’ We always have a few who have problems paying, and we try to work with them,” said Bonnie L. Burchett, director of housing.

“For students on campus we allowed them to stay in housing and paid for the meal plans. For students off campus we wrote letters to their landlords saying this was because of loans and we would have the money by a certain date,” said Miller.

Davina Farmer of Evergreen Terrace Apartments said that this year quite a few students were not able to pay their rent because of their loans not coming through.

“We had eight to 10 students who were unable to pay. If they were unable to pay we expected a letter from the university. If they had a letter of proof they would not have to pay the late fee,” said Farmer.

At Campus Ridge Apartments about 15 students were not able to pay their rent.

“We waited until the money came in, but we are not waiting any more,” said Carol Higgins. Campus Ridge had the same policy as Evergreen: The students had to bring in a letter from the Financial Aid office saying these students were not able to pay because their loans did not come in.

Kristen suggests students should keep on top of the Financial Aid office to make sure they know what they need if there is a hold up with their loans. Each student who deals with the office should keep a copy of every paper they turn in to the office so they know what they turned in and what they didn’t.

“This will help keep the university and the student accountable.”