FUCHS: Student financial aid issues at Rutgers are part of larger problem
Column: Questioning Jules
This past year, I have had a wild ride of contact with the Office of Financial Aid and trying to finance my education. On several occasions, I was promised a grant or some sort of scholarship money for my academic achievements and been was instead put through the wringer trying to get my money.
One case that impacted several people from last year was the case of the School of Arts and Sciences Excellence Award. I had applied in the summer of 2020 and did not receive any word from the committee until after the 2020-2021 school year had ended.
This seriously impacted my and many others' financial plans. Even if we did earn the scholarship and eventually get our money, now because of loans, we are actually paying more due to interest.
Why is there always so much drama when it comes to student accounting and financial aid? The simple answer is that Rutgers, like any other college, depends on money. Colleges are run like businesses now more than ever, which is why the cost of tuition has increased so dramatically over the years.
With this increase, you would think that the extra money being spent by students would go to the benefit of the University. That said, there are still more issues in residence halls than ever, a problematic bus system, limited dining hall hours, issues with classroom technology and limited on-campus food options.
As always, this is not the fault of the hardworking people who drive buses, serve meals at the dining hall or even assist students in financial aid. It is more than understood that they are overworked and underpaid and that, now more than ever, their workload is overwhelming.
This is an issue with how Rutgers uses its funds and the value of the student experience decreasing. Professors are being grossly underpaid and even not being given the job titles or security clearances they deserve.
Students are being overcharged and not being given the experiences they were promised when coming to college. Internships and research opportunities have been limited due to problems with funding. Scholarships and grants are being limited as well.
This year I had a horrible experience with the Office of Financial Aid. After months of fighting to get a scholarship award sent as a check to be used for thesis-related research, the charges on my term bill kept fluctuating to a point that I had to keep canceling and taking out new loans.
This is another issue that the Office of Financial Aid does not consider. When charges are continuously changed, students who need to take out loans — which to my understanding, is the majority of college students — get completely screwed over.
Your credit score is affected by the number of times that an institution, like loaners, checks your credit, which can end up hurting your overall credit score — as if it is not enough to have a gigantic student loan impacting your credit already.
There is a serious issue with funding and allocating resources to students and academics. There is also an issue of making accessing funds difficult for students who earn money from scholarships and research grants. There needs to be more attention and focus on making the student experience more affordable as well as ensuring students receive scholarships within a reasonable amount of time.
There also needs to be a set limit to how tuition and charges can change and an extension on when the term bill is due. For the bill to be due in August (before the add/drop period ends) does not make sense. This only creates more issues for students when it comes to their tuition charges, especially if they have to reduce their credit loan or add on more credits than planned.
Financial aid and resources need to figure out a better system of charging students fairly and allocating grant and scholarship funds in a timely and efficient manner. There also needs to be more of an effort from the University to add more value to the student experience.
As it is, their efforts are clear and understood, but things need to be made up for. It does not make sense for King Neptune Night (an event that students' dining hall charges go toward) to get canceled when football games, which are arguably more dangerous for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) standards, are allowed to happen.
For the charges students are paying for the dining hall and student experience, there needs to be more of an emphasis on those experiences.
Julia Fuchs is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in history and anthropology and minoring in French and archaeology. Her column, "Questioning Jules," runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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