Observer

Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: News

The fincial aid office located on the third floor of Blumenthal Hall

At the beginning of every fall semester, the lines at the financial aid office in Blumenthal Hall are long and winding with students. Some are wondering why their financial aid has yet to be processed, while others are appealing for more aid to cover tuition and housing expenses. Regardless of the reason, students come to the office for some sort of assistance.

As students stand on line, waiting to hear for their signal to step up to the desk or to have a seat in the office until the next available financial aid advisor is available, it becomes overwhelming to some because the hopes of getting all questions answered or situations handled in one visit seems unlikely.

Cierra Farquharson, a psychology major at Rutgers-Newark, describes her experiences with the office as anything but pleasant or easy.

"I haven't had very good experiences with financial aid," she explains. "[The advisers] are never in their office. Incompetent people answer the phone, they put you on hold, and hang up discreetly. And at the office, it's a long line with one representative at the desk."

The financial aid process is a crucial part of attending college for students, since it helps to plan financially for classes and other expenses, as well as sorting out loans that students may need to borrow.

For R-N students that are out-of-state, the struggle of getting in touch with the office becomes an even bigger hindrance as the likelihood of making the trek, for some it would be no less than an airplane ride, is highly unlikely.

Reshma Kaparampil, a sophomore psychology major from Georgia, describes her situation this summer when she became worried when she didn't receive her term bill until much later in the summer, but was not able to speak to any representatives from the financial aid office because of their unavailability.

"I live in Georgia, so I had to get through to them by phone, and it was impossible because they never picked up," Kaparampil explains with frustration in her voice. "I left messages, but they never called me back. I had to deal with them once I got back to school."

"I needed to sort out my work study problem with them because they didn't give it to me this year, even though I was granted it last year," she continues, "but they told me in September when I was finally able to go to their office that the funds for work study were depleted. I put my request in for work study in December, so I was really frustrated. Fortunately, I'm not in a stressful financial situation, but if I was, then I could see this being a devastating situation."

Continued...

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