I found out just 8 weeks ago that I was eligible for a possible Federal Pell Grant to go back to college. After filling out the forms online and submitting them with the college of my choice listed I was eligible for a $5K grant. I was thrilled! But it only started an 8 week long headache.
It is not as simple as it might seem because the local community college has some rather strange procedures in place to prevent you from using that grant right away. First you have a deadline to apply and get all of your paperwork in by. This is usually 2-3 months ahead of the start of the school term. I was lucky in that I got mine in 3 days before the due date. But wait, the college has more waiting time. They claim that they can only process the award once you have enrolled in the college and taken a placement exam which costs $30. Ok so I did that. Then you have to wait for an orientation date for new students before you can sign up for any classes. Of course I had to wait 2 more weeks for that date. Only after you sign up for 12 credits worth of classes can they process the award, which they claim might take 8 weeks more but your classes now start in 4 weeks!!! Top that off with the fact the college will be closed for one week due to budget cut backs, so more delays. Of course in order to start the classes you need the grant money to pay the tution and buy the books. If you drop the classes because you can't pay for them then the award might not go through!!!! Also if there are any changes made to the Pell Grant after it reaches the college, even if it means getting a higher amount awarded, it could add 2 more weeks to the process.
Is Obama listening to all of this? Could the federal government step in an stop all this red tape? Do they really want people to go back to school or is this kind of some sick joke that both federal and local governments are playing on us?
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