Garcia is a fifth-year history student.
By Gina Garcia
It is unbelievable to me that despite the effort, care and
concern the university’s Financial Aid Office has shown me,
some students, such as Jeannie Quiris, blame their ignorance of the
whole process on the financial aid officers (“Financial
Aid Office isn’t student-friendly,” Daily Bruin,
Viewpoint, Feb. 8). Their job is not to give us money; they are
merely the administrators of the government’s money.
It is the student’s responsibility to understand and
properly fill out legal documents, not the duty of the FAO.
Who’s paying this money back anyway? The FAO or the
student?
It has been my experience here, as a re-entry student and a UCLA
tutor, that many students today believe loan money is some form of
entitlement. As if this was their parent’s money, and UCLA
was just transferring the funds. This money belongs to the
government, and as such, they are not readily going to hand out
funds without proper documentation and protocol. In the real world,
if you don’t read the fine print or you don’t make your
payment on time, you will face financial consequences.
Quiris’ inability to follow through and understand the whole
process is not the fault of the FAO.
When I was planning to transfer from community college, I
applied to three UC schools: Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego.
Because I am a 33-year-old single parent, low-income and re-entry
student, I could not afford to pay application fees and the fee
waiver only paid for three. I was taking my chances but
fortunately, I was accepted to all three schools.
My family lived in San Diego; I lived in Huntington Beach,
closer to Irvine, but UCLA was my dream. I got on the UCLA Web site
and started navigating through the Financial Aid Office site. I
needed answers regarding the extent to which they could provide me
with enough money to cover my expenses above and beyond tuition and
fees. I made contact with Gretchen Fine, my financial aid
counselor, and she made a personal effort to make it possible for
me to accept the offer for admission to UCLA.
But it doesn’t stop there. Each year, I have had
additional familial expenses and some sudden emergencies that I
need financial assistance with. Gretchen has always been readily
available, either by phone, e-mail or in the office. I have never
waited more than five minutes to meet with her and in the meantime,
the people at the counter have been more than helpful in answering
my questions.
And that is the key phrase here. They answered my questions. It
is not their job to hold your hand through this process. It is not
like being at home and having daddy tell you it is time to do your
homework or brush your teeth. Each correspondence the FAO sends out
is filled with detailed instructions on how to follow through to
receive your aid in a timely manner. If I failed (and I have
through procrastination) to turn in my financial aid documents on
time, then my funds were put on hold. There have been discrepancies
in my SAR in the past that held up my aid.
Perhaps I can make a suggestion to educate her in this matter.
Go to Barnes and Noble and buy “How to Finance Your College
Education.” It was the cheapest $20 I ever spent!