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katekatIs that really how we spell debacle? I'm too lazy at this moment to look it up.
The day began with two calls. One, the eye doctors office, was to set up an appointment for a contacts exam on Thursday. They were pleasant, sweet and accomodating. Everything people who actually render service to the public can be. Which is why I called them first. I don't know if I've ever bothered to mention it before, but I am not a morning person.
Call number two was to UT Financial Aid. Can you hear the rolling thunder of doom begin? I should've. I've called them every week for most of this summer, and other than them telling me they couldn't tell me much and that my financial aid counselor would get back to me, I haven't really had much luck but I haven't been that worried. I kept getting told that I simply needed to wait. That my financial aid awards were there they just were locked up in that mysterious bureaucracy they call administration, and that everything turn out allright. But tomorrow, tomorrow tuition is due. So I decided today that I was going to get answers, no matter what.
The answers I got were the worst kind. A little while ago I was told I qualified for a Pell grant. Today I was told that I categorically did not qualifiy, nor could I ever have, and I should not have ever seen it as a line item in my financial aid.
I threw a tantrum. I know, it's the most horrible thing to do, but after all these weeks of calling them and asking if everything was going to be ok, and having them half-heartedly go 'sure, sure, sure' to have them rip away 1/4 of my tuition the day before it's due because some idiot didn't realize I already have a bachelor's degree (hence my disqualification - apparantly if you've got one, you're forever barred from getting a Pell grant). It's not like I've EVER hid the fact that I already have one! It's not like I started a conspiracy and pulled it out of my transcript and tried to pretend that I was something I wasn't. Heck, everytime they confirmed my identity I actually had to tell them the name of my former university because that was the most recent data in my file prior to UT. So when they tell me that my financial aid counselor, a woman I've never actually been able to get ahold of, despite calling numerous times on different days, was the one who'd gotten my financial aid wrong and told me I could have money I couldn't, when this is supposedly the woman who's familiar with my case and been managing my financial aid for the last two years, I pretty much lost it. Completely.
Hey, who said old fashioned tantrums aren't fun?
I did finally get in touch with a supervisor, calm down, explain myself rationally, and she dug up some money somewhere for me that was immediately put to use. Apparantly she found me some kind of an out of state Texas tuition grant (and I wonder if they made it up or something?), and then all I had to worry about was dealing with finding some money to live on. I mean, Neil's willing and all, but care and feeding of Kates is quite expensive.
By 11 am, we'd finished filling out all of the paperwork, and I trudged into work. Where it was actually a pretty fabulous day - we got work done, I was introduced to new makeup (sometimes it is fun to be a girl) and my boss-lady was a sweetheart about the fact that I arrived an hour and a half late due to the evils of the UT financial aid system.
So I guess all's well that ends well. I just don't ever want to deal with those FinAid people again. And I've got at least two more years of this crap. Something to look forward to.
The day began with two calls. One, the eye doctors office, was to set up an appointment for a contacts exam on Thursday. They were pleasant, sweet and accomodating. Everything people who actually render service to the public can be. Which is why I called them first. I don't know if I've ever bothered to mention it before, but I am not a morning person.
Call number two was to UT Financial Aid. Can you hear the rolling thunder of doom begin? I should've. I've called them every week for most of this summer, and other than them telling me they couldn't tell me much and that my financial aid counselor would get back to me, I haven't really had much luck but I haven't been that worried. I kept getting told that I simply needed to wait. That my financial aid awards were there they just were locked up in that mysterious bureaucracy they call administration, and that everything turn out allright. But tomorrow, tomorrow tuition is due. So I decided today that I was going to get answers, no matter what.
The answers I got were the worst kind. A little while ago I was told I qualified for a Pell grant. Today I was told that I categorically did not qualifiy, nor could I ever have, and I should not have ever seen it as a line item in my financial aid.
I threw a tantrum. I know, it's the most horrible thing to do, but after all these weeks of calling them and asking if everything was going to be ok, and having them half-heartedly go 'sure, sure, sure' to have them rip away 1/4 of my tuition the day before it's due because some idiot didn't realize I already have a bachelor's degree (hence my disqualification - apparantly if you've got one, you're forever barred from getting a Pell grant). It's not like I've EVER hid the fact that I already have one! It's not like I started a conspiracy and pulled it out of my transcript and tried to pretend that I was something I wasn't. Heck, everytime they confirmed my identity I actually had to tell them the name of my former university because that was the most recent data in my file prior to UT. So when they tell me that my financial aid counselor, a woman I've never actually been able to get ahold of, despite calling numerous times on different days, was the one who'd gotten my financial aid wrong and told me I could have money I couldn't, when this is supposedly the woman who's familiar with my case and been managing my financial aid for the last two years, I pretty much lost it. Completely.
Hey, who said old fashioned tantrums aren't fun?
I did finally get in touch with a supervisor, calm down, explain myself rationally, and she dug up some money somewhere for me that was immediately put to use. Apparantly she found me some kind of an out of state Texas tuition grant (and I wonder if they made it up or something?), and then all I had to worry about was dealing with finding some money to live on. I mean, Neil's willing and all, but care and feeding of Kates is quite expensive.
By 11 am, we'd finished filling out all of the paperwork, and I trudged into work. Where it was actually a pretty fabulous day - we got work done, I was introduced to new makeup (sometimes it is fun to be a girl) and my boss-lady was a sweetheart about the fact that I arrived an hour and a half late due to the evils of the UT financial aid system.
So I guess all's well that ends well. I just don't ever want to deal with those FinAid people again. And I've got at least two more years of this crap. Something to look forward to.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 03:13 am (UTC)At least there was some form of grant found.
And yay for makeup! Every now and then it's fabulous to get some new make-up. And double yay for understanding bosses.
~e!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 03:41 am (UTC)(hugs the Kate tight)
-BJ
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:10 am (UTC)HEE. Perhaps we will go and buy this prettified makeup while you're here? I don't know if i'm going to get a chance before then, and I want some for this wedding we're going to in September - it really makes *alllllllllll* the redness go away, and it's just a mineral-based pressed powder!
Yeah, understanding boss definitely helped out. Also helped that I knew she was going to be understanding before I called her. There are some plusses to this small business thing.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:11 am (UTC)*looks around* I didn't say that, did I?
*clings* how's your relaxation going?
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:19 am (UTC)The big flaw with that scenario? The companies would just jack up their rates, reboot the lost data from their myraid backup sources, take outrageous advantage of the resulting political pity-party, and nothing would change.
Cynical? Moi?
-BJ
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:20 am (UTC)And you are SO right. damn them.
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:22 am (UTC)How you doing lady?
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:48 am (UTC)I'm so glad to hear that you got it worked out. Yay you for kicking some serious ass.
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Date: 2006-08-16 04:48 am (UTC)you're so right about the institutionalisation thing=rudeness (altho' I could go on about the decline of customer service in general, but it's not pretty, so i'll abstain, lol)
~e!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 05:00 am (UTC)gah - I'm right there with you about CS too! it's ok though, we'll kvetch another time about it.
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Date: 2006-08-16 05:57 am (UTC)Glad the rest of the day was much better.
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Date: 2006-08-16 08:14 am (UTC)But now you have the funding sorted out and maybe can get a part time job or something to help the Corporate Pirate with the lookin' after yerself?
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Date: 2006-08-16 11:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 01:40 am (UTC)it so does! which sets a very bad precident for next year.
And thanks! it really was better. Course, I could've been walking over hot coals and it *still* would've been better. *grin*
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Date: 2006-08-17 01:44 am (UTC)And yeah, i have the part time job, and am a gigantic weenie and don't know if i can handle the pressure of keeping it and keeping up with class. But I am going to attempt to do my best and do both. Huzzah to the partime-jobbiness of it all! And The Corporate Pirate!! I'm *so* going to have to tell him you called him that!! He even has a pirate shirt from our stint going to Renaissance Faire! hee.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-17 08:17 am (UTC)Well, at least if you have it you can quit and say you tried, thus proving you wanted to at least? But once you get into the swing of part-time job and studentage, it might be okay? At least, that's my plan too, so, urm, hopefully it WILL be okay. Which is slightly better than my plan b which was to pick up another part-time job again and do two part-time jobs and uni. I... will see how much work I have to do for uni first, though.
Hee. It is now his name. :D
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Date: 2006-08-18 01:01 am (UTC)tho, why would you need two jobs miss mish? that seems... drastic... (but then again, it's probably because my basic state of rest = lazy)
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Date: 2006-08-18 07:46 am (UTC)See, the thing about me is. I tend to enjoy money. The more of it the better. :D (My basic state of Being = lazy, too! It's just that urge to create money can jar this slightly...!)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:20 pm (UTC)Two jobs instead of one? Doesn't that make just a SLIGHT difference?? I certainly think it does.
Not that I'm arguing against the whole enjoyment of money aspects of jobs! Oh no! Especially when it means one can afford all kinds of lovely things. MMMM. lovely. (and yes, i just bought myself cruelly expensive makeup, which is one justification for the job!)