A Question in Common

I am having a really hard time deciding what school to attend this fall and had a few questions.  I was wondering what your favorite and least favorite things are about GW. Also, would you still go to GW if you had a chance to do it over again?


I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about an issue that has caused me a lot of stress at GW, and hopefully teach you a few things about financial aid along the way.

My least favorite thing about GW is the cost...and the bureaucracy surrounding financial aid in general. GW is expensive, most people come here knowing that, but really understanding what that cost means, and figuring out how to make sure you've covered all possible costs is more complicated. Hidden costs included plane tickets to and from home to California, books costing more than I anticipated, any trips I wanted to make abroad for University Singers, and several day-to-day costs that I underestimated. My work-study job alleviated some of that, but it also meant that I couldn't put any of that money towards school (which is generally the trend among the people I know who have work-study jobs). My freshman year of college, I owed the school way more money than my parents could ever contribute. I talked to everyone I possibly could, met with every administrator that I could, applied for every possible loan. I tried literally everything. I had financial aid on speed dial. Nothing happened, nothing moved forward, and half the people I got in touch with told me I should consider transferring. Your expected family contribution is a number set by the FAFSA website to determine how much your family (parents) are expected to contribute based on their income. My financial aid package has almost always been less than my EFC.


The hardest part about this whole process is the fact that my parents are both immigrants, so they aren't eligible for most loans and none of my relatives could cosign because none of them are citizens so they're working on building up their credit in the first place. My dad had to take all of his retirement money out for me to pay for the remainder of the first semester. Eventually, on my 3rd appeal letter to Financial Aid-after they'd told me there wasn't any more money for them to grant me-I got a response from financial aid telling me to check my account. Somehow, I'm still not sure how, they were able to find the money to cover the full cost of my second semester.

 It's important to remember that if you can't pay your student account balance until its within $500, you can't register the next semester, which has been a source of huge stress for me at GW. I wish I could say things have changed, but every semester of every year I've been here, there's been a similar trend of me having to register late or finding sometime in the middle of the semester that I'm not going to get the aid I should be getting. 


             The Financial Aid Monster Ahhhhh!

Sophomore year was a little better due to several national disasters and the beginning of the economic downturn, Financial Assistance was a lot more receptive to the needs of students, which meant that while I still had to fight with them for money, it was a lot better than it was in the past and I got answers to my financial aid questions a lot faster. However this year was pretty much the same concept, I applied for aid, waited, was given a lot less money than my Expected Family Contribution suggested I should give, and when I asked why I did not receive a direct response. The situation is compounded by the fact that my little brother started college and my older brother is taking classes to prepare for med school, all of which costs my parents more money at a time when things are becoming more expensive and they make the same amount. That being said, I made a lot of mistakes in the process and I didn't always know who to get in touch with to fix things. I filed for financial aid all four years on my own and I just did it again for a fifth year. This summer I'm staying with a very generous friend and almost all the money I make from my full-time job will be put towards paying for my Spring 2010 semester at GW. That's fine, but it does mean I'm registering late for my ninth semester at GW, and that I'll have to scramble to find money to pay for next semester. I could literally write a book about navigating Financial Assistance at GW if I needed to...I wish I was kidding. Think long and hard about the emotional, physical, and mental costs of attending GW, especially if you know your parents don't make enough to support you.


Tips for Applying for Financial Assistance at GW
**If you want to know how get through to financial aid, I suggest getting your parents involved as much as possible. Parents are always way scarier and they tend to get people moving, especially at a college level.
**It's important to remember that if you can't pay your student account balance until its within $500, you can't register the next semester, which has been a source of huge stress for me at GW, because I have had to register late almost every semester I've been here.
**Hammer out every possible cost you might have. From plane rides to bus tickets to your meals week after week. Even if you only sometimes buy Gatorade at the grocery store, write it down. It's important how much even little things like that could potentially cost you.
**Make sure every single form is turned in on time (and possibly time/date stamped), by financial aid. Turn your FAFSA in at least 3 weeks before the financial aid deadline. TURN YOUR FORMS IN ON TIME. Even if you're in the hospital. Even if you're abroad. Even if you have to use the bathroom and financial aid is closing in 5 minutes...I'd advise you to go to financial aid first. There's been several times where my file wasn't considered complete because of a lost form or once, because they said they couldn't read my tax forms (you don't really have control over it). One summer I submitted the same form 4 times. Last year I had to figure out how to fill out and fax a lost form...from Uganda. If you submit everything on time, you have a lot more control over the way your aid package is handled.
**If you can help it, avoid calling the general line of the office of financial assistance. It will just frustrate you, unless they are willing to put you through with a counselor. Get in touch with a financial aid counselor and build a relationship with them so you can always come back/call and ask them questions. You're parents can be helpful in this because they are more likely to take a parents questions seriously (and they can't discuss a lot of your parents personal financial information with you once its been submitted)
**Even if you can get someone outside financial aid to fight for you, it can be really helpful. I've heard stories of students getting in touch with the right administrator and having all their financial aid issues handled. It hasn't happened to me, but I don't doubt that it happens from time to time.
**Know how much your parents can actually contribute and get a job if you can to cut down costs (don't cry, you'll have to do it eventually)
**Persistence is key. I don't really believe in the word "no." This philosophy might not always work, but it has gotten me this far.


All in all its taught me a lot about my finances (a definite positive), but its also caused me more stress than students should have to deal with while taking classes and trying to grow into "real people." It's definitely taught me a thing or two about persistence. If you have any questions about this process, please ask. It's confusing and way easier if you have someone who can help you through it, which I'd be more than happy to help anybody do since there wasn't really anyone to help me.


Whewwww


Anyhoo, my favorite thing about GW is the environment-the kinds of people that come to D.C., the food, the culture, the professionalism among the students here, and the accessibility of things. I seriously have met people from all ends of the spectrum at GW, something that has made me question the way I look at things, and strengthened by belief system at the same time. The east coast was a big change for me, the culture is a lot more fast-paced than it is in Southern California...I never realized how slowly people move in California until I had to squeeze between people on the way to class in the morning. D.C. is a big mix of young professionals, older professionals, students, tourists, commuters, visitors turned residents, and of course locals--people who live and work in D.C. In addition there is a big immigrant population in D.C. in part because of all the international organizations here, as well as non-profit organizations that cater to the needs of these many populations. I always say this--D.C. is like New York-lite. It has a lot of the great features at New York, but its not as intimidating. This made it a great transition city for me, especially because I had to make a huge adjustment to living on the east coast. I love the food. you probably know this already. I love all food, there are a million great restaurants here. I went to this amazing place called Rasika last night. I'm just going to write you a list of amazing places and you can go from there.


My fellow GW students have also pushed me towards being a more active member of society. Even more than that, they've taught me to be engrossed in what I study, rather than doing assignments for a grade or because of a direct result. Because we are in the center of where decisions are made for the nation-no one understands better than GW students the importance of innovation and staying up-to-date about the important issues in our fields of interest. Many of the policies our country has adopted or implemented in the government started as ideas or theories in classrooms at GW. That concept really baffles me, but it also has shown me that the divide between an idea and something becoming reality is not that big. It's also shown me that the people who make changes are the people who are willing to go beyond an idea and "do." In addition, I feel like there is a lot of expectation surrounding what GW students will produce. It makes us work harder, look for ways to innovate (this is the million-dollar word at GW) in our fields, and think about how what we do/are doing affects society as a whole. I don't meet people at GW who just want to make money, people look to make things personally profitable, then they look for ways to make it financially profitable. Looking back at my college career-which is not yet over-I'd say there were times where I was stressed out, but the experience--the pain, the stress, the happiness, the growing in general--I'd never take any of it back...but a little more aid would've gone a long way.


Til Next Time,


Ekiria


I'll give you a cookie if you ask me a question! : magalae@gmail.com