Do I Still Have To Pay The Money Back?

Dana is a student worker on campus who is working part time in the financial aid office this term, mostly answering calls from students. Most of those calls are about money, as you might guess, specifically; Where is it.? Where is my money? That is what most students want to know.

Dana is used to these calls by now and due to having been trained for this position has learned the procedure for informing the student if or when their money will be released.  While searching the student's record she can further determine if the student is lacking anything in their file which could be causing a delay. After a few weeks Dana has gotten used to these calls and, being a student her self, she appreciates the concerns of the caller.

But, Dana was not entirely prepared for the call that came to her one afternoon recently. The caller was a student who had received a letter informing her she had been dis-enrolled by the university due to failing grades.  At Dana's school dis-enrolled means kicked out. The student now had one thing on her mind.  She asked Dana, " Do I still have to pay the money back?"  By this the student meant the loans she had received to pay for her schooling while she had been attending.  After checking the record Dana's reply was, "Yes."  Yes, that caller ,who had completed three semesters, did owe the money.

This incident illustrates one basic, simple and critical factor about your higher education. Whether you complete your schooling or not, if you have accepted loans for college you will have to pay those loans back. You will.  They are loans and loans must be repaid.

Quit, kicked out, didn't go back, just forgot about it. For whatever reason you cease to attend college you will be responsible for your school loans until you have paid them back.

If college attendance has become no longer possible ,before you leave, stop by the financial aid office on your campus. Have the worker ( it probably won't be Dana) go over your file with you. Learn for your elf, first hand, how much you actually owe.  There are now in place, Planet College can assure your, tools to manage your debt while you become financially stable. But ignoring it or pretending it's OK is not one of them.  It is NOT  OK. They won't go away until you pay, so sooner or later you got to do something.  Make it sooner.