Financial Aid Fiasco

I've got lots of reasons for writing this blog.

First of all, this is an easy and entertaining way for my friends and family to keep informed while I'm all alone in New Mexico. Additionally, I have a really bad memory (too many chemicals absorbed into the old body) and this is a good way for me to keep track of what I did during my twenty-eighth year. Most importantly, though, I'm hoping that this blog will assist others who are thinking about applying to the Tamarind Institute or who have always wanted to go, but might never get the chance.

It's for this reason that I'm about to bore you all with the details of my UNM Financial Aid Fiasco. Sure, it's long and unnecessarily detailed. In fact, I highly encourage those of you with more important things to do to stop reading this right now and just wait for the next, much more interesting post. However, I would've paid dearly for information like this about three months ago, so I will press on. Hopefully someone out there will benefit from this. If you're interested for the rest of the story, click the link below.

When I was first thinking about applying to the PPTP at Tamarind, the whole idea of funding never popped into my head once. After all, I'd gotten three degrees already without being able to afford a single one of them. I figured, what is another piddly little academic year's worth of costs really going to hurt?

I sent off my application and to everyone's surprise (or maybe just my own), I was accepted into the program. After confirming my participation in the program, I eventually received a packet from the Tamarind Institute. The packet was thick and full of campus maps, the student newspaper, a list of my colleagues, and clothing recommendations. But there seemed to be something lacking...

Clothing... Altitude... Supplies... Fees... Housing... Registration...

But nothing about Financial Aid.

Now granted, many of the program participants are from other countries and are not eligible for US Financial Aid. But I figured there had to be something... somewhere... And then I saw it. The lone piece of information about financial aid was in small print on the top of the admissions form.

"Non-Degree students are not eligible for Financial Aid."

I read it again...

"Non-Degree students are not eligible for Financial Aid."

And then I had a bit of a break down.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!

I had the fortune of knowing/finding a couple of PPTP participants from previous years. And they assured me that they were able to receive some funding, but that it wasn't easy. I quickly rattled off an email to one of the Tamarind staff members who confirmed that there was a special agreement made with the Financial Aid office for Tamarind students.

I calmed down a bit and started to crunch numbers. For the past couple of months, I'd been assuming that I could just take out some big ol' loan to pay for my luxury living and fancy dinners. But now it was looking more like I'd be back to the bologna sandwich and animal cracker diet of my undergrad years. (Although I was twenty pounds lighter then... maybe this isn't such a bad thing after all.) I considered the possibility of alternative loan sources and began the long arduous process of dealing with the University of New Mexico Financial Aid Office.

Now, perhaps I've just been lucky in my previous two University experiences. In the past, I've never never never had any problem with financial aid. As long as you send in your FAFSA on time, it just always seems to be magically taken care of and the next thing you know you're rolling in more money than you'll ever really be able to pay off in your lifetime (if you're an art student anyway). This time though... woo-wee... this time was like pulling teeth.

First of all, I had to somehow get around the rule that "Non-Degree students are not eligible for Financial Aid." Which meant convincing them that I really didn't need to send in verification of credit hours for a teaching certificate or whatever other crazy things that didn't apply to my situation. I sent a letter to the office asking them what I needed to do. I emailed my financial aid advisor asking what I needed to do. I faxed them some random forms and also asked what I needed to do. And I even called a couple of times and asked what I need to do and no one was really able to tell me.

Finally, at the end of June, I was able to speak to my advisor on the phone and he informed me that I needed to fill out a loan application. It was that easy... fill out a loan application and then my troubles would be gone. I was also informed that I was eligible for much much more than I'd originally expected. (Thank goodness I hadn't gotten an apartment yet, maybe I could afford that fancy loft after all!)

I filled out the application, sent it via UPS 2Day service and waited for the money to come rolling in. A couple of weeks went by and there was still no progress visible online so I emailed my advisor. Once again, I received no response, so I called the general information line and inquired about my application. An annoyed woman informed me that my file was complete and that they had JUST started processing the applications and that my advisor would get to mine as soon as he could. By the end of the call, I felt guilty for calling the office when they were obviously hard at work on my application. I patiently waited for a few more weeks and then I started to get worried again.

But not as worried as I was when I called yesterday and was told that I didn't have an application on file. My conversation went something like this:

I'm calling to check in on the status of my loan application.
What is this an application for?
A loan... a stafford loan... I'm a student at the Tamarind Institute this fall and my advisor said...
We don't have a loan application in your file.
But the woman I spoke to two weeks ago said my file was complete.
Well, it's not in there.
Can I make a phone appointment with my advisor?
He has walk-ins today, is booked tomorrow, and has only walk-ins the rest of the month.
I live in Saint Louis. I won't be there until August 11th. What would you recommend?
You can email him.
I did a couple times and he never responded.
Maybe you could put "URGENT" in the subject line.
So there's nothing you can do?
I can give him a note saying you called.

I got off the phone and was so frustrated and irritated and incredibly angry. I wrote the advisor an email, put URGENT in the subject field, and prepared myself for the likelihood that I would never hear from him again.

Maybe it was the whole URGENT thing... maybe it was the note the lady delivered... maybe it was my expressed disappointment in the UNM Financial Aid Office. But wouldn't ya know... my advisor got back to me that afternoon, and suddenly my financial aid had been rewarded and was just waiting for me to sign the Master Promissory Note!

Of course, it was $3000 less than what I had originally been quoted, but that's another story. I wrote my advisor and thanked him for his work and politely inquired about the difference in the amount. Do you think I'll hear back from him?

Read the rest of this story

Almost There... and an Explanation

I was originally planning on opening this blog with me, in an airplane, peering out into the morning desert skies, marveling at the Sandia Mountains as we swooped into scenic Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Instead, I am frazzled and sweaty in Saint Louis, running around trying to pack up my life so that I can ship it down to the Duke City.

For those of you just tuning in:

Hey! I'm going to New Mexico!

Lately, I'm commonly asked, "Who lives in New Mexico and why are you going there?"

Well, to answer your first question... I don't really know anyone in New Mexico. I don't even really know anything about New Mexico. You see, I've never been to the place. Carrie has done some research and assures me that they have very good food in New Mexico. I've learned that the altitude is much higher than in Saint Louis and that I may get groggy when I first arrive. I've also been informed that New Mexico contains 20% of all U.S. National Parks.

But believe it or not, it wasn't the food, the altitude or even the National Parks that drew me to New Mexico.

It was the Tamarind Institute.

Super go-go action figure June Wayne founded the Institute back in the 60's when the art of Lithography was all but dead in the United States. Each year, a select (read: incredibly awesome) group of baby-printers are chosen to complete the rigorous Professional Printer Training Program. At the end of the first year, a limited number of these now certified printers are selected to remain at the Institute for another year to train as Tamarind Master Printers.

Long story short... I could be in Albuquerque anywhere from nine months to two years. I don't know anything about the place. I'm going alone. And I'm leaving in about a week.

I know that some of you out there are thinking... "Litho-what?"

And trust me... if you keep reading this blog over the next few months, you'll probably know more about prints than you ever wanted to know.

Others of you may be wondering... "An eighth year of post-secondary education and you're still not a doctor yet?"

I know, I know... but I'm hoping I won't have to work that barely-above-minimum-wage job anymore if I actually see this thing through.

I'm sure there are many other questions that remain unanswered and I'll try to get to them if you gladly post them in the comments section. In the meantime, stay tuned for riveting accounts of my Financial Aid Fiasco (which could really be its own seperate blog), and first impressions of Albuquerque.

P.S. This is how I imagine New Mexico:

Read the rest of this story