After sitting through a lovely first day of college classes, I decided to go to the financial aid office to see if the money was there to pick up my books and supplies. I have already given up on it being available for the tuition. The financial aid office is extremely slow at every campus at this college. I know this, because I have waited in uncomfortable chairs at each, surrounded by people with all the same questions and concerns.
The really odd thing about this is that it was much simpler to apply for government insurance, food benefits, and WIC than to get government tuition assistance. I filled out one financial form for medicaid and one for tuition, but guess which one took less time and was easier? Heck, I didn't even know I was applying for food assistance because the phone conversation I had was for the insurance! Yet have had to come in and sit and wait and talk to people several times, adding a form here and there, to no avail. No waiting until the last minute on my part either.
How can it be easier to open my arms to the public wealth but difficult to arrange the shuttling of those same funds into the higher education system?