Im so anxious - fellow senior moms WWYD?

[cjcouple]

My son got into the school he wanted, the aid package came through but I ran into a snag with my Parent Plus Loan

They denied my loan, saying I had a repossession on my credit. This is 100% false.  It looks like there is an erroneous comment on one of my old car loans that was paid off in Jan 2020. Even the payment history and details all show I paid on time (albeit a couple 30 day late months over 3.5 years) but nothing more.  I have never had a repossession in my life. 

Its written under the comment section only on Equifax, (nothing on trans union or experian reports). This must be an administrative error.  I have my original loan application stamped paid in full with a letter from the lien holder thanking me for completing my finance agreement dated January 2020.  Clearly I paid it off. It actually was paid off by my insurance company because my husband technically totaled it in an accident before Christmas when it was snowing and he slid into a guard rail.  We even got a small check for he difference between the loan and pay out  

Anyway, I filed a dispute with Equifax, and called my original lien holder and they are opening an investigation and sent me a new letter stating I paid in full.  I sent an appeal to federal student aid with all of my proof.  I even included the insurance payouts and I spoke with a representative in Student Aid as well she said as long as I can prove it was paid, I should get approved.  So here I am waiting....could be up to a week longer before I have an answer. 

In the meantime, I had already paid for tuition and housing deposits(before I got denial).  My son is supposed to send in a current photo for his school ID and sign up for a summer orientation where they go sleep in the dorms for a night and do fun stuff.  And he was just selected for the dorm he wants!! He has until June 14 to go in and request a roommate so theres time. 

So my WWYD? Do I tell him about all of this stuff happening?  I've been waiting because if this loan doesn't go through, he's not going to be able to go to this school.  It's about 18k of a balance and we just can't swing that.  I don't want to get him psyched up and then have to disappoint him.  But he has friends that are going there who might start asking him.  I hate this wait. 


ETA: I should add my son knows about the loan issues I am having because I didnt want to spring it on him if things went badly.   

[sdlaura]

No, I wouldn't tell him to wait to do anything. I'm sure you will get it worked out since it's false.

[waverly]

I assume that you have called and spoken to all the agencies this week, and that is when they told you it would be a week? If not, I would make the phone calls and check on the status of everything, but it does sound like you have done this. I would wait the week and if you don't hear anything call everyone again. Other options is escalate to a supervisor at the appropriate agencies. Another escalation is getting your elected representative involved.

I would tell your son that you have submitted the paperwork and are supposed to hear back in a week as a status update. Otherwise for him I would keep on keeping on with his plans, send in the picture sign up for orientation.

Your son is a high school graduate so I would be open with adult problems because he is an adult now, but keep the stress and emotion out of it if you can so he still remains calm.

[eddy]

I would absolutely not tell him.

I used to work in FA long ago. Most financial aid offices have caring people working in them who are used to working through complex cases like you presented. It might take some time, but it will hopefully all get sorted out. THere are a lot of checks and balances to cases like this where the loan officer can reissue the loan. Or there are internal committees that can look at the case etc. You have options.

[plutosmoon]

Plus loan appeals can take time, so at this point I would keep going with all the student to-dos, but I would keep your son informed. You have time to resolve this, but you may need to check in every few days with student aid. Sometimes appeals are super fast, sometimes they are not. If it makes you feel better, we see a pretty high success rate on the appeals, since usually parents that appeal know the reason for denial was incorrect. It doesn't hurt to check in with the aid office as well, there isn't much they can do about the appeal, but they may be able to walk you through other options.

Was your husband also on the car loan in question? If not, you could have him try the PLUS loan application instead. If I recall correctly you are in CT, you can also try CHESLA, their loans are a step above predatory private student loans since they are quasi state affiliated.

[quesyrah]

Oh my gosh, what a nightmare.


I would not tell him until you have to. I would also talk to the school and let them know what is going on and see if they can work with you. Hopefully there is something they can do while you sort out the loan.

[cjcouple]

waverly, well, the fed student aid is impossible to get through on the phone right now. This has all been through emails and they called me at one point. My last correspondence was Monday they emailed saying they received my appeal paperwork and sent it to upper management and I'd be hearing their decision shortly.

[cjcouple]

plutosmoon , thanks I will look into that

[cjcouple]

eddy, I did reach out to the school FA and they made it seem like there wasn't anything they could do. I just had to deal with FSA.

[InBetweenDays]

No advice, just wanted to say (as a fellow senior mom) I'm so sorry that an already overwhelming time is made more stressful because of this. I hope it's resolved quickly. ♥️

[litskispeciality]

No advice, just commiseration to the poor FA staff as they're drowning, like in the ocean, due to the FASFA issues and the normal May (now June) 1 deadline. In a perfect world they have to document all of your conversation in their CRM, and you have a paper trail as well.

A few years ago I had something on my credit that a mortgage loan office was able to get removed so that we could apply for a re-fi. Hoping someone can pull strings to get that cleared and your son has a smooth transition.

Huge hugs as you have enough stress with graduation, off to college..and ya know, financing this whole thing.

[sent]

I would tell him. This sounds like a really grown up issue. Fixing a mistake on paperwork requiring phone calls and followup. I feel like young adults these days don't comprehend that not everything can be fixed quickly online with a few taps on your phone like an Amazon return. Not everything gets you an immediate answer like when you sign up for a credit card. Nonsense like this happens within huge organizations and we have to resort to the 1990s way of fixing things via phone calls and snail mail, an e-mail if you're lucky. They move at a glacial speed and you are at their mercy to fix the issue. It requires a lot of patience and learning to deal with the anxiety.

Maybe your son already knows all this about how life works. If he doesn't, then by telling him, he will learn and he can help you brainstorm some ideas on how he can help manage this problem with you.

ETA - sorry I'm not a senior mom. I do interact with a lot of newly turned 18 year olds still adjusting to the fact that they are now their own legal adult person. 

[livinitup]

You are getting mixed answers on your question of whether or not to tell your son that your loan application was denied, so you submitted all of the documentation for a successful appeal, and are waiting on the approval.

I agree with anyone who said to let him KOKO with new student activities - housing/classes. You have every reason to expect it to be resolved.

I would recommend telling him the status and the appeal. You know your kid best but mine is much more disregulated when she “isn’t told things” than when she has the whole picture even with upsetting news. She can cope just fine with facts but very poorly with missing pieces.

It is a lot of money and it’s his tuition. Although I would never recommend you manufacture a situation to teach him how complicated and precarious payments and loans can be, I wouldn’t deny him an actual real-world experience of understanding one up close.

[cjcouple]

Well, this post is irrelevant because I was just notified


We are approved! 🎊👍🏻😁

really great post here made anyway though.

And yes, we have had many conversations about the costs and commitment. We will have more I'm sure once all the numbers fall into place (tuition, housing food etc) and the final loan amounts come through.

He needs to fully understand what happens upon college graduation by attending a 4 yr vs the 2 free years at our local cc.

that's all!

[jinkies]

Hooray!! So glad you were able to resolve it!

[wanderlustmom]

Oh that's great news!!!! I was so stressed for you!

[cjcouple]

I didn't expect an answer so quickly. the entire appeal process was a week!

[livinitup]

I have never been more delighted to be irrelevant !!

[cjcouple]

May 8, 2024 14:40:47 GMT -5 livinitup said:

I have never been more delighted to be irrelevant !!

🤣🤣

[eddy]

May 8, 2024 12:26:22 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

eddy , I did reach out to the school FA and they made it seem like there wasn't anything they could do. I just had to deal with FSA.

Wait a week and then try again. See if you can get an appointment with a counselor. You want them to actually listen to your issue verse giving you the quick answer. If they can't do anything they might have advice for you on how to navigate FSA. 

Nevermind I see your update. Yay!