Apollo Group:, Western International University & University Of Phoenix Stole my Pell Grant money and is confirmed by the National Student Loan Data System, NLSDs Phoenix Arizona

I have been a student at WIU for a little over a year and a half. Due to issues with my student loan application and being bounced around to financial counselors, I had issues getting my funding. Finally, I was assigned to a good counselor who helped me to straighten everything out. I finally got my funding through, but since it took so long, I received my pell grant in one disbursement instead of two. Part of my pell grant was applied against tuition that the student loans did not cover, but I received the rest. Your complaint sounds like you could have been the same outcome, but I could be mistaken.

Ok, I have been a student at WIU for about a year and a half now. The first time I filed for student aid, there were many issues. Due to my financial counselor changing regularly, I had many issues getting my financial aid through. Finally, I was assigned to a good counselor. He got my financial aid through and I received a Pell grant. He broke down my loans and my grant and how everything would be distributed. Because of the delay in me getting my funds, I received my entire pell grant (that wasn't covering the remainder of school costs) in one disbursement. From the sounds of your complaint, it seems that this is what happened to you, but I could be misunderstanding.

Hi,

They did almost the exact same thing to me and have kept me out of school for almost a year when I was halfway though. The scumbag---Christina in financial aide has to know. They say I owe almost $10000.00 but in fact I only took $5000 worth of classes and they kept 4250 of an 8500 loan.

My records online (which I printed out before they disappear) state I owe $5000 and sometimes
they state I owe 0. Heres the funny part. I was sent threatening letter they would put me in collections but Im not in collections. The freaking know what they are doing.

Also, I had an issue of prejudice happen to me in my first class and they let me take it over free along with giving me a refund on the tuition because they have to have you stay to get your funds. I am willing to compile names I should have graduated in May and because of them I have nothing to show for my money and work.

Go into your account at the school website and look for your bill under services. Print it out and then print out the info from the National Student Loan Data Base. Also print out all their letters and emails. There are other out there.

"Robert, what is this? Are you some kind of lone-vigilante for UOP/Apollo Group, or are they making it worth your while to disconcert and deface the integrity and accuracy of my personal experiences??? (Only questions, not accusations)"

I'm stating facts not accusations. I based my comments on what you wrote and what I know about the financial aid process. I am simply hardlining the inconsistencies in your statements. If you try to rally support then you need to make sure your facts are solid. If you are planning a class action suit then make sure you have the facts for the case. A great deal of students come to this website and jump on the bandwagon with distorted or missing facts about their situation. This perpetuates into an all out unnecessarry bashing that could have been avoided if the facts had been stated from the beginning.

"Reguardless, here are the facts for you to distort once again.
$265.00 per credit X 3 credits = $795.00 per class and I am putting you to work - " 'find' the money"."

$265 x3 credits = $795 per class. I also found what I was looking for on the book cost and it turns out this is about $60 per class not $100-$200. If the academic model mirrors UOP then they may actually have physical books as well but the cost isn't too much more than the standard cost of $60. The most I ever paid for a book was my ScI/350 class which cost about $95. So now this comes out to $855 per course for books and tuition. As you stated previously, the classes are done in blocks of 2 and last 9 weeks. So that comes out to $1710 every 2 months. That means you are being charged a total of $3420 for the first 12 credits and a total of $6840 for the first term which lasts 8 months and you are obligated to complete 24 credits in that time.

I am assuming that you qualified as a level 1 student so that means your loan amount was $6625. With the origination fee (4%) that the lender takes out, the actual amount of money you would be able to use is $6360. The difference between the cost for those first 24 credits and this amount is a total shortfall of $480. If you qualified for a grant with a 00000 EFC then you should have recieved the max grant of $4050.

"I KNOW THE PELL GRANT IS NOT SUBSISIZED - What does that have to do with anyting?!? I had reapplied for the 05-06 school year and my records verify this fact."


You stated that "so the total amount of the missing government subsidized funds comes to $4050.00, again" This amount coincides with the grant amount not the loan amount. Your statement insinuates that $4050 is subsidized which is incorrect.

"If you had the wherewithall to do some research before you posted this beastly, feeble-minded retort you would already know the colleges that accept enrollment year round are held to seperate guidelines for Financial Aid than a traditional college."

I do know the difference. One of the main rules that year round schools go by is the 30-week/24 credit rule which states that you must have 30 weeks of instructional time and completed 24 credits before you can re-apply within the same aid year.

"Again and again and again - I DID reapply for the 05-06 academic year. However, as you so elequently worded it "You cannot double dip and get two Pell checks for the same period you were in school." I AM NOT GREEDY and if you recall they told me I would be receiving dispersements the 1st, 3rd, 5th; not the 1st, 4th, 6th blocks."

Regardless of when you recieve the funds, the money is for the appropriate periods that you are in attendance. Half the disbursement for the 1st and 2nd block. The next disbursement for the 3rd and 4th block. Apply again, recieve half disbursement for 5th and 6th block. Next disbursement for 7th and 8th block, etc.

"Reguarding the short fall in funding there was NONE, the amount they sent to collections was for the two failed classes in the fourth block, this was subsisized funds. You are correct in the fact they did not "force me to fail", they merely retarded my finances and made it inconceivable to afford the cost of the textbooks required to accurately complete the assignments."

Assuming you had no credits to transfer in and you qualified as a Level 1 student then there was a shortfall. The reason you may think there wasn't one was because the grant money covered the shortfall of $480. Once your Financial Aid is approved, EFC verified, the school will defer the cost since you Authorized them to Apply the Funds on your account. Because of this, they are allowed to defer any costs for the first term even if the Grant money takes a while to be recieved by the school. Did you authorize them to apply the funds or did you decide to manage the funds on your own? I simply cannot see how they could force you to fail if the balance was deferred and you authorized them to administer the funding.

"They DID allow me to start the 5th block of classes as I have stated above in my first post and it was in the second week of this block that I withdrew. Yes I had begun that aid year and IT IS THEIR FOULD I WITHDREW - NOT MINE. The NLSDS records prove the 2nd dispersements from BOTH academic years is not returned - that does total $4050.00."

How exactly did they force you to withdraw if they allowed you to continue? At that point you would have qualified as a Level 2 student, rating $7500. Even after the origination fee this amount would have dropped to $7200 leaving a shortfall of -$360 which should have been refunded to you. On top of that if you qualified with a 00000 EFC again you would have recieved an additional $2025 in grant money for that first disbursement. Something does not add up in your statements.

"On a personal note to you, Robert, you are walking a dangerously thin line by slandering my dignity and honesty. The text implies my character is corrupt when I am merely stating the facts of Apollo Group's underhanded dealings with me."

Please don't make idle threats. They do nothing in an online forum other than make yourself look foolish. There is no slander here because no one knows your surname or who you really are. You published an opinion in an public forum and for that you must act like an adult and be prepared to be criticized. I never stated you were corrupt in any way, simply ignorant of how financial aid works.

Robert, what is this? Are you some kind of lone-vigilante for UOP/Apollo Group, or are they making it worth your while to disconcert and deface the integrity and accuracy of my personal experiences??? (Only questions, not accusations)

Reguardless, here are the facts for you to distort once again.
$265.00 per credit X 3 credits = $795.00 per class and I am putting you to work - " 'find' the money".

I KNOW THE PELL GRANT IS NOT SUBSISIZED - What does that have to do with anyting?!? I had reapplied for the 05-06 school year and my records verify this fact.

If you had the wherewithall to do some research before you posted this beastly, feeble-minded retort you would already know the colleges that accept enrollment year round are held to seperate guidelines for Financial Aid than a traditional college.

Again and again and again - I DID reapply for the 05-06 academic year. However, as you so elequently worded it "You cannot double dip and get two Pell checks for the same period you were in school." I AM NOT GREEDY and if you recall they told me I would be receiving dispersements the 1st, 3rd, 5th; not the 1st, 4th, 6th blocks.

Reguarding the short fall in funding there was NONE, the amount they sent to collections was for the two failed classes in the fourth block, this was subsisized funds. You are correct in the fact they did not "force me to fail", they merely retarded my finances and made it inconceivable to afford the cost of the textbooks required to accurately complete the assignments.

They DID allow me to start the 5th block of classes as I have stated above in my first post and it was in the second week of this block that I withdrew. Yes I had begun that aid year and IT IS THEIR FOULD I WITHDREW - NOT MINE. The NLSDS records prove the 2nd dispersements from BOTH academic years is not returned - that does total $4050.00.

On a personal note to you, Robert, you are walking a dangerously thin line by slandering my dignity and honesty. The text implies my character is corrupt when I am merely stating the facts of Apollo Group's underhanded dealings with me.

I have never been to or heard of WIU but from what you have posted I think this is what happened. btw if you could post how much they charge per credit, I think I can help you "find " the money.

2/28/05 - You began towards the tail end of the 04-05 aid year. You applied for grant and loan money.

4/14/05 - You got half your disbursement for the 04-05 aid year of loan money. You also recieved half of the grant money you were due.

5/2/05 - You are consistent in meeting the halway point for the credits you are obligated to complete during the disbursement period.

7/4/05 - You are now starting the second half of your disbursement period. You will still get the loan money for 04-05 aid year. However, you must apply for 05-06 for Pell only this time. Your EFC will be recalculated and you will not recieve the other half of the 04-05 Pell grant.

9/5/05 - Once again unless you applied for the 05-06 aid year for Pell only then you will not recieve any grant money. Your Financial Counselor may have slipped up and not told you that but UOP did not steal the money.
Regardless, due to the shortfall in funding clause you are liable for the difference.

9/19/05 - Sounds to me like they failed to have you apply again. I'm sorry but I would have spoken to his manager at this point.

10/14/05 - Like I said above,you do not rate a second Pell disbursement because you applied for the Grant in the tail end of the Academic year. You cannot double dip and get two Pell checks for the same period you are in school.

11/21/05 - You said before that WIU does two classes at a time for 9 weeks at a time. That means 6 crerdits every two months or 24 credits in 8 months. By this time you should be applying for Financial Aid again because you have met the 30 week/24 credit rule for re-application. 24 credits is all you need to complete per "aid year" before you can re-apply.

Week of 11/28/05 - Regardless of what happened, I don't they forced you to fail your fourth block. They would have never let you start class without payment being made. Something here does not ring true on your end.

First off, the Pell Grant is not subsidized, only the loan. Therefore I doubt there are any "missing" subsidized funds. Second, the max grant amount is $4050 per aid year. $2025 per disbursement. The school cannot get any part of it until you actually start classes within that aid year. Since you dropped out before beginning the 5th block of classes (your fault or theirs, doesn't matter), then technically you did not start that aid year so you rate no pell grant or loan money for that period.