AIU - AIU Online - American Intercontinental University (AIU) Fruading me out of my excess financial Aid that was due to me Internet, Illinois

I have been attending AIU since March of 2009, I have a degree in Medical Coding and Billing and working on my Bachelors degree in Healthcare Admin. I have also recieved financial aid assistance from AIU but I had to file a claim on the FASFA webpage before they could recieve any type of money for either one of the programs that I have attended there since 2009.

In January 2010, I messed up a failed 4 classes due to not caring but that was not AIU's fault it was my own. So with that being said, I had to retake those 4 classes and the financial aid department contacted me regarding my financial aid to let me know what was happening with my financial aid since I failed those 4 classes and informed me that I could make monthly payments for the classes , which was almost $600 a month or I could repackage my financial aid. I choose to repackage my financial aid because I did not have the money to make the paments, they informed me of what I needed to do which was file some forms giving them permission to repackage my financial aid, all I had to do is  fill out forms and e-sign the forms so they could fix it to where I did not have to pay anything out of pocket.

The only bad thing was instead of being done in April of 2010 I would not graduate unitl November 2010 which did not matter to me since I did not have to pay anything out of my own pocket. Since all this happened the "EXTRA" money that was left over after all my classes were paid for was also rescheduled, which is the entire process. Someone cannot expected to recieve the extra money after their classes were paid for to come to you if they have failed classes or the cost of their classes go up or down, which is common sense in my book.

I decided to continue my education with AIU to get my bachelors degree. They done a great job with always making sure that I get the financial aid that I need and if I have any money left over after my tution is paid for they send me an email with certain dates to let me know when I would recieve those funds. Keep in mind, once your account has a positive balance it takes 7 to 10 business days for "Student Accounts" to send your information to the bank and then it takes the bank 1 to 2 business days depending on the type of status that you choose when you first created an account with the bank that AIU uses. You could have the following types of statuses:
- Easy Refund- which is deposited into your account the same day the bank recieves the funds from AIU
_Deposited into another banking account-which takes 5 to 10 business days from the day the bank recieves the funds from AIU.
-A check-which takes up to 15 business days from when the bank recieves the funds from AIU.
(Which excludes holidays and weekends for all types of statuses)

I use the Easy Refund myself and I have never had any problems getting my money between the dates given to me by AIU, actually sometimes I get it before the dates given to me by AIU.

AIU is allowed to change the price of tution at any given time without giving you any notification which would also change you financial package and delay you EXTRA money.

A student at AIU "ONLY' recieves this "EXTRA" money if they have money left over. For an example if your total cost of your tution was $12,500 and you recieved a total of $16,000 in financial aid, the student would recieve the $3,500 in installments not all at "ONCE". But their financial aid advisor must call them and ask them what they want to do with the extra money that was left over after their tution was paid, they actually do this everytime that you have extra money left over!

As a current student at AIU, I am very pleased to say that I have not had any problem with the Finanicial Aid Department at AIU and I have never had a problem getting the "EXTRA" money left over after my tution was paid for, NO I did not recieve it all at once but I did recieve it in 1-3 installments between the dates I was given.....I am very glad that I chose AIU to further my education and I may continue at AIU for my Master's Degree if it is offered in my field of study.... 

As an older person (in my late 40s) I wanted to study to get the piece of paper that proves what I had learned from many years working in a corporate business environment. I chose American Intercontinental University Online and have been studying with them since early 2010.

The financial loans a student receives has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment with which you are studying. The student manages this procedure completely using the federal government FAFSA process, and nominates the university during that process. The university receives the payment in installments from the government and applies it to the study costs you have agreed to incur through your preferred study program. The university cannot apply for any additional funding for you without your permission, so I'm afraid your claim that they did so is erroneous.

Should the costs of your study be less than the funds received by the university the balance is returned to you (if you selected this option) on a periodical basis. My experience is that this balance is paid to you every quarter. This payment to you is not a refund, it is simply the excess of funds you have borrowed through the FAFSA process against the costs of your study. If you fail courses your costs may increase and that will have a negative effect your payment - both in terms of when it is remitted to you and the amount you will be paid.

I graduate in approximately 10 months time and, while I have had the occasional issue with AIU that have been resolved in due course, my dealings with AIU have been professional and I have found them to be competent. The instructors are, in the main, very professional and the text books and online library resources are very comprehensive and helpful.

I have never worked for AIU or any other educational establishment and this is my first experience of online tertiary education but, using my decades of corporate business experience as a guideline for assessment, I have to say that I am extremely pleased with my AIU experience. So pleased in fact, that I am now looking into initiating further study with them once I graduate next year.

Let's start with a little vocabulary lesson, shall we?

Firstly, the money for which you have been, supposedly, waiting for three months is not a refund.
Observe the definition of refund:

refund

[v. ri-fuhnd, ree-fuhnd; n. ree-fuhnd]

verb (used with object)

1. to give back or restore (esp. money); repay.

To state that you were waiting for a refund indicates that you paid for something, and you are asking for your money back. But it can be correctly assumed that you are not paying for your education yourself, as C.N.A.'s do not make a lot of money. This is not a dig at you, as actually, it's rare that any student is paying outright cash for their tuition.

What you are referring to is a disbursement from the federal funds allocated to pay your tuition. Again, still not your money. It is the government's money.

Secondly, your story is a complete fabrication. The school cannot apply for funds in your name; that's what the FAFSA is for - to determine, based on information you provide, what funds you are eligible for, and you send that information to the school(s) to which you are applying/attending. Furthermore, the school is not required to ask your "permission" to change your financial aid package if there are costs that are required to be covered. This is the case for any school. Before any surplus funding is released, your tuition has to be paid. If your schedule winds up being adjusted for any reason, such as, let's say, failing a class or two, which is probably what what happened with you, then your financial aid package has to be adjusted, which could mean that your
disbursement may also be adjusted, or even rescinded, as you are financially responsible for every single credit you attempt.

Your situation, if true, is unfortunate. But, in reality, it is not the school's responsibility to help you keep your rent and bills paid. I do not believe that the Financial Aid Advisor with whom you spoke said the words "you need a better job," because I am certain that they do not want to lose theirs. I do believe, however, that you were told not to depend on the disbursement to cover your living expenses, because that's not what it's designed for; it's designed for your educational expenses.
 
Good luck to you in finding a school that randomly gives away money for purposes other than those for which it is intended.