American Public University System APU, APUS, AMU APU/APUS Waited Nine Months to Receive a Loan Disbursement, 4000 Owed Six Whole Months After Graduation, Do Not Trust Them Charles Town West Virgina

I finished classes at American Public University in June of 2015. My conferral date, for which I was cleared in all respects (academic, financial, etc.), was August 2015. I was supposed to receive my diploma 6-8 weeks after graduation. When December of 2015 came, I still had not received the diploma I was promised nearly two months before. I called and emailed the school asking for an explanation. I was told by graduations@apus.edu to contact stuaccounts@apus.edu. The latter sent me a vague email that was not helpful, but promised to send me a helpful email soon. Since I could only imagine the issue, whatever it was, was a mistake, I calmly waited for the helpful email I was promised. 

About one week later, I was informed that nearly $4,000 was disbursed on my behalf from the federal government to cover my tuition. I was immediately reeling. What?! I was cleared, according to the school back in June. I called to complain; surely this was a mistake. The woman on the phone told me that the funds were disbursed to cover costs from March. MARCH! That was nine months prior! If anyone reading this has taken student loans out before, can you ever recall a time when it took nine months to disburse a loan? The woman on the phone had no answer for me about that, only saying that it does sometimes take a long time. I said "Almost one year?" and she said "Yes." This feels very fishy to me. 

Needless to say, I feel tricked, sleighted, treated unfairly, whatever you might say. I have attended two other schools, one a "real" university (not online) and the other a community college. Never have I had problems with a financial aid department, and never have I felt that I needed to question a school's honesty.

I don't know what else to say except be careful when dealing with this institution. Yes, they are accredited. Yes, they do give out degrees, although they haven't given me mine after paying $30,000 or so. If you're looking for a university, though, I suggest dealing with one that has a student aid office you can actually visit instead of getting the run-around on calls and emails. I doubt I'll ever know the truth about my student account. The "new truth" is that APUS just tacked $4,000 onto the loan amount I owe and there's nothing I can do about it. 

Good luck.

-Upset and Perpetually In-the-Dark Former APUS Student