Listening to: 30 Rock
I am heartbroken. The Financial Aid department broke my heart.
I don't know if I mentioned this to you guys, but I had the opportunity to take a class next semester that would take a 3-week trip around Ireland over the summer. I was so excited, because it counted for my major and my favorite professor is leading it and I've always, always wanted to go to Ireland.
The trip is pretty expensive, but I was confident that I would be able to get enough financial aid to justify paying the rest out of pocket. The deadline to drop the class without having to pay the cost of the trip was the 9th, but today was the earliest I could get my financial aid appointment.
I spent all week thinking my appointment was at 1:30 p.m., so I wasn't worried when I woke up at 9:30, until I looked at the note I made on my laptop and realized that my appointment was actually supposed to be at 9:00 and I had completely missed it.
So I called the Financial Aid people, and they let me have my appointment via phone. And that's when the lady told me, "Sorry, hun, but we can't give you any money for your trip so I would advise you to drop it unless you have the money saved up or your parents are willing to take out $4,000-5,000 in loans."
And now I have to find someone to take my spot on the trip or I have to pay for it whether or not I can actually go.
Blagagghghghghghghhhhhhhhh.
On the bright side, my boyfriend is wonderful and has spent all day trying to cheer me up, and my boss is wonderful and told me if she had the money she would pay for my trip, and also gave me a nice little Christmas present. And since I can't go on the trip any more, I can focus on saving up for an apartment and I can actually be here to help move my stuff into an apartment this summer and I won't miss Brad's birthday now and I can spend those three weeks that I would otherwise have been gone working and saving up money.
But I wish I could still go.
:(
Ouch that's too bad :( Hopefully you found someone to take your place.
ReplyDeleteI had that happen two summers ago to study abroad in Ireland as well. It was supposed to be for the whole summer, and I had paid my deposit and everything, when financial aid said that they couldn't do anything for me because of the way their system was set up and how I was already using aid for that year of school, so since technically I had to pay for the trip during the school year, they couldn't give me any more aid than what I was already getting, even though it was for a summer semester. I was so heartbroken. I got most of my deposit back, but not all, so a little bit of my money went to Ireland without me.
ReplyDeleteI ended up getting a costuming job with a professional theatre company over that summer and met some amazing people and had a fantastic time anyway--but there was still this feeling like I had missed an incredible opportunity, like it had been taken away from me.
Sigh. I will go some day. Workin' on it. In the meantime, do what you can to find that silver lining. Not going now does not mean that you will never go.