Non Applicable
By Charity Goodrow
I'm sure 99.9% of students will agree that applying for financial aid is a gruesome and tedious process. First, they make you fill out form after form and basically invade your privacy. Then after weeks of waiting, you get one of two letters. If you're lucky, you'll get a letter stating that you are eligible for financial aid. For those of you out there who have recieved the other letter, you are not alone. I didn't even get that far and to those who did, I commend you on your effort and patience. I, however, sat down and spoke with my guidance counselor to find out some "inside" information before I even attempted to fill out the FICA forms. I thought I was on my way to getting a semi free education until she made a statement that totally took me by suprise and also confused me a little. She told me I was not eligible for financial aid because I was not attending school full time. Now if you think about why someone would need financial aid, you would think that this person needs some help because they are on there own and are having trouble making ends meet, right? Wrong! Instead, I see young adults my age dressed in Gucci and Versacci, who drive beamers and work maybe 20 hours a week mooching off the system. How is that just? At the time I started to inquire about the whole process, I was working 40 hours a week and taking care of household duties while my Dad worked 24 hr. shifts just so I could further my education. Something must be done about this. It saddens me that these services are not available to those who really need it.