Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter!

Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Letter to the Editor

Not so helpful financial aid</P

I would like to make a few brief comments on the content in the staff editorial published in last Thursday’s issue of The Hatchet on the allocation of more funds to financial aid. The editorial board makes it sound as if all the guilt falls on the students. And I’m sorry to say, while I know it is a common occurrence, it is not always true.?

I was one of the students who had a significantly reduced financial aid package this year, even though my financial situation is worse than it was last year. I submitted the paperwork I was told was necessary, on time. I believed working with the financial aid office would not be an issue after the outstanding service I received last year. I was completely wrong.?

The first notification I had received telling me that my aid application was incomplete was Aug. 4, a full four months after my paperwork was submitted. From then on, there were a series of e-mails between myself and the office of financial aid, which consisted of me wondering why my application was not complete and why I was not informed earlier that additional paperwork was necessary.

The communication system between students and counselors really does need to be reviewed. Just because they stated that a notification system is in place does not mean that it operates in a timely manner. Once all my paperwork was in, finally complete by early September, I remained almost in constant contact with a counselor to monitor the status of my application. If I had not done so, I feel like it would have taken a lot longer than the mandated four weeks to process and the additional 10 days it takes for that final offer to be reflected on GW banweb. But in the end, I’m still missing a significant chunk of aid that I don’t think will be addressed.?

My freshman year, I was assured that financial aid at this school would never be an issue, that anyone who wanted aid would receive it. I am now a senior, and in my experience with financial aid, that statement was completely unfounded. Needless to say, I have lost a lot of faith in this University.

So please, do not place all of the problems with financial aid on the students. Sure, it was nice of GW to allocate more money to the aid funds, but it is not our savior. The University simply tried to correct an issue that should not have happened in the first place.

Alysha Eychner

-The writer, a senior, is majoring in political science.

More to Discover
Donate to The GW Hatchet