In the spring of I was a happy person and a proud student. After finally working my way through Community College, I graduated with a 3.6 gpa. I am one of only a few people in my family to have even gone to college and the only one in a few generations to earn a degree. Within a few months, I had even better news and an even better reason to be proud. One of the best schools in the country, Case Western Reserve University, accepted me to be a Junior in the class of 2013. Little did I know that this acceptance was actually the beginning of a nightmare.
I did indeed enroll in classes but problems started very early on. Looking back, I should have known, pretty much from the beginning that things would go downhill. For one thing, it took the recruiter a very long time to process my initial fee waiver and, each time he told me how to submit the paperwork, he told me something different. I remember thinking that he didn't seem to be overly concerned about whether the paperwork got turned in.in fact, he seemed quite laid back about the whole thing. Little did I know, I would contact many people over the course of the next few months that would have the same attitude.
August melted into September and my financial aid packet still hadn't been processed. I grew concerned. I was commuting across two counties to go to school everyday. My Case pass paid for the Cuyahoga county portion of the fare but not Lake Counties portion. I was running out of money. On top of that, Case offered me a huge financial aid packet so, I choose to move closer to school. Before moving I lived over 4 hours commute from school. After the move, I still lived two hours away. I was taking a bus at 6am to get to school by about 8:30. I didn't have money to buy food on campus so, I just didn't eat until I got home between 3pm and 6pm every night depending on bus connections. Money got tight fast.
About two weeks after school started, a started sending e-mails to my advisor just to see if there was anything she could do to help and/or speed the process of me receiving my financial aid. I was also sending e-mail after e-mail to the financial aid department. The instructions seemed valid. I was instructed to go to the FAFSA website to change some information or add information. I was always told to do something that would help them do their job faster. I was told to redo my entrance counseling once. I was always assured that the problem would be fixed after I did what I was instructed. No one I talked to seemed worried. I went in to the financial aid office and everyone there was laid back and relaxed. I was told not to worry, the problem was simple to fix and it would be handled. I would get my funding. I didn't need to worry. It was very obvious the financial aid department wasn't worried. Now I know the truth. I should have been very worried.
At the end of September, almost 6 weeks after school started, I knew I was in deep trouble. I had no money to buy books, I had no money for bus fare, no money to pay for the apartment I had rented to be closer to school. I am on Social Security and disabled. I had moved out of my low income housing and into an expensive apartment.in 6 weeks, I was looking at just dropping out of school. I was looking at having to move out into the street. I contacted the Dean of Student Services, who just happened to be my advisor. She apologized for my troubles but offered no solution. I contacted financial aid one last time. I was told they 'forgot' to send me a form that I needed to fill out. Later, I found out that none of the other hoops I'd jumped through fixed anything. I had needed to fill out this form from the very beginning. Believe it or not, the kid who told me about the missing form actually chuckled about it. It was as if he was saying, "Oops, our bad. Sorry about that!"
The worst part of all of this happened at the end of September. I have a case manager who was well aware of the financial situation I had put myself in by choosing to enroll at Case. She and a group of her collegues sent a letter to the President of the University in hopes that she would be able to help move things along for me. It was only then that my advisor, the Dean of Student Services called me in for a meeting. I was not and could never be prepared for what happened at that meeting.
At the meeting, I was accused of failing to contact anyone to tell them I was in trouble. This held dispite the fact that I brought in a nearly one inch thick stack of correspondence between myself, the Dean, and the financial aid department. I was informed that I was at fault because I had failed to avail myself of the emergency financial aid for impoverished students that I didn't even know existed. The Dean informed me that she would have told me about the emergency aid if I had asked and she insisted that I hadn't asked - no matter what proof I brought to the meeting to prove that I had asked her several times if there was anything the school could do to get me some funding until my financial aid went through. And, the Dean even hinted that I hadn't even been going to classes - like I had been holding out for financial aid so that I could spend it on personal expenses. I was stunned.
The accusations didn't stop there. I was berated for not taking advantage of orientation - the Dean said much of the information I needed had been covered at orientation. Yet, I informed the Dean and the Commuters club that I was coming in to classes from Lake County. Orientation, especially the financial aid portion of orientation was held in the evening and on the weekend. Lake County busses stop running early and we don't have weekend service. I couldn't get to the school during the times orientation was held. It was as simple as that.
The worst part of the accusation was almost impossible to swallow. Several times during this meeting, I was accused of trying to collect financial aid for personal gain. I was accused of not attending my classes and of not doing my work on purpose - like I was just biding my time until the money rolled in. Keep in mind, I have a 3.679 gpa. I had been thinking about going to Brown University or Columbia. I had been in contact with Notre Dame University. I am serious about school, about my grades, and about my academic reputation. I couldn't believe I was being accused of attending Case just to make money! There have to be a million better ways to make money than collecting student loan debt!
And, speaking of student loan debt. The last part of the meeting had to do with me dropping my classes. Since, I actually was attending school (and doing very poorly with no books or supplies), I had to drop my classes. The Dean told me Case would be in contact with me to advise me when to drop my classes. They contacted me in November and told me I was free to drop my classes at that time. I had to laugh. At that time, I owed Case 100% of my tuition. Taken again.
My time at Case was spent catching buses to sit in class and be grilled by Professors about why my homework wasn't done and why I didn't have the materials to participate in my classes. My time was spent failing tests and sitting and stopping at the drinking fountain to drink enough water to fill my starvign stomach. What I got at Case was student loan debt and no education to show for it.
Over and over again, I came in contact with people who just didn't seem all that happy that I was there or all that concerned that I was leaving. The staff acts like they could care less what happens to the students who come there and spend a whole lot of money for the chance to get a job later on in life. I am one of those very poor people who is still paying for the chance I took that Case Western Reserve University would be the best school I could hope to attend. I walked away disillusioned and disappointed.
All I can say is I hope someday to work with older foster children looking to enroll into college programs of their own. I would never send a child to Case Western Reserve University. Not because my hopes and dreams were destroyed, that is my problem and my burden to bear. I wouldn't send a child to Case Western Reserve because they don't live up to the hype. I feel I can say from experience that the staff at Case doesn't care one way or another whether you succeed or not. If you aren't a medical student or a math genius, you need not apply to Case. They will get your money and you will get the shaft. That was my experience and I don't mind sharing my experience if it will stop someone else from making the mistake I did.
If you want to go to a college that is so laid back that there is less than a 50% chance your paperwork will get done, your financial aid packet will be processed in time, and your hopes and dreams will be realized, Case is your school. But, if you are serious about your education and you really want to succeed, please pick another school. I wish I had.
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