Until last Thursday, the United States Federal Government was shut down after Congress and President Trump could not come to an agreement about government spending. While this mostly affected government workers, it also impacted some college students trying to get financial aid.
According to Director of Financial Aid Lawrence Matthews, the Department of Education was fully funded in the fall and not impacted by the shutdown. Despite this, some students say they still had trouble actually receiving aid.
“When I first saw the government shut down, I was just like, ‘Oh, okay?’” said Lauren Bish, a student at Bowling Green State University who grew up in Bluffton. “I certainly didn’t expect to be affected.”
Bish said she was in a rush to take out a Stafford loan when she was asked to provide tax records, a request that proved challenging due to an address discrepancy. She said she was unable to fix this issue with the IRS, which was included in the shutdown. This had serious consequences for her financial aid.
“I can’t take more than one class this semester and keep up with my graduation plan,” said Bish. “I have to pay $1,400 out of pocket to take a single class.”
Bish is not the only one who had trouble with financial aid. Kameron Singleton, a junior communication major at Bluffton, also struggled to get financial aid because of the shutdown.
“I was surprised, in the aspect of how it was going to affect me,” said Singleton. “I was selected for extra paperwork on financial aid, and so that required me to have to get tax information, which had to go through the IRS website. At the time, the IRS government website was shut down.”
Singleton said the shutdown prevented him from getting tax paper transcripts. In turn, this inhibited him from getting the financial aid he needed to even take classes. However, Singleton said he was was able to get the paperwork done on Wednesday, Jan. 9, the first day of the semester.
“I went to all of my classes Wednesday, but I was still not scheduled for classes,” said Singleton. “I had to go to the financial aid building here on campus and talk to the lady over there, and she pretty much got on the website for me.”
Despite getting help for the financial aid, Singleton said he believes the school still has not actually received all of his tax papers. Singleton also said the situation has delayed him from receiving his refund check from the university.
It is important to remember how national news like the government shutdown can impact even the smallest communities. Many students rely on federal loans to go to college, and a government shutdown put those plans in jeopardy for some.
