This may be a combination of combatting wacked perceptions and using the five steps to solve problems.
I have to be honest. I am angry right now, and so incredibly frustrated. I have been trying to do everthing super early and get all my ducks in a row for grad school, and I keep running into obstacles along the way. Right now I am angry because I did my FAFSA in FEBRUARY and yet the financial aid office doesn't know what is going on. I called to verify it. I verified I had the right school code on the application. I thought I did everything I could to be before the priority deadline of April 1. I have called and talked to them about six times now. This last time they tell me that I have to make a correction because I forgot to mark female. So I did. Now I get a confusing letter saying they need a different FAFSA from 2009-2010, with 2008 income. WHAT THE HELL? I verified that I filled out the correct FAFSA in the first place each time I called them.
I'm already worried that I'm not going to be able to pay for this. I'm scared I'm going to screw up because I don't know what I'm doing or what the process is. I have tried everything I can think of. I've traveled to Denver to talk to the financial aid people. I've checked with my advisor, I've checked with the admissions office and the Bursar office.
And don't even get my started on the other problems of not being able to log into their system to access the information I need to access.
I want to cry.
Step one: HALT - I'm, not hungry, I'm extremely angry, I'm lonely, I'm not tired. Step two:Define the problem I need to make sure the financial aid situation is accurate and I need to know the proper procedure to get this mess fixed. Step Three: Come up with three possible courses of action 1. Call AGAIN the financial aid office to see if they have received my corrected FAFSA and to get them to clarify the letter they just sent me. Do I need to fill out the 2009-2010 FAFSA additionally? 2. Schedule a personal day, go to Denver to the financial aid office (again) and harrass them in person until this gets figured out. This has the added bonus of harrassing the Admissions and Registar office (again) of fixing the login to the UCD portal I need access to, since this school seems to do everthing online. 3. Get out my anxiety book and review to decrease my feelings of anxiety anger and overwhelmedness.
Step 4 Tomorrow I will call the financial aid office again. If I still get the run around, I'll schedule another personal day to try to get this corrected. And, I think I'll break out my dbt/anxiety workbook. God knows, I'm about to blow and I'm trying not to be self destructive about it.
_________________ "I can lose my hard-earned freedom if my fear defines my world. I declare my independence from the critics and the stones. I declare my revolution, I can learn to stand alone."
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