Just weeks before classes are set to start, some University of Houston students say they are dealing with a surprise cut to their financial aid, according to FOX 26 Houston. The station reported that the change has left students scrambling at a time when they expected their funding to already be in place.
Several transfer students told FOX 26 they only just found out they will not be getting the Texas transfer grant they had been counting on. According to the station, the loss of that money is now leaving them looking for a way to fill the gap for tuition before the semester begins.
According to state higher education officials cited by FOX 26, this year had been expected to be the program's last. The station reported, however, that the affected students say they were never told the grant was going away, and were caught off guard when it did not appear.
One student described going to the financial aid office when the money did not show up, FOX 26 reported. She said she had been expecting the grant to roll in as it did every year and had no reason to believe she was no longer eligible, only to be told flat out that the school was not doing it anymore.
The same student said the grant had covered her schooling for the entirety of her college career, according to FOX 26. She said she had never had to pay out of pocket before, and that the sudden change had left her in a mess of chaos as she tries to figure out how to stay enrolled.
In a statement to FOX 26, the University of Houston said it cannot comment on individual aid packages because of privacy laws. The station said the university added that, overall, its financial aid has not been cut or decreased, even as the students describe losing the specific grant.
FOX 26 said it was still waiting to hear back from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board about the status of the grant. The station framed the situation as an unresolved one for the transfer students, who are left weighing how to cover their tuition with the school year fast approaching.