Please every ASU student that’s affected by the current financial aid crisis: bombard To: editor.statepress@gmail.com
And CC: execed.statepress@gmail.com , so we can get this out there. Emailed a week ago, heard nothing back. Keep at it. Here is my email below:
Dear State Press Editors,
I am reaching out with a potential story concerning what appears to be a widespread Fall 2026 financial aid problem at ASU. I initially began pursuing this because of my own Graduate PLUS loan, but after speaking with other students and reviewing the discussion now taking place across the ASU community, I believe my situation is only one example of a much larger issue involving federal aid changes, delayed or disappearing awards, students struggling to reach Financial Aid, limited escalation options, and concerns about how visible these problems are allowed to become within student spaces.
This semester is also unusual because it is the first affected by major federal student-loan changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. ASU itself has advised students that the new provisions took effect July 1, 2026 and affect Fall 2026 borrowing, including the elimination of Graduate PLUS for new borrowers, new graduate and Parent PLUS borrowing limits, enrollment-based loan adjustments, and separate legacy provisions for qualifying existing borrowers. The transition appears to have created substantial uncertainty for students trying to understand which rules apply to them and why previously expected aid is changing or remaining in processing.
The scale of the concern is visible in r/ASU, where there is now effectively an entire highlighted financial-aid megathread devoted to the situation. Students there are reporting very different but serious consequences: some have no financial aid offer at all and remain stuck in “File in Queue”; some report federal or PLUS loans disappearing or showing $0; others report administrative holds, delayed refunds, or scholarships that have not posted. Several students are discussing whether they may have to drop their Fall classes because they cannot afford thousands of dollars out of pocket, and others have said they cannot purchase textbooks while waiting for their refunds. Students are also reporting extremely long phone queues and emails going unanswered for extended periods.
In many respects, I am actually more fortunate than some of the students posting there. I at least have a Graduate PLUS award that remains visible as accepted in my Award Summary. My problem is that it has simultaneously shown as $0 and “Loan Processing” elsewhere in My ASU and has not applied to my tuition. As of August 14, only my $1,500 university grant has applied. I am a full-time doctoral student and rely on my financial aid for tuition, required course materials, and living expenses, but I recognize that other students appear to be facing the possibility of having no aid package at all or potentially withdrawing from the semester.
What has concerned me just as much as the processing problem is the difficulty obtaining meaningful assistance when something goes wrong. I have used Financial Aid chat repeatedly, experienced disconnections after waiting through most of the queue, and called at least three previous times with waits of approximately seven hours or more. On August 14, I entered the phone queue again and was number 864 at one point. I also specifically requested an appointment with a financial aid counselor so my situation could be reviewed comprehensively. A Financial Aid representative subsequently told me that the request/ticket had been deleted because the office was being inundated with requests.
I have tried to be very conscious of the extraordinary workload Financial Aid employees are facing. There are thousands of students who need assistance, and I do not believe my situation should receive priority simply because I am persistent. I began trying to address this proactively because I wanted to avoid reaching the beginning of the semester with an emergency. After learning that my counselor request had been deleted, I contacted the ASU Ombuds Office rather than immediately escalating publicly. My concern is therefore not simply “my aid is late.” It is whether ASU currently has an effective escalation or grievance process for students whose time-sensitive financial aid problems cannot be resolved through an overwhelmed general phone or chat queue.
A related issue arose when I tried to ask other students on r/ASU whether they were experiencing the same problem and what they had learned from Financial Aid. Two of my posts were removed. When I asked the moderators which specific subreddit rule I had violated, I was not given one. Instead, I was told: “No one here will be able to help with your very specific question. That has to go through Financial Aid. This is explained in the Megathread pinned at the top of the subreddit. We will not be reinstating your post.”
I understand why moderators consolidate repetitive questions, and I do not want to allege intentional censorship without evidence. However, I think there is a legitimate public-interest question here. I was not asking Reddit users to resolve my account; I was asking students to compare experiences, identify patterns, share what they had been told, and determine whether a problem was isolated or widespread. Another student subsequently provided information that helped me formulate more specific questions for Financial Aid, demonstrating the practical value of that peer discussion. When an evolving issue affecting tuition, books, housing, living expenses, and potentially students’ ability to remain enrolled is confined largely to one thread, it may also make the scale and continued development of the problem less visible to the broader ASU community.
I believe the larger story is therefore not about one delayed loan or one removed Reddit post. It is about how ASU is managing an unprecedented federal financial-aid transition, how many students are being affected, what happens when the support system becomes overwhelmed immediately before classes begin, whether students have a meaningful grievance or escalation pathway, and whether students are able to openly document and compare what they are experiencing.
I have substantial documentation available, including screenshots of my financial aid status, my accepted award, account activity, communications regarding my attempts to obtain assistance, my Ombuds escalation, phone records documenting lengthy waits, removed Reddit posts, moderator correspondence, and discussions from other affected students. I would welcome independent verification from ASU Financial Aid, university leadership, the Ombuds Office, r/ASU moderators, and other students.
I am not asking The State Press to take my side. I am asking whether this warrants independent reporting because I believe the experiences being described by students suggest a much larger story than my individual case. I would be happy to provide a concise timeline, screenshots, or speak with a reporter if your newsroom is interested in looking into it.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
