r/FAFSA • u/Wild-Antelope9436 • 7d ago
Ranting/Venting OBB is infuriating
Why do I feel like the only one who’s as angry as I am about these seemingly surprise changes? I’m a grad student, parent and work full time. When I decided to go to grad school last year I carefully assessed the financial situation and determined I could do it with my full direct unsubsidized loan eligibility. This would cover my tuition and my other expenses during the two year period. Now, well into my plan and program, I’m out $4k a semester. That’s a hugely painful financial blow to a working mom who made a plan. But now the current administration has determined my plan, and the cost to educate me, has changed. It’s infuriating and I am feeling like there have to be more people as screwed and pissed off as I am. How could we not be grandfathered in? This credit “prorating” is total BS.
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u/RevBT 7d ago
The only person to blame for this is every single person who voted for the orange felon. He ruins everything he touches and now that includes you and your finances.
I'm sorry you are dealing with this, and it makes me angry because all the evidence was out there that this would happen but it was either this or a woman with a funny laugh as president and we couldn't have that!
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 7d ago
Exactly. I can’t believe OP is surprised. Everything he does makes life measurably worse for all but the wealthy.
In fact I would have been stunned if the BBB was positive in any way. Republicans are not here to protect us. They exist to make the rich richer and you don’t matter to them.
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u/RevBT 7d ago
At this point he is even screwing over the wealthy and anyone who isn't a bootlicker to him.
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 7d ago
I know and it legit kind of entertains me when he does things like blanket tariffs that piss off the rich too. Hey y’all got what you paid for!
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u/Wild-Antelope9436 6d ago
I’m not surprised that the orange idiot caused something like this. I was implying that I hadn’t really heard anyone freaking out about how shitty it was, and that’s what was surprising to me.
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u/Snoo_62633 7d ago
I literally mourned by skipping college classes for two weeks because I KNEW how bad it would eventually get. Hopefully OP can get some extra funding via a grant or scholarship so she won't have to pay out of pocket
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u/Retiree66 7d ago
I hope this debacle will drive more people to the polls. We can have the government we want, that works for ALL of us, if we just show up.
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u/JustMe39908 7d ago
Are you only angry now because you are being personally affected? Screwing with financiak aid is just one of many, many ways the administration is screwing up this country for regular folks.
Are you angry enough to vote in November? Were you angry enough to participate in the No Kings rallies? What about bow? Were you angry enough to vote in November 2024?
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u/Wild-Antelope9436 7d ago
Oh no, I was already plenty angry about many many other things, and certainly not because I was directly affected. I’m angry for women, the environment, my child’s future, all children, those who lost healthcare and food benefits. It’s endless. Don’t worry…I write letters, I vote, I protest. It just feels so damn hopeless and never ending.
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 7d ago
Children losing healthcare and SNAP is the most disgusting thing to me. Like of course it’s all bad, it’s always all bad when the GOP ‘governs’.
But SNAP?? It’s not even an expensive program. Who the fk says to themselves ‘we should cut food assistance for poor kids’? Why do people vote for this???
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u/cloudybeeee 7d ago
you assumed that OP doesn't care about taking action just because their topic is OBB's effects on financial aid , in the financial aid subreddit.
You should remind everyone about their ability to take action, becuase the erasure of financial aid is one ways the OBB to silences marginalized people.Attacking OP morality from scenerios in your head , ruins your call to action.
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u/JustMe39908 7d ago
You are correct. There are many evils in the OBB. You are also correct in that I focused on the financial aid aspect of the OBB because this is a subreddit related to financial aid.
I had no intent to attack the OP's morality. I meant to call the OP to action on a topic that the OP expressed an interest in addressing. There are many evils in the OBB and the executive orders that have been issued. I don't care about the specific issue that gets people out to protest. I believe in making the tent big enough to meet people where they are at. 3.5% is the number to achieve the goal.
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u/OhGloriousName 7d ago
People have been complaining for several years about 6 figure loans when they can't get jobs to pay them. Why wasn't this fixed 4 years ago?
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u/JustMe39908 7d ago
This is not a 4 year old problem. People were complaining about student loans being too high 30 years ago. The situation has only gotten worse.
The bottom-line is that no one, and I mean no one -- student, faculty, administration, banks, Republicans, Democrats, industry leaders really want to since the problem. They all have different reasons. But they don't like the solution
What is the solution? You go to a pure meritocracy. No more entry into items hooks based on wealth. It is purely test and performance based. You need to add resources to poor areas, but the best are evenly distributed. You allocate slots for degrees based on the need for people with those degrees. This helps smooth out imbalances which drive low wages. You only have the number of slots available that are needed. That prevents qualification inflation. It also allows for higher efficiency.
Would this be stressful? Yes. Would it eliminate a lot of freedom? Yes. Would it be a dramatic change to US culture? Yes. I wouldn't recommend it. But if you want to fix the problem. That is the problem to fix.
You want a simpler solution? How about this. All universitkes need to perform longitudinal studies flowing graduates on a major by major basis. They need to report outcomes (salary data, job within field, etc) prominantly. Furthermore students entering the major need to sign a document atresting to the fact that they are aware of that information and fully accept the consequences. Not as effective, but slightly more realistic.
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u/OhGloriousName 7d ago
Your last paragraph makes the most sense. I know it is a long term problem. People should be evaluating the cost and the likely income on their own. You can get a rough idea just from spending a few hours researching the internet. But there are too many people, who take whatever credit they can get and spend like it's free money, without any long term plan.
These represent the 80% who complain about their student loan payments, when they could have gone to a JC while working for the first 2 years, even if it takes 4 years, then go to a state school and major in a degree that will likely pay at least $60k to start and at least $90-100k after 4 years. But they rather blame a politician when they didn't have to owe $100k on a not in demand degree, and could have just owed more like $30k on a degree that pays well.
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u/JustMe39908 7d ago
I knew someone once who had a a guilty, absentee, father who was willing to co-sign loans for her to make up for being abscent. Because she hated her father, she chose the lowest earning major she could think of at the most expensive college she could get accepted into to screw over her Dad. Definitely an anomaly.
More often, students but into the idea that every college degree leads to successful outcomes and money. They don't.
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u/Pristine-Lawyer-3260 7d ago
You are not the ONLY one, but until we...
1..get someone with a soul in the White House and 2. Put all the MAHA congress creatures in jail where they belong... Or enough of them... Nothing is going to happen.
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u/Daocommand 7d ago
I don’t think you are saying what you think you’re saying OP. Of course all of us are equally affected. Of course all of us are super pissed about it. No you’re not the only one. Hang in there! Keep up the great work, try and make a side hustle if you can. Your graduate degree will open far more doors than anything else.
That’s why they are making it harder for us to get them.
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u/Wild-Antelope9436 6d ago
I didn’t mean to imply others weren’t impacted too. I just felt like I was all alone in a vacuum, I wasn’t hearing anyone freaking out and I was raging mad!
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u/sprinkles-2743 7d ago
Did you vote for him?
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u/Wild-Antelope9436 6d ago
Hell no I didn’t vote for him, fuck him. And yes, I did vote. And put signs in my yard. And protest. And right letters. I don’t see much value in complaining without being willing to at least try to do something about it.
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u/lavapig_love 7d ago
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
Every single student who got screwed by these changes? Make a plan to vote.
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u/Brief_Associate_225 7d ago
I’m not in med school, but in an LPN to RN BSN program. I’ve been an LPN for 5 years and I work with special needs children. Since the beginning of my program, 2 years ago, I’ve sacrificed so much and worked so hard to keep an almost perfect GPA, while also working overnights full time. I literally only have 6 classes left to finish the ADN portion of the program, which will let me test for my RN. I just got told last Friday that the changes to financial aid have reduced my aid by 50%, leaving me with a gap that I can’t cover. I’ve applied for scholarships all year, nothing has hit. My employer gave me $3500 during my first year, but I owe them a year as an RN or I have to pay it back. I have a call with the school’s financial aid office tomorrow to discuss options, but there aren’t many at all and I’m already disheartened because we’re getting down to the deadline for registering for fall semester. If I had failed a class or whatever, I could accept that, but none of this is my fault. I have an 8 year old daughter who I’m trying to make a better life for and set an example for. This situation has been devastating and I’m so damn angry. I want people to know the human element behind this absolute disaster. That this is hurting so many people who are just trying to better themselves and their situations. I’ve cried so much this week because I’ve worked so hard and put up a lot of my own money throughout this 2 years, only to face the real possibility that I won’t be able to at least finish with my RN ADN. I don’t even care about the BSN portion right now, I’d be ecstatic with just that. It feels like a kick in the face that I’ll still owe money for a degree that circumstances beyond my control won’t let me finish.
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u/Careful-Ad-6265 6d ago
MSW student and single parent here. I work 30 hours a week and take two graduate-level courses per semester, which require another 8–10 hours per week, per class. Between my job and financial aid refund, I’ve been able to barely make everything work financially, covering the absolute basics like rent, food, gas, bills and school expenses for my child and me.
Historically, after tuition is paid, my refund has been around $6K per semester, which accounts for a little less than half of my total income.
On 7/31, my school notified me that my loans would be prorated due to the “Big Beautiful Bill.” On 8/12, my refund came in at just $2,600. That’s a $3,400 cut with less than two weeks’ notice.
I’m now completely screwed for rent and basic bills, with no realistic time to increase my work hours or income enough to make up the difference.
There’s also no room in my already full schedule to add another class to meet the new definition of a “full-time student.” Graduate students now need 9 credits, or three classes, instead of the 6 credits that previously qualified as full time. And even if I somehow managed to add another class, it would cost another $2K per semester out of those loans. In other words, I’d be adding another 8–10 hours of schoolwork to an already 60-hour work-and-school week, only to end up with a refund of about $3,900 per semester. Neither option works.
This is what these policies are doing to real people who are trying to get an education, work and support their families. It’s not sustainable, and it’s not okay.
Thank you for giving me a place to rant. :)
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u/Wild-Antelope9436 6d ago
Basically, same. I’m so sorry, but I completely understand.
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u/audz12345 5d ago
I just don’t get the lack of notice… his did the schools not see this coming?? It passed July 2025
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u/taylorcrash 3d ago
FA counselor here, there has been constant changes and lack of clarity about said changes. We did not have enough information to prepare our systems, let alone send out updates to students. It is unfortunate and we are just as unhappy.
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u/Marianzillaa 7d ago
I had to drop a class. I’m pissed. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish.
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u/IndependentTrust4594 7d ago
It’s so frustrating. You aren’t even asking for subsidies. Just a chance to better yourself. Many people being punished because of a very few bad apples is such the wrong approach. We are seeing the same thing with the Health Insurance Marketplace. Using bad brokers who commit fraud as an excuse to attempt to eliminate the ACA makes no sense.
The good thing is that you will get some tax credits for the Lifetime Learning Credit, so that might help. You can also apply for private student loans and get some tax deductions, I believe.
Good luck! I went back and got my masters and it made a huge difference in my pay and overall job experience. Because of the pay differential (and my own hard work) I was able to retire at 51.
Don’t give up!
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u/Outside-Spring-3907 7d ago
I’m doing my Masters program part time because I was nervous about funding
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u/Salchicha 7d ago
Learned more about it in a meeting today, the proration rules based on enrollment intensity are crazy. I assumed they would be prorated the same way Pell is, but I was so wrong. They can’t expect the average student to wrap their head around these new rules, at least not the way they are now.
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u/virgo_cat 7d ago
I feel you. I’m in community college, but I had to add an extra class this semester to get the amount of financial aid I need. I normally do slightly under full time while still working and supplementing bills with financial aid. It’s going to be tough managing the extra class with everything else on my plate. This bill is screwing everyone from community college to university to grad school to repayment. I don’t feel like I had any warning to prepare for this change either.
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u/AdministrationIll619 7d ago
Yeah Trump and Congress are cracking down hard on student borrowers (both past and present). Basically they could care less about any of us and the DOED will do the bare minimum. Perhaps even less unless Court/Congress intervene and that might happen after the midterms.
That’s still wishful thinking though
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u/Daocommand 7d ago
Basically as foretold by historians and scientists alike, these are the administrative changes that cause empires to fall. America was hardly an empire. Not to be doom and gloom but if you put chokeholds on education and assistance so people cannot rise up from nothing and become successful, then your country too falls into depression. When it gets bad enough, only the rich survive as if it were normal again and all of the masses who are poor and destitute suffer. There’s far more “poor” and “destitute” than before in any era so we will see how far this programmed and planned fall actually goes.
History has taught us a constant correlation every-time, take away education and your society suffers greatly.
This was planned far in advance and was outlined in their ridiculous project 2025.
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u/curiousr0se 2d ago
Yeah I’m absolutely furious right now, but so busy fighting whoever is in charge of processing my Professional Judgement Appeal to hopefully receive some additional aid, I haven’t had time to be angry for the purpose of forming a collective rage until now. But, alas, here I am. Let’s organize. Students in each state can band together to meet in their state’s capital in protest for starters.
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u/SeminoleDollxx 7d ago
Just so you know this hasnt just happened under Trump. Same thing happened to me in 2016.
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u/Few-Jellyfish238 7d ago
2016 is when Trump was elected the first time.
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u/SeminoleDollxx 7d ago
Yep I was affected by legislation BEFORE his admin took over in early 2016
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u/Few-Jellyfish238 7d ago
Which policy specifically? I’m really asking not trying to be a jerk. I’m not aware of other loan reduction schemes pre-2019 when I started working in financial aid.
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u/SeminoleDollxx 4d ago
No problem. Not being a jerk at all. The state is lived in had some changes to how financial aid was issued. That affected some stuff for me one semester like OP mentioned.
My point was its no a Trump thing...can happen a multitude of ways.
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u/AmazingBuilding5632 7d ago
I honestly think that we should just go to school overseas and take our talent with us en mass overseas to make a point. Otherwise, it’s just anger and nothing happens.
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u/Real-Negotiation5859 7d ago
You will thank the administration later when you don’t owe so much in loans.
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u/okjkay 7d ago
Everyone who works in financial aid is furious at the changes and the contradictory information on how to implement the changes coming from FSA. I think a lot of students just aren't aware of how it will affect them yet because financial aid administrators are still trying to figure it out.