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  2020-06-20

  Racial Equity Gaps

  When we think about racial equity gaps in higher education it typically centers on how BIPOC students face much lower odds of earning a college degree. This is definitely true, but those who do make it to graduation also face inequities in college and in the job market post-degree.⠀ ⠀ A study of 2016 BIPOC college graduates found Black and Latinx students experience the longest time to completion, borrow significantly more than other students, and receive the lowest pay after graduation. This means Black and Latinx graduates spend less time earning wages and are more likely to have higher debt when graduating. It took me five years to earn my degree, while I also worked a full time job to pay tuition. The racial wealth gap we have doesn't just occur while employed but long before it.
• 2020-07-03

  NO FAIR

  I might not get to attend school next term, and it's only a little bit my fault. It would be easier for me to accept that I might not get to go to school next term if it was, actually, my fault. But in order to explain exactly why this is happening to me, specifically, I have to go back to a single moment in 2018. I took a break from school for 3 terms-- or, one and a half years. I took classes here and there at the University of Maine to earn some basic credits. When I initially filed my tax return, I owed about $60. Immediately after filing my tax return, I went back and realised that I needed to fill out the 1098-T. Suddenly, the US government owed me about $900. I probably would have remembered if I was paying for my tuition myself. Technically the funds are in my name, but my dad's the one who does all the re-arranging and finagling when we pay my tuition. During that time off I paid my student loans by myself just fine, but he does some jiggery pokery with investment accounts I can't understand. I remember getting a bunch of warnings. ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT COMMITTING FRAUD, ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT LYING, ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT A THIEF, etc etc., when I filed for an amendment. It took the government months and months to process the amendment, and begrudgingly admit that they owed me money. When I finally did get a check sometime in August, I laughed about it and put it in my (very healthy) savings account. This year, I was late to the game. I believe I completed the FAFSA on time, though I'm not sure. I'm not even sure it would have made a difference. I kept getting notifications that I hadn't completed my forms. I looked online and the FAFSA seemed OK. Things came to a head one afternoon in mid-May. We received a bill where I had no financial aid, at all. I called my advisor, freaking out and crying in these huge, gross sobs, because nothing upsets me like money. She reassured me we would figure it out. What I did figure out is that because I filed an amended tax return, I had to get a tax transcript. Before I could get a tax transcript, I had to get my student loan number, because I didn't have any of the other things that they asked for-- no auto loan, no credit card. I'm still not entirely sure what my student loan number is. I have 3 different numbers that I rotate on the IRS site when I'm absent-mindedly trying to get my transcript, again. None of the numbers that I cried over finding work. I always get an error message. I don't think there's any student loan number associated with my account, even though I've paid student loans before. I've tried so many times that if I was doing something wrong, I probably would have done something right by now. You can try 3 times every 24 hours before they lock you out for 'fraud prevention' or something. The financial aid office at my school told me I have to wait until an IRS office opens. My local office is located in a strip mall. It has a 1.8 star rating on Google. There is no indication whether they've re-opened or not. In the meantime, I don't know what to do. I feel lost, and physically sick to my stomach. I'm not unfamiliar with being forced to take a break from school. I'm unfamiliar with having so much I desperately want to do next term, but with the looming threat of that being taken away. I feel helpless. I try to act like nothing's up, but talking about the situation is a fast way to reduce me to tears. I keep wanting to yell NO FAIR, even though other people are in a worse situation. The people I've talked to at school have reassured me that they'll find a way. It's really hard to believe them. I just want the IRS to open back up, and to get my damn transcript. Then everything will be OK.