Items

• 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.