Getting a university degree is expensive for most of students because of financial difficulties. Approximately 15% of students cannot graduate due to the financial burden. One way of getting a degree is to benefit from financial aid. Financial aid helps students’ dreams come true. They try to apply for federal financial aid first before private loans. Having a lower interest rate is the critical point here for students to choose federal financial assistance. Some universities support financially struggling students to get a college degree. One of these universities is the University of Phoenix. Unfortunately, it is not easy to qualify for the University of Phoenix financial aid because of federal laws. Some colleges engage in fraudulent activities, which makes it difficult for them to get federal assistance. The University of Phoenix is also one of the universities that faced similar charges from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
About University of Phoenix
Cambridge professor, economist, and entrepreneur John Sperling founded the University of Phoenix in 1976. Initially, the university started with only eight students as a for-profit one. Enrollment to the university increased in 2010. After the investigation by FTC, registration began to decrease in 2015.
The FTC sued the University of Phoenix on illegal and fraudulent activities against both the federal government and students. According to the claims, the university misled students about job placement and violated the government rules. Fortunately, most of the students had a chance to discharge their economic assessment.
What kind of Financial Aid is Available at the University of Phoenix
The application for financial aid could be confusing for most students. We will describe what you have to know about the FSA. There are several kinds of FSA programs available for the University of Phoenix financial aid. They include:
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Pell Grant
- Stafford Direct Loan Program
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity
- Stafford Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students
- Federal Stafford Direct Plus Loan for both Graduate and Professional Degree Students
What is the Process of Getting FSA?
After completing and sending the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA financial aid application, the committee will review and ensure the completeness of the information you provided. If you provided all the required information, with high probability, you would receive the fund. But if there are some incomplete fields, your financial advisor will contact you and require a missing document. After completing all the materials, the committee will review the application again and reward your fund. If you are eligible for a student loan, you will receive the necessary money and an award letter mentioning your FSA eligibility. It will also specify your eligibility period, and each semester, you will receive your award. But to continue your fitness, you need to submit your progress by sending the requested documentation with your payment option.
What is FAFSA?
FAFSA financial aid application connects the students with federal student financial aid. The program limits the financial aid based on the number of applicants and the amount of money that students require. According to the National Center for Statistics, approximately 72% of the undergraduate applicants have received the fund they needed. It benefits undergraduate students more than private loans because of the lower profit rate. Unfortunately, most of the students do not want to apply for financial aid. According to the survey result of parents, they do not believe that their children would qualify for the program. Survey results revealed that attitude toward federal financial aid differs according to the location. 62% of parents in the West think that their child would not qualify for the program.
On the other hand, undergraduate students in the North are more confident about their abilities and eager to apply for the program. Hence, the results also indicate that students in the North receive more federal financial aid than other areas.
Filling out a FAFSA financial aid application is a critical step for receiving financial aid, and you should be attentive while sending the application form. Survey also revealed that the parent fills the application alone for FAFSA because the process seems complex for most of the students. But experts advise parents to explain financial steps to their children while involving them in the process. Discussing and sharing an opinion about the FAFSA application should be part of the process. It also helps your children to avoid future financial problems.
Financial Aid Fraud Schemes
Reports record that in 2009, the University of Phoenix paid $67.5 million due to claimed fraud commitments. Employees of the university have claimed the violation of federal laws, as allegedly the organization was providing incentives for the recruiters based on the number of students enrolled. Informers of the event received $19 million. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission accused the university of a false advertisement, violation of the law, and incorrect data about the graduate job replacement. In the end, the university agreed to discharge student loans owed directly to the school.
Many students have difficulties paying their student loans back. If you are one of the students, you can get a discharge through Borrower Defense to Repayment. You are eligible to apply for a release if the university defrauded you about education program, false employment rates, fake income rates after graduation, or about the University of Phoenix financial aid. But before you need to prove and provide facts that the university defrauded you. You will receive your discharge only after the lawsuit accepts your claims.
About Borrower Defence Application
As mentioned above, to get your discharge, you need to apply through Borrower Defense Repayment. To benefit from the debt forgiveness, you need to indicate that you have suffered from the violation of the laws regarding education matters. Additionally, you need to show that you were not aware of all these violations of federal laws. The application is available online, and you can access it through the website of Borrower Defense. One thing you have to do is to fill and submit it online. Initially, sign it and add all the required documents. Note that the process may take longer than you expected. Therefore, it is better to scan all the related documents related to the University of Phoenix investigation.
Secondly, fill the application and send it to the U.S Department of Education mail with additional documents. Additional documents may include the course catalog of your college, advertising materials, and emails with college members. You need to be attentive with the application form because many student loan scammers want to trick the borrowers. Make sure that you send the application form only to the U.S Department of Education.