by Beks
Dear State of California College,
First off, I’d like to thank you for cashing my husband’s tuition check within 12 hours of receiving it. Who knew that was even possible? Though to be honest, I’m not quite sure why we pay two months in advance and are later reimbursed. It kinda sounds like a man I heard about… what’s his name? Ponzi?
Second, I recently received your request for an additional $150 per semester – as if the two thousand I just paid you was completely insufficient for a whopping six units… and let’s not discuss your $200 parking pass shall we? I was amused at the complete ambiguity as for the reasons why the additional funds were needed from all 30,000 or so students but I was NOT amused when I actually had to pay it. But hey, thanks for allowing me to defer this unexpected payment for three weeks. I guess that’s supposed to help me be happy about paying more and getting less? I have approximately $26 in my checking account. Clearly, I cannot spend $150 when I only have $26. Who do you think I am? The state of California?
Also, I want to thank you for delaying the receipt of my husband’s tuition funds for two months. Perhaps you are trying to help the business students perfect the art of living off ramen noodles and tuna and hone their negotiating skills with creditors?
When we called to check the status on the cash flow, you said the check was ‘in the mail’. 3 weeks have passed. Are the checks being personally delivered by a three legged dog on a skateboard? In short, in response to your request for additional funds…
The check is in the mail.
Sincerely,
The broke wife of a California college student
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
Hilarious!
Yesterday I spoke to my cable/telephone/internet company about the increase in my bill. As I have a “locked in” price for a year, I was really surprised that it went up. “Oh, it’s not an increase in the monthly payments,” the nice customer service rep explained, “it’s an increase in equipment rental fees. Those aren’t locked in.”
Funny, they never mentioned that when they gave us the hard sell.
Maybe I need to write them a letter!
I haz a sad lol.
very funny, and yet soooooo true…
Boy do I know that whole situation. I got through college by being dropped for non-payment, getting overrides from the teachers, and then when my aid was finally available hitting up three different desks to a) re-enroll, b) claim financial aid, and c) apply financial aid to tuition bill.
I gamed the system every semester, but dammit, I graduated!
I know this isn’t supposed to be funny, but it really really is! “Who do you think I am? The State of California?” “…delivered by a three-legged dog on a skateboard?”
Please, PLEASE send this to the school. Please!
Very frustrating! When I was doing my undergrad, my school hiked tuition in the double-digits a couple of times (I think one year it was like 21%, because they added a $400/semester mandatory fee too!). It makes it very tough to budget, especially on such short notice! Hopefully California’s budget woes won’t mean mid-year increases in December/January too!
Thats life of college. At least its only $150 that’s chump change. My tuition raised 3-4k every single year I was there. Be happy for what you have.
My DH and I were just talking about this very subject last night. It’s pathetic that this is the state of our education right now. My kids are going to have it difficult cleaning up our nation’s mess.
Ouch! I feel your pain. I can’t afford to pay fall tuition at my college. If paying $1000 for ONE class wasn’t enough…they charge inexplicable fees EVERY semester like an additional $350 library fee. Seriously? I don’t even use the library!
Gotta Love it. We work so hard for our money, and so many are willing to take it 🙂
I feel for you. Any state school in California right now is passing the budget crisis directly on to its students. I have a friend who will be starting her first semester at Berkeley, and just learned that ALL of her grant money was taken away. She’ll either have to take out loans, delay attendance, or attend part-time while still working (which is what she chose to do).
Sadly, it won’t get any better until California voters (a group in which I am included) can STOP voting by initiative. It’s so utterly insane that we are able to vote for initiatives before we ever know if there’s money to fund them. It’s like voting with a credit card.
Hang in there! You can do this!
I know its not a time to laugh, but the $200 parking fee made me chuckle. I pay $250 per year to park at my college campus, and it just seems a little much on top of the $28,000 annual tuition cost.
Colleges really can charge whatever they want. Seems like when high school students are looking for colleges, price is the last thing they look at. As long as that is the case, prices will continue to rise.
-DC
Very funny:) Sad but true too!
I know exactly how you feel!! Great letter. I’m a graduate student at a CSU and was ecstatic to see that my tuition raised up to over 3k!! Best of all, the email I received from the college letting me know about the increase… to make us feel better about the increase, the letter explains that in order to continue to offer classes (my graduate program only offers 3 classes to graduate students) it is coming at a sacrifice to everyone…. quote from email…
“To do this requires something from everyone in the university community. For example, nearly every employee, including the campus presidents and the Chancellor, will be furloughed two days each month for the rest of the academic year. This amounts to a reduction in pay of almost 10 percent. This sacrifice by employees helps avoid, to a significant extent, the degree to which reductions in course offerings and student services will be needed.” Hmmmm!