At least, that's what I thought. It turns out that I couldn't remember my PIN, which I picked last year.
No problem, I thought. There is a handy online form. I'll simply ask the helpful FAFSA people to email me my PIN. I filled out the form and submitted it.
The FAFSA website responded with a cheery little message letting me know that it would take three business days to email me my PIN. Three days! How on earth can an electronic system take three business days?
The website requires a PIN, a social security number, and other personal information in order to submit the form. In other words, there is obviously a database connected to the website which knows my PIN. They send out a confirmation email as soon as the form is submitted, demonstrating an ability to send email. They have all the needed information to do a PIN lookup instantaneously. And yet they need three business days. It boggles the mind.
I have no idea what I'm going to do, because three business days takes me beyond the due date. It's my own damn fault for not submitting the application earlier, I know, but it never occurred to me that their online system would require three days of processing time. I guess I will throw myself upon the mercy of the Financial Aid office on Tuesdsay and beg them for an extension.
4 comments:
IIRC, mine arrived (also electronically) in fewer than 3 business days. I think they deliberately give themselves a generous window for CYA purposes.
I had the same issue. It turns out that despite what the website says about the PIN arriving via email, I had a small official rip-the-sides-paper-thing in my financial aid folder of madness that informed me of my PIN. Perhaps you too were misled into thinking you picked it, or it was emailed to you, and it's actually in a deep dark folder somewhere? (I had to dig through all my applications to find it).
Wear your new black pumps and red sweater for the occasion. If you've got to beg, you might as well look good doing it, no?
You now have inspired fear in me as to when our deadline is. Of course, it's not on the Fin Aid website, so now I will sit in Biz Org and worry until I can find the form and see when it's due. That's what I get for not putting it in my Palm.
Post a Comment