Complications of Being an International Student

My apologies for being away from my blog for so long, I have missed it, but things have been irreparably crazy. To begin this blog, we are going to have to go back to the very start before we even left the U.S. changing Countries is a huge undertaking so when we were discussing moving to England we wanted to be sure that there would be support in place in the case that we would need it which is in the form of US financial aid. I used FAFSA's online support system, I called my loan companies that I have borrowed from, I did everything that a responsible student would. All these sources confirmed that my loans would stay deferred while I was attending school at least part time, however what they did not stipulate at that time which I know now is that they will do this only under one exception, that you are attending a US supported institution.

You are probably all wondering “a US supported institution”, what the hell does that mean! Essentially it means if your school abroad does not have an agreement with the US through a Federal School Code the US will not allow you to access loan money, nor will they continue to defer your undergraduate loans even though you are continuing your schooling. We originally thought that I could continue to go to school and we could just pay for my tuition out of pocket, no big deal right. Unfortunately it was, because they don't just want you to be paying tuition, they want you to be making loan payments as well.  Trevor was lucky enough that his institution happened to be one of the few universities that by coincidence had a federal school code (which doesn't mean the loan companies made it easy for him either). Over the year that we have lived in the UK it has taken literally until now for this very important information to be relayed to us. Trevor and I have filled in and submitted countless “In School Deferment Forms” to the loan companies which they are already supposed to have on record...let me tell you they don't and don't trust them. Most forms we submitted were denied to the reasoning that they were not filled out to the companies liking, but did they send them back to us, or give us a call or email...no the didn't they called and harassed our contacts we provided on our loan agreements and asked how they could get in contact with us like we were some sort of criminals. After we had already given them all of our UK contact information mind you.  So, EVENTUALLY, after the loan companies finally figured out the British write their dates differently they accepted Trevor’s forms.

While Trevor's forms were accepted mine continued to be denied, and after I had to contact them it finally clicked in someone’s head as to why I was not being deferred. So I was very blunt with them and obviously very angry and asked, “what is it you would like me to do, quit my school and transfer so you can tick the box on your paperwork”, and she said yes! So, here I am a month before graduate school starts up again, and guess what I am doing? That's right...applying to graduate schools...again. While I am very annoyed, there are quite a few positives to this change. 1.) My undergraduate loans will go back on deferment and I will be able to access additional loans, so there will be no financial struggle this school year. 2.) I was beginning to re-think the direction my Master's was taking me anyway, so I am now applying to programs that I believe align more with my interests which are in microbiology and parasitology. 3.) I have the possibility of attending a school closer to home (my last university was a 2 hour train ride each way), which means more time to study and more time spent at home with my family, and less stress.

Now that I am sure I have given all of you a headache just thinking about bureaucracy I am going to end my rant and catch you up with other life happenings. I finally found a job part-time to help out a little with our finances, it doesn't pay much, but the benefits are great (kisses and cuddles). These are some of my bosses.

The last few months for Trevor and I have consisted of travelling, events, and house guests. It's been crazy and it's been wonderful. We have also as a result of our hectic dog filled lifestyle adapted to running every night, for the sake of our sanity and the dogs we watch. We have so many stories we are excited to tell all of you and we promise you they will not be as boring as this post. So get ready to be re-immersed in our English adventure!

See you soon,

Jessica and Trevor <3