PHEAA - The Red-Tape Behemoth

Has anyone recently had to deal with the red-tape behemoth known as PHEAA - the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency? If you have, you probably know where I'm going with this!

As I was coming to the end of my tour of duty in Afghanistan in early 2003, my relatives in Pennsylvania suggested that I consider moving here and, eventually, starting college again (I was in my first semester at LSU when my unit was called to active duty overseas).

I moved to Pennsylvania in May of 2003 and decided to work full-time at a civilian job for at least a year. Of course, I had to fly back to Louisiana - at my own expense - to participate in mandatory monthly drills with my unit.

In May of 2004, I began applying to several schools and to PHEAA. I was accepted and chose to attend Widener University in Chester, PA, in the Fall of 2004, not realizing that PHEAA would contribute nothing to my financial aid package.

Countless phone calls and letters to PHEAA resulted in different excuses each time for why I was ineligible for financial aid from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

- First, it was because I hadn't changed my driver's license to PA
- Then, because I was a member of the National Guard of another state
- Then, because military members can only claim their home state
- Finally, they said it was because I applied 13 days shy of one full year in PA

As each excuse was presented and resolved, PHEAA found another one. Finally, I wrote to Governor Rendell asking for his assistance in resolving the situation. Sadly, even the governor fared no better than I did with this state agency!

I thought about giving up and returning to Louisiana, but instead I transferred to a state university because I couldn't afford a private college's tuition any longer (I'm already almost $25,000 in debt and I'm only a sophomore).

I gave up my full tuition benefits in Louisiana - even though I remained a member of the National Guard unit - to move to Pennsylvania. Now, PA tells me that I am neither a resident of the state nor eligible for financial aid.

It would be nice if Pennsylvania would honor my decision to move here as well as my years of service in uniform. Instead, they have made it next to impossible to stay.

Jason