TESU Graduation and OOS Waiver Fees

[Toastmaster]

I sent an email to academic advising and asked "Can I use student loans to pay for the graduation Fee and the In State/Out of State Waiver?"

To which they replied "unfortunately your student loans cannot be used to cover these expenses. They are fees that the students' must cover "out of pocket" or by private loan, etc."

Is this true?  You really have to a couple of thousands of dollars out of pocket? (That was my intention anyway, lol.)

Is this because I'm on the Per Credit Plan? (For testing out using other sources of credit)

Thanks for your help!

[davewill]

Sort of. If you were taking actual courses at TESU, then you would not have to pay the residency waiver as you could fulfill residency through taking 16 units. Anyone on the comprehensive plan would do so as a matter of course, but it's possible on the per credit plan as well.

[sanantone]

TESU doesn't have an in-state/out-of-state waiver. TESU doesn't have a real residency requirement in reference to how many credits you have to take with them; this has nothing to do with where you live. They have to make money somehow when you're transferring in almost all your credits, so they charge you a residency waiver fee when you do so.

I'm not even sure if paying a large graduation fee is the norm. I didn't pay one at Angelo State University. The Big 3 charge all these fees because they accept so many transfer credits. Financial aid only covers tuition and fees related to taking courses. There's no system for them to give additional financial aid for a residency waiver, annual enrollment fee, or graduation fee. Financial aid is based on how many credits you take. If you get an overage check, then you can use that money to pay for those fees.

[Bananalu]

How do you know that you can use your overage check to pay the residency waiver fee? Did you hear that from TESU?

[High_Order1]

I never really considered that before.

I, just guessing, guess that the .gov says no, to keep colleges from pumping up those fees, because the grants & loans would blindly cover it.

That is something that probably should be made aware to prospective students on here. It would suck to get a loan, just to have to pay 2k or better out of pocket. Like paying to EXIT a restroom... LOL

On the other side of the coin, how would either side know what the loan money is going towards? You're cutting a check for outstanding balance, of which those things are line items.

[Ideas]

How do you know that you can use your overage check to pay the residency waiver fee? Did you hear that from TESU?

Overage checks can be used for anything.

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Is this true?  You really have to a couple of thousands of dollars out of pocket? (That was my intention anyway, lol.)

Yeah, it's a downside to "testing out". There are so many reasons why testing out saves time though, so we can work a little more  And testing out gets the degree faster, so you can earn more faster, and saves money overall.