Can I sue my schools financial aid office for mistakenly not awarding me a state university grant?

Question

I rely on my financial aid for school and I'm always really careful about turning in my fasfa the first day we can file. This past April I received a letter in the mail saying I was no longer eligible for the Cal Grant even though it was listed on my preliminary award page for my school. I took the letter to the financial aid office and they told me not to worry my efc is low enough to get the state university grant and the award is equal to that of the cal grant. I went to visit my financial aid office in late August because the State University Grant was still not on my award page and the Cal Grant still was. I told the woman again about the letter I had received and that I was supposed to get the State University Grant instead. She called up the Cal Grant office and confirmed I was ineligible for a Cal Grant. I told her I already knew this but I was supposed to get the State University Grant, to which she told me yes you qualify for the state university grant but we ran out of funding for that in May and since we made a mistake and thought you were getting a cal grant you now cannot be awarded anything, sorry. So now instead of receiving almost $5000 in grants I am now taking it out in loans. Can I sue my financial aid office for this error? My boyfriend also goes to my school and he received a cal grant this year however it wasn't listed on his account until August that he was getting one, I do not know why they listed it on my account without confirming I would be receiving this award.

trh2000_2000 · Accepted Answer

Sorry, they can't give you money that isn't there.  Even though it "may" of been the collegs fault (I use may loosely), it is still YOUR fault for not keeping track. 

In any event, if you can't even pay for school, you can't even pay for a lawyer to even want to care.

Trish C · Answer

The question is, do you have standing to sue. The issue isn't whether you can afford to sue, since, being a student, you may be able to learn enough to try to sue yourself. Actually, attorney are supposed to donate a percentage of the time doing pro bono work, so you may be able to find an attorney who will do this, especially if you do the research beforehand to see if you may have a case, which is why you are asking. I have a similar question. I'm trying to reconcile the amount Salliemae says I owe with my 1098-Ts and so far it doesn't jive. Now I'm wondering why special education credentialists must be destitute to receive TEACH grants (?), why I wan't offered them, when the federal government mandates such jobs as a matter of law (IDEA). Different issue, but relative. Considering how jacked up Salliemae is, and the ridiculous interest rate, I'm hoping there are attorneys out there who litigate in this field. Ignore the sarcasm of others. Change only happens when we are proactive.

하하 · Answer

Quite frankly if you are poor enough to qualify for grants, you cannot afford a lawyer to sue anyone. You wouldn't win even if you could afford it though. You really should have followed up on the award package before late August. You are very fortunate to be able to take out loans to cover the $5,000 considering our government is several TRILLION dollars in debt.

Donald B · Answer

No you cannot sue anyone.  You fell into a doughnut hole.  The state government of California is notoriously inefficient.  Sorry!

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Can I sue my schools financial aid office for mistakenly not awarding me a state university grant?

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