Passaic County Community College

I went to Passaic county community college (2018). It is actually the only actual college I went to. I only went for one semester because I could not afford college. When I first initially enrolled into the school I did what anyone else did and applied for financial aid to cover my classes, little did I know my financial aid never got approved. Apparently I was flagged because my parents failed to submit 2015 taxes. I wasn’t living with my parents at the time and they lived in Ohio, so trying to get this information from them was more than difficult. While all this was happening they still let me take my classes. I personally went to financial aid during my semester and asked to make a payment plan because this issue with my parents taxes for a few years prior was not looking hopeful. The financial advisor told me to hold off from making a payment plan until they knew for sure after they received all the information they needed to clear whatever was the issue was blocking any financial aid. So I did what he said and waited a little longer. He did not tell me that once the semester was over I wouldn’t have a chance to make a payment plan. And that’s exactly what ended up happening. The semester ended and I still had no update on whether or not my financial aid went through. I was actually already signed up for a second semester of classes when I was finally told my financial aid for that whole semester of full time classes was denied. It was denied because of my parents. My parents that have nothing to do with the money I have. My parents that do not support me financially in any way. It is wasn’t actually until this very year(2020) that my parents fixed whatever issue they had with the IRS but because of that I was denied financial aid. On top of that when I found out I officially denied for financial aid, I again asked to make a payment plan to cover almost $3000 worth of classes. It was then that I was told I could not do one at that point because the semester I was trying to pay for was already over. That right there inflamed me because I had gone to speak with a financial advisor during my semester to make a payment plan and he told me to not do one. He didn’t inform me I had time period to where I could do one. I then asked what were my options then if I couldn’t receive financial aid and they refused to make a payment with me.. I was told I have no options the balance goes straight to collections. Not even before the new semester and they are already sending my balance to collections. The college I was so excited to start as an adult gave me no choice and just pushed a new collection on my life. A sum of money that I in no way could pay at once to stop it from going to collections. They were very rude and firm on the fact that it was going straight to collections. That irritated me because I’m a responsible person, I pay all my bills on time and I handle living on my own. They gave me no chance to pay the school on my terms. They treated me like an irresponsible adult, like I just didn’t want to pay a bill. They messed up my credit that I was working on to eventually buy a house and stopped me going to college any further because I could not afford it out of pocket. They gave a young person living on their own only one choice of sending a balance to collections without being paid in full. If I could pay it in full I wouldn’t have applied for financial aid huh. To top everything off as all of this was occurring the new semester was starting and I still had no financial aid and I was told if there’s a balance then the classes for the new semester are automatically dropped in their system but that wasn’t the case. I was still emailed by professors informing me of my absence in class and when I asked why I was still enrolled into classes if I still had a balance to be paid, they said that was weird and that I should just go to my classes if I’m still enrolled. I would’ve done that if I had a way to pay for school.. BUT I had a new balance in collections and no financial aid to help with a new semester so all that made no sense for them to say to me to go to new classes anyway. I’m saying all this because it is now a few years after I went to PCCC and they are the only collection account on my credit report. At 25 years old I have an unnecessary debt on me because this school would simply not let me do a payment plan through the school. They choose to simply send a balance straight to collections to get it off their back. That shouldn’t be done to young people, living on their own in an expensive society. I have other student loans that are in good standing from going to vocational school, I pay my car and my insurance. I’m great with everything. If only they communicated better and actually cared about the people being affected by things like this.

Passaic County Community College (Pccc) is a perfect college match for a student like me who cannot afford universities because it is close to home, it is affordable, and the class sizes are terrific. I commute with a bus everyday going to school and it is fantastic because it only take less than an hour for me to get to my college. I do not own a car because I cannot afford it yet, so for the meantime, riding the bus to college is fortunate for me. I do loans because I am not eligible for financial aid. Pccc made it possible for me to attend college without spending tons of money for tuition for every semester. I like how the sizes of classes are in Pccc because it is easier to have conversations with the professors. For instance, if there are more than thirty students in a class, it is very hard to asks questions about a specific discussion because there might be ten students who have different questions. On the other hand, a class with fifteen students is more interactive because the students can ask as many questions as they want about the lecture without running out of class time. A two year college like Pccc is a very good start for a student like me who wants to save money and at the same time, understanding every topics without being left out. Furthermore, I am grateful for Pccc because this college is such a big help.

There is an abundant amount of opportunity here on campus. One of my counselors always has something new to inform me about every time I step into his office. This sense of encouragement, empowers me to continue to practice excellence. It eliminates the fear of not getting the result I want, as I know the community here on campus will act as a spring board to help propel in the right direction. I will be spending two years here to receive my associates degree, and I can honestly say I am excited for everything down the road.

I love coming to this school. It is a great learning institute, the professors are very helpful and there are always people who are always asking if you need help. The professors always make time for their students, whether they need help in their academics or personal life.