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  1. #1

    Angry College Changed the Terms of a Scholarship That Was Already Granted

    My question involves defamation in the state of: Pennsylvania

    Hi,

    I am seeking assistance with a legal issue I am having with my university. When I matriculated a few years ago, I was awarded an endowed scholarship. Two main points of this scholarship were that (1) work-study funds would be reduced dollar-for-dollar by external scholarships before external scholarships would be used to reduce school grants, and 2) students that were need-eligible would have this same scholarship for 8 semesters of attendance.

    Up until Spring 2016, my college has always reduced my work-study contribution dollar-for-dollar by my external scholarship I receive – but now, for no explicable reason, they refuse to do so, and expect me to complete work-study and that my external scholarship will be used to reduce my college grant dollar-for-dollar. This goes against what the scholarship promised me upon matriculation.

    I've reached out to the University literally dozens of times over the past eight months, but the University will not correct this. Also, since they no longer offer the Endowed Scholarship, they've decided that I am no longer eligible for it (even though it was guaranteed to me for eight semesters of enrollment – meaning, eight completed semesters), and no longer keep the promises they made by offering it to me when I enrolled. This scholarship was the main reason I chose to matriculate into this particular university, because it was a much better offer than I had received from any other peer institution. Because of this (and other issues with this college that I had which I'm dealing with through another case, most likely), I had to drop out last semester. I want to pursue legal action against the University because they've essentially reneged on the scholarship they agreed to give me upon matriculation.

    I've had other issues with the financial aid office in the past – they've slandered me to another student; shared private information about my financial aid status with other students; and the director ignored my requests for assistance for literally 10+ months (I have proof of all of this). These are just some of the issues I've had to deal with regarding the financial aid office since I've enrolled. All of the issues I've had have caused me considerable stress and frustration and I've had to see a psychologist because of this. I feel as if they've been wholly negligent with their job duties, and their negligence has caused me serious problems, financially, emotionally, and mentally. My psychiatrist and psychologist will support the fact that I've suffered much distress due to the various improper actions of certain financial aid staff members.

    I need to find a lawyer that is experienced in negligence torts / emotional distress lawsuits. I know my case is actionable, and I have all the evidence I need to prove that many staff members were negligent in their duties (and some actions, like sharing my personal financial information and slandering me to my subletter, caused intentional harm where I did suffer financially; also, sharing my personal information to other students also caused me harm). I really need to find an attorney that can help me pursue a case against the school for these issues. Does anyone have any opinions on how I should proceed? (Please be nice and don't troll me... I've got too many issues going on as it is.)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Posts
    1,421

    Default Re: University Reneged on My Scholarship; Also Slandered Me to Another Student. :(

    I seriously don't think you have much of a case. Can you produce the CONTRACT regarding the scholarship? Emotional distress? This is life.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    98,846

    Default Re: College Changed the Terms of a Scholarship That Was Already Granted

    To comment on whether or not there is a binding contract, we would have to review the terms of the scholarship and the original grant. It's very likely that the scholarship included conditions that required you to continue to qualify for the scholarship on a year-to-year or semester-to-semester basis, and it's very possible that it the grant several years back mentioned that the terms of the scholarship might be amended from time to time.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    1,179

    Default Re: College Changed the Terms of a Scholarship That Was Already Granted

    I have two in college and one right now on that type of merit scholarship and honestly, it is usually on a year-to-year basis as long as you fulfill your side of the requirements. Federal aid like Grants and workstudy are DEFINITELY on an annual basis. There are no promises those won't change based on financial position and what the government has to offer that year.

    As to the difference between grants and workstudy, it is very possible that this is a federal rule rather than a school rule. Grants are free money whereas work study requires you to work to get the money and in turn help out the university. Honestly I am surprised it was setup the way it was in the beginning rather than what it changed to. Honestly, you are still getting the same amount of money in that case, just having to work for part of it. I understand that time commitment might cut into hours that you can work elsewhere.

    I am a little confused on your timeline though. Usually you must stay enrolled consistently for an endowed scholarship to continue. Did you dropout because of the grant/work study issue before or after the endowed scholarship stopped? If so, that would be why they stopped the endowment as there would have been a break in enrollment.

    Putting yourself through college is not easy (I did it too with no help from my parents). That alone is stressful, so I am not sure your argument that the financial aid office causing you all this stress will hold much water in a court. There are many kids who get NO financial help beyond merit scholarships (like mine) and it is just as stressful to them as they have no one else helping them out.

    I too have to agree that I doubt the scholarship was a binding contract, but would have to see it to know.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: College Changed the Terms of a Scholarship That Was Already Granted

    Quote Quoting just-a-student
    View Post

    I need to find a lawyer that is experienced in negligence torts / emotional distress lawsuits. I know my case is actionable, and I have all the evidence I need to prove that many staff members were negligent in their duties (and some actions, like sharing my personal financial information and slandering me to my subletter, caused intentional harm where I did suffer financially; also, sharing my personal information to other students also caused me harm). I really need to find an attorney that can help me pursue a case against the school for these issues. Does anyone have any opinions on how I should proceed? (Please be nice and don't troll me... I've got too many issues going on as it is.)
    Sorry, but you believe rather than know your case is actionable. I can tell you that what this very likely comes down to is whether or not there is a contract at all and, if so, what the terms of that contract were and whether the institution breached that contract. You need to understand that many failures to do a good job are not negligence in the legal sense and would not give you good grounds for a lawsuit. Furthermore, damages for emotional distress are available in very, very few situations and this kind of situation is not among them. Take the documentation you have regarding the scholarship and discuss your situation with a civil litigation attorney in the state where the university is located to see if you have anything worth pursuing here.

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