Without financial aid I probably wouldn’t even be at school. I am concerned about graduating on time, because I wouldn’t be able to pay for it by myself. When I first started, I applied for financial aid and then I found out later that I hadn’t applied to TAP, so I applied for TAP and that took care of my outstanding balance [for my tuition], but now I have another outstanding balance.

I still have to pay out of pocket for all of my books. With an account balance, if it’s not payed or taken care of, they put holds on your account, which hinders you from even registering for classes. With an account balance, there’s no way you can even be in class. So that’s a big issue that I and a lot of students are facing in CUNY.