MASSGrant recipients reported issues viewing their fall 2024 awards, sparking confusion over semester bills.
The MASSGrant is a need-based financial aid program awarded to undergraduate Massachusetts residents based on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
For sophomore Alina Ngo, scholarships and financial aid, including the MASSGrant, pay her tuition in full.
However, the financial aid page of her MyBU Student Portal showed her MASSGrant award as still pending for the fall 2024 semester. She said according to her MASSGrant account, the funds were sent to Boston University on Dec. 13.
Ngo said the grant “disappeared” from her MyBU account over winter break.
Ngo emailed BU Financial Assistance asking why her grant money was no longer showing on her account. The office said it was a system error, and the grant would appear eventually, she said.
Similarly, junior Marly Hyppolite said her BU financial aid page shows the MASSGrant and other grants as pending for the fall 2024 semester.
Hyppolite said she experienced a similar issue previously when she and other students received a bill for a summer course that was supposed to be paid in full with financial aid. She is still working on clearing it up with BU.
Hyppolite received the MASSGrant in prior years and said it is usually fulfilled “within a couple weeks,” but the fall 2024 grant has taken months.
“The MA grant funds typically show on a student’s account ‘as anticipated’ until enrollment is confirmed and also that the state has sent the funds to the University,” BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press.
Riley said he spoke with Financial Assistance, and students should see their MASSGrant awards now. However, Ngo and Hyppolite said it is still pending.
Britt Johnston, assistant director of BU Student Accounting Services wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that from an accounting perspective, it’s most often a “clerical issue” with how the system reads data.
She wrote the financial page of the MyBU Student Portal keeps track of awards for a window of time based on when BU is supposed to receive funds from a third party. Since MASSGrant delays are running past its window, the awards seem to disappear when the funds aren’t provided yet.
Another possible problem is the system misinterpreting where to apply certain pending grants, which results in outstanding balances and awards granted to incorrect semesters, Johnston wrote.
“It can be stressful to suddenly see this balance, but it’s important to remember this does not necessarily indicate an intentional charge or that the award is no longer expected,” Johnston wrote.
Ngo said she wishes BU would notify students directly about the MASSGrant issues as it did regarding FAFSA delays in the fall, instead of having to constantly reach out herself.
Hyppolite said she feels frustrated with the confusion because she can’t pay until her financial aid is approved.
“My parents have been asking me almost every week, ‘When are you going to pay the tuition? When are you going to pay your tuition? Have you paid it?,’” Hyppolite said. “They’re kind of on me about that, but it’s not my fault.”
