Pikes Peak Community College

Date: May 22 2018
Major: Physical Therapy/Exercise Science (This Major's Salary over time)
This review does not involve the professors, as I've actually had fairly good results with them. This is being written after multiple conversations with persons in the financial aid department. I am a military service member and have been for 14 years. I am taking classes in order to better myself, advance my career, and hopefully make myself a better server of the nation. To do this, I was wanting to take several science labs over the Summer 2018 semester at the Rampart Range campus. After all of the ridiculous fees that were added to the cost of tuition, it looked like I was going to owe about $3000. Being the sole provider for a family of five, this is not a sum that I can readily pay out of pocket, and having exhausted the small amount of tuition assistance that I receive for being in the military, I sought to receive financial aid. Keep in mind, I was only looking to get a loan. I wasn't looking for handouts or free money of any kind. After multiple conversations with several different people, I was told that since I was not seeking a degree there, I was not eligible for financial aid. This confused me because I felt that, as a community college, it was probably seen as a stepping stone for most people to take basic classes that they could use for a degree elsewhere. I originally chose this school because my wife took several classes here (she did not receive or seek a degree from there and was granted financial aid for every hour of class she was in…weird, right?). The individuals that I spoke with showed a general lack of caring or understanding when I tried to explain my situation. The last person I spoke with (I believe her name was Christina) was particularly unhelpful. I asked her if I could put it into the system that I was seeking a degree just so that I could receive a loan (once again, not asking for a handout, and the school gets their money). She said that this wouldn't work because she knew that's not what I intended. I then asked if they would prefer that I take classes elsewhere, and she said that maybe I should. So, with that last comment in mind, that is my recommendation to anyone seeking college credit in the Colorado Springs area: go elsewhere. Especially if you are in the military, because they obviously don't care.