U-bills and the cost of books can bring stressful times to students. It’s a time when money is tight and the desire to spend money on leisure is high. And although college is a financial burden, knowing we have some sort of aid to help us keep up with the expenses — at least for now — brings a bit of comfort.

However, counting on your college loans, grants and scholarships has become a problem. Instead of rushing to the bookstore to buy the cheaper used books while they are still in stock, students are being forced to wait until the financial aid is in their hands or directly deposited into their bank accounts. For off-campus students, September rent is coming up and the funds that are supposed to be there are not.

There is obviously a problem with the financial aid office’s dispersal of funds. If a department cancels your class, you may not classify as a full-time student, meaning all or part of your aid can’t be released while you search for a decent class and must travel to the Registrar’s office to reassess your fees.

What’s up with this? Why does this only happen to certain people?

Is it the way your name falls in the alphabet? Is it how many credits you take?

Maybe it is the funny way you look at the person sitting at that financial aid desk when they ask for your social security number.

Or could it be your mom’s name? You know, if your mother’s first name ends in a vowel followed by a consonant that comes after “q” then you have to wait that “3-5 days” you always hear about.

No, wait, we’ve got it; they send your aid to someone else and then tell you that you never filled out the forms they sent you, and you know you turned it in over two months ago.

Whatever the answer to the financial aid question might be the answers don’t add up, and someone in financial aid needs to check their math.