Hey y’all. Truly wish I did not have to write this up but here we are. I, Andre Long, am a rising senior here at Howard University, pursuing a degree in journalism. Unfortunately, the financial position my family & I are in has made that journey a challenging one.

On July 24th, I wrote a letter detailing the financial hardships & extenuating circumstances my immediate family has been dealing with and submitted it to financial aid. I was seeking possible aid to help cover the cost of the intensive language class I took over the summer after my parent was denied for a parent plus loan, but was told the university could only offer $893 in Pell Grants. On July 25th at around 1 AM, I received a notification & I realized now owed in excess of $22,000 in past due charges, instead of the ~$9,000 I had prior to visiting financial aid. Howard has revoked my HU Opportunity scholarship & part of my HU Need based scholarship without explanation. I have to wait 3-5 business days for word on that while my debt is sent to collections because the Bursar will only do payment plans for students with a balance less than $5,000.

I am so close to getting that piece of paper that tells the world I graduated from the #1 HBCU, something my family & I have been dreaming about for over a decade. This situation has definitely hurt my spirit, but yet it remains unbroken & I am determined to find a way to finish what I started.

My family is already over $100k in debt from my time at Howard, working two jobs in the education field in North Carolina to keep me afloat. My mother is an elementary public school teacher in one of New York City’s most vulnerable and impoverished neighborhoods. She cannot take out a Parent Plus loan due to a paperwork issue not allowing her to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. We’ve exhausted all of our avenues besides a predatory private loan in order to help my dreams of graduating from Howard with a degree, which I will most likely have to resort to. Everyone is going through a hard time right now, so if all you can donate are some kind words, that still means the world to us. I cannot wait until the day I can make my family proud with a diploma & this university when I finally get to put it to use. With a little help, I can still do that on time. This money first and foremost will be used to pay down my balance with Howard as well as finding housing, as my current lease ends on August 15th. Thank you all so much for your time and have a great one.