Dozens of incoming Howard University students say they have been unenrolled from the school weeks before the fall semester is set to begin.
Several of the unenrolled students showed News4 copies of an email they received from the university stating they missed a payment deadline on July 10th, and, as a result, they lost their place in the freshman class.
Isabella Williams had already packed her truck and was supposed start driving from Alabama to D.C. on Thursday.
“For us to suddenly be unenrolled from what is most of our dream schools is heartbreaking. It’s confusing,” she said.
Williams said she had scholarships to cover the rest of the balance, and had sent documents to Howard informing them the money was coming in August.
“I put in so many hours, late nights, to apply for scholarships, to make sure that I could go to the school of my dreams comfortably. And to have that ripped away isn’t fair,” Williams said.
“I rep them so hard, okay? I rep them so hard and I just don’t feel like I’m being supported or repped back,” said Dwayne Irvin, another student who was unenrolled after not meeting the payment deadline.
MarLae’ Coffield said that as of July 11, her account balance was negative and Howard actually owed her money, because she had more aid and scholarships than the cost of tuition.
“I’ve graduated early. I graduated my junior year and I had a 4.0, and I did all of that just to get into Howard University. And now I can’t go to Howard University,” Coffield said.
Howard University declined News4’s request for an interview but said in a statement the school repeatedly reached out to students and families between March and July, informing them of the payment deadlines.
The university said the outreach included emails, personalized financial aid information, videos and prep sessions.
“We understand that the enrollment update that was issued yesterday is difficult and disappointing for students and their families,” the school said in part. “Confirming enrollment is essential to planning academic programs, housing, financial aid, and student support services.”
The school said it will give students a refund for any payments and scholarship dollars they had already sent. However, the deposits they put down for tuition and housing, worth $800, are nonrefundable.
“All of my deposits, I had to make GoFundMes to raise that money because my family is low income, so we just had to come up with the money out of nowhere by these certain dates, which we’ve done,” Coffield said.
Howard University told the students who were unenrolled they can apply again next year as a transfer student.
The university said it’s reviewing the cases of students with pending scholarships and financial aid.