Caroline: As an alternative to grad school, I'm exploring taking fifth-year professional courses to see how well I can adapt to being back in school after many years. The state of the economy is definitely causing some worry and uneasiness; I already possess a BA but am not securely employed. I just submitted my FAFSA to see what finance options may be available; I might be able to get a limited amount of "worker retraining" funding from my state if I meet certain requirements. Taking the fifth-year curriculum may be a good confidence builder before jumping into a formal grad program. Any suggestions?

Hi Ronald -- thanks for writing to us. You're smart to explore new options, since you're not securely employed. Have you been looking for another job as well? Is it possible to find a job where your employer might pay all or part of your graduate school expenses? Even jobs that are below your skill level are worth considering if they offer this benefit. One thought about the professional courses -- would they alone help open up more career opportunities? Or could those courses be applied toward a graduate degree if you decided to move ahead with a formal program? Just a couple things to consider before investing in such courses. It sounds like you're on the right track. Keep us posted!

I am writing to express my extreme frustration with the Wells Fargo student loan application process agents. I sent my federal financial aid award letter as proof of my registration in the program and was told this was inadequate.
Despite explaining three times to three separate agents that the top 10 MBA for Execs program that I attend does NOT send term schedules nor bills that WF requires as proof of my enrollment. Today I was instructed by a rather snide, unhelpful, robotic agent to, "ask the school" for a letter with their letterhead that confirms my enrollment. I work fulltime and study nights and weekends. This request is an extreme inconvennience. Funny how you would accept the federal government's bailout money, but not their actions (on the school's letterhead I might add) that demonstrates their trust that I am indeed in the program. BTW I told the first agent that the govt financial aid award letter was all I had (and was told that was acceptable documentation).

During a time when banks are desperate for business with people who have high credit ratings I find your customer service deplorable.

Too bad the greed that enabled you to overlook sub-prime lending is now punishing busy, honest, hard working people.

For those of you considering a loan with this company, think again.

I'm sorry that you've had a frustrating experience--we will pass along information about this miscommunication to our call center to hopefully avoid situations like this in the future. If you would like to email us through the "Ask the Expert" function with some more detail, we can look into your situation further.

Just to help clarify one point--the "government financial aid award letter" you recieved is actually sent by the school. The reason it's not considered proof of enrollment is because many people do receive financial aid awards that they do not use. It simply isn't acceptable documentation of enrollment, only that you were awarded aid. I apologize for the misinformation you received on that point.

Again, I hope we hear from you and are able to help rectify your situation.