They say hindsight is 20/20 and that cliche is too true.

I did not take the straight and narrow path in life. Certainly not with academics.

I waited until my late 30s and 40s to go back to school. That means, borrowing financial aid to pay for class and get living expenses via a financial aid refund check.

Last semester, I had two negative collections (old ones) on my credit report. Yet, my application for a private Grad Plus loan was approved without an endorser. Not sure why. Good luck, I thought. Then, when I reapplied for the fall/spring tonight, those same two collections proved my downfall, as this time, my credit was denied. My options? File a credit appeal in the form of paperwork that shows I paid off the two negative, yet very old collections, or, secured an endorser with passible credit.

Knowing this may happen I hired one of those consumer credit agencies who you pay a monthly fee to, so that you don't have to send out letters to the credit agencies challenging collections b/c the company will do that for you. Well, the company successfully got 1 of the 2 collections challenged and removed mid-July. Yet when I checked my credit reports, the DEBT WAS STILL ON IT! And that's how what was used to deny my private loan application for financial aid tonight. I was devastated.

So, I immediately dug up all the paperwork from the company who sent me confirmation of the collections removed etc., in a dispute report on the credit agency's website tonight.

Tomorrow I will call the credit agency and ask their customer service why they didn't remove the collection account two weeks ago like they were supposed to. The timing of that is what screwed up my credit which is actually good now. But good credit score didn't save me from being denied financial aid. So, I'm really stressed out.

If i can't find an endorser with zero collections on their credit report then my only option is to pay those two 10 year old collections (which is a big no-no as far as what that does to the credit report: those debts won't be removed unless the creditor removes them and that's up to the creditor; I can't make them remove it).

I guess, if it comes to it and I pay those two collections anyway, I can send that proof of payment to the private loan lender as proof of payment for an official credit appeal, to get my financial aid approved for fall/spring.

Any ideas, anyone?

What a mess! I've been temping this whole time in school, applying for full time work with zero luck due to Covid-19 (like so many others in my shoes trying to find employment full-time during a pandemic).

I'm selling my car for a few thousand dollars, so I have at least 3 months rent in case I can't appeal the credit or find an endorser with no collections on their credit report. I don't know what other options I would have. What good is a car, unless to live in it, homeless, without resolving my student loan debacle.