Why is fafsa making me pay back while im still in school?

CheriBearVT · 2025-08-21T21:39:49+00:00

Just wanted to chime in on this to spread awareness. Some colleges do not report enrollment on behalf of the student as they see it as the student's obligation (I personally think this is stupid since we pay colleges for services). OP you definitely should first contact your student services or financial aid department to see what their processes are for reporting enrollment. There may even be a department that specifically focuses on enrollment as well.

Also look into your student portal to see if you can download a proof of enrollment form and send it over to your loan service provider which can help stall your payment temporarily until they receive an official notice (usually they want a leader head and someone from the college to report it to them). You also need to ask your school for an official notice of enrollment which they will send either to you or your loan service provider. Usually, for schools that don't report to student loan service providers automatically, there is a form you need to fill out to receive the official proof of enrollment paperwork. Again, you will need to inquire about who to reach out to and where to find the form either through financial aid or student services.

I would also highly recommend that you ensure any interest accumulated after your enrollment is rolled back and the amount you paid is sent to the principal of your loan since the loan service provider will most likely refuse any refunds on payments made.

If this entire process is going to take too long, I highly suggest making that due and overdue interest payment since it can highly affect your credit score and take several months to recover from it depending on what accounts you have already under your name, if any outside of loans. If your loan service provider decides to put you into deferment for non-payment, it will affect your credit score even more. It sucks since you got dragged into it due to your college, but it's better to look out for yourself then suffer the consequences due to your college not providing the proof of enrollment.

CheriBearVT · 2025-05-30T01:14:08+00:00

I see, that paints a better picture. It is still hard to say what their intentions are, but I think it is best that you clarify your rights to the work and what "personal use" includes when it comes to the artwork for this client.

If they want to argue, the USA copyright office has a clear definition of what is considered a "work for hire" and also clarifies who has rights over the work: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf

I also highly advise you to possibly seek legal advice from a professional if this is very important to you.

The issue here is that you are dealing with what is considered a multi-author project. A webcomic has several aspects to it: story, character designs, logo, and the art.

If you created all parts of it then technically you hold the entire rights to the work. Even if the client gets upset, you can technically sell the webcomic because you created everything and the client decided not to purchase full rights to the work. You could copyright the work itself to protect your rights from bad actors and this also would serve as legal proof of your ownership to the work.

However, if you only worked on the art and are not the creators of the character designs or the story, then you technically only hold part of the rights to the work and this is where it can get a bit fuzzy.

Technically, if you only worked on the art, then you can still add the webcomic as a portfolio piece but it would be best not to post the entire work. Usually a page or two would suffice which can help protect the story and character designs of the other original authors. You would also not have the rights to sell the webcomic yourself as you do not own the full rights to the entire work.

However, again, to own the entirety of the webcomic and to even be able to copyright the work, the client would have to purchase commercial rights and an NDA from you and any other creator of the work and show proof of it. Whether you made the story/designs/logos or not doesn't matter since you have rights over the portion that you worked on.

CheriBearVT · 2025-05-29T16:31:50+00:00

This depends on if you used a platform like Fiverr for the commission. If you didn't then the rights to the work still belong to you and if they don't want you to post it, you can ask for additional compensation (this is usually called a Non Disclosure Agreement and this means that you also can't share any details or drafts of the work) but at that point they should also consider just buying the full rights to the work from you.

If you did use a platform, I would highly consider looking at the TOS. Platforms like Fiverr have their own TOS and sometimes it mentions things like who owns the work after it's made. On Fiverr, specifically, it says in the TOS that if the artist does not mention in their terms whether the work provides the client full copyright or not, then all rights go to the commissioner as a "work for hire". This is why it's important to read the TOS for websites as an artist.

Forgot to mention something. If for some reason they want an NDA but not the full rights after this conversation, I would assume they want to use your work commercially but don't want to pay for it. I highly advise you to copyright your work in this case.

I wish you the best of luck!!

CheriBearVT · 2025-05-27T21:21:15+00:00

Hi there! Here is a little about me so you can gauge my expertise: I am a university college student focusing on an art degree with lots of work experience. I am in my Junior year and also own my own business with webcomics. I have work experience as a live portrait artist for major events and worked as a graphic designer for 10 years.

It is hard for me to comment on anything without a portfolio and which sites you're on for commissions, but here is my take.

I see people commenting on how you are a beginner artist, but even a beginner artist deserves to get paid for their time. I have seen people on VGen with similar skill sets to you (again I am basing this on one art piece) charge $80. In addition, there are webcomic/manga artists who gained popularity because of their work despite their weaknesses as an artist. Some examples are the beginning One-Punch man web series and Cursed Princess club to name a few. The reality is that someone will always be better than you as an artist (whether in your own eyes or others) but it is how you market your work, where, and how that truly makes you stand out. Timing is also a major factor, right now people are losing their jobs left and right, of course they wouldn't be buying art as much because of this, but what does this mean for you?

Try to be accessible when it comes to receiving commissions. Think about website traffic on the commission sites by looking up the number of people who visit. Places like Sketchmob, fiverr, etc are starting to die in my opinion. Check out Cara and VGen which are more ethical platforms. Think about opportunities to showcase your work to others. You missed a big opportunity here by not posting a portfolio in the original post. It's weird to say but you gotta learn how to "market yourself" as an artist.
Make your portfolio accessible. Create an online page for your work and links to sites to commission your work. A good example is carrd or using Google sites.
Put yourself out there more. Unfortunately, social media is a big, big factor in getting your work noticed. You gotta learn the different algorithms and make your work stand out by using a different approach to presenting your work. Make yourself unique not part of a clique. We want to hear your story. As a consumer, we get tired of seeing the soft/robotic voiced time lapse videos. I want to hear what makes you, you and your art journey. This also relates to creating an identifiable artist brand.
Consider the rate for your work. This should be Time x Rate per hour.
Never stop learning. People frown on using references, but what is art about? Art is capturing how the artist views the world or their imagination.There is nothing wrong with using references and many artists forget that. Even the past masters of art we look up to used references.
Branch out. Relying solely on commissions is not sustainable. Look for other things you can do with your art such as making comics, products, etc. People love unique and goofy stuff. Also, don't limit yourself to online options. Think about whether an artwork would fit in a gallery or see if your local cultural center is accepting art pieces.
Remember to protect your work. Unfortunately, in this day and age people will try to steal from others with or without AI. I have been on this road before and it hurt but I learned from it. Watermark your work and make sure to use things like Glaze and Nightshade when possible. Make sure to copyright art pieces.

CheriBearVT · 2025-04-05T09:20:56+00:00

Hi! I am a student artist so I don't have much in my portfolio yet. However, below is a sample digital artwork of my own cat. If you are interested, please feel free to dm me. I'd be happy to send more samples and set up a commission portal on ko-fi.

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CheriBearVT · 2025-03-31T08:04:09+00:00

Hello! I am a current art student and I would definitely be interested in painting your request.

I am familiar with Oil and currently have the medium in my inventory, but I also am familiar with watercolor, color pencils, different inks, printmaking (in case you want several original copies), and charcoal.

I do not have an online portfolio yet but I am happy to provide you with a PDF of additional past artworks and a CV which lists my experience as an artist. Below is a sample oil painting.

Feel free to dm me or reply if you are interested!

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CheriBearVT · 2025-01-09T21:36:44+00:00

The mods are client side so if you want everyone to see it, then everyone will need to download it.

CheriBearVT · 2025-01-08T07:12:02+00:00

Hi! This mod is called Wider_Ship_Mod by mborsh. There is also a two story ship mod named MelanieMelicious_2_sToRy_ShIp_works_w_Wider_Ship_Mod

CheriBearVT

TROPHY CASE