Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of being an adult. Naturally, adulthood is not everything that I had thought it would be. My first year of college happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was unable to move out of my mom’s house, and my first year of adulthood looked much different than I had planned. When I finally moved to East Lansing for my sophomore year of college, I rented a house rather than living in the dorms. This was fun, but also more responsibility than I was ready for. Oftentimes I found myself needing urgent financial help, and sometimes leaning on family members for that is not always applicable. Thankfully, I was able to utilize two of these emergency relief funds in my times of need.
The Unconditional Love Fund, through the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, was one of those funds that was able to uplift me during my times of hardship. The GSCC provides a safe and welcoming environment for all and any gender identities and sexualities. The Unconditional Love fund was created by the GSCC to help students who are experiencing financial troubles. The funds are not meant to be repaid and are available to aid students with expenses, health, wellness, and safety. A student is eligible to request up to $500 per request, and only one request can be made per semester.
The Unconditional Love Fund provided me with an immense amount of relief when I was unable to seek help elsewhere, and I recommend that any student apart of the LGBTQIA+ community fill out a request form when in need.
The only downside is that all funds awarded are applied to your MSU student financial account – meaning that if you have an outstanding tuition balance, you would not be able to access these funds. However, if this happens, I recommend working closely with the team at the GSCC to find a solution.
In some circumstances, you may need a larger amount of financial relief for severe emergencies. The Spartans Emergency Fund, through the Division of Student Life and Engagement, is an additional resource that allows up to $3,000 of relief per student during their enrollment at MSU.
The Emergency Fund can be utilized by all Michigan State University students and can be used to aid students with tuition, cost of living, medical bills, etc.
Both of these funding options are amazing opportunities for spartans who need urgent financial help. I have applied and have been granted money from each of these funds in the past. Both applications are user-friendly and simple. However, applications may take up to a week to process before you are given a response.
The Division of Student Life and Engagement provides students with immediate financial support to cover educational costs and unanticipated expenses when hardships arise such as accidents, illness, death of a family member, fire damage or need for temporary housing, tuition bill, purchase of food, make the monthly payment on their health insurance, travel home during an emergency, and many other unforeseen expenses.