by Natalie Gross

When Kaanan Fugler transferred to a new college last year, she didn’t expect to rack up $6,000 in student loans for tuition costs she thought would be fully paid for.

But when her education benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department weren’t paid to her new school before the semester started, the Army widow and mother of five said the university’s financial aid office told her she had to foot the bill — or risk being dropped from her courses.