Dallas College- Brookhaven Campus

Admissions, financial aid, and diploma verification
On Dec 12, 2018, I went to the admissions office of Brookhaven College to turn in my high school transcript. It was accepted and I began the financial aid verification process. I was told that my book money should be released prior to the official start date of class which was 1/22/2019. On 1/7/2019 my tuition account was updated with $1500 that covered the $1333 balance due for my classes leaving $168 remainder but my books were never paid. I called the financial aid office on 1/18/2019 to confirm this amount and to ask why the books weren't covered? I was told that the $1500 was a special grant once my financial aid was approved I would get the money to cover my books. I thought it was approved as it showed on my financial aid checklist that I had "completed the verification process". So I began class on 1/22/2019 thinking that my classes were covered and I'll just have to wait for my book money. On 1/24/2019, I logged into my fafsa and updated my school code to Brookhaven as it was listed on my sar as El Centro, thinking this would fix the problem and the book money would be released but low and behold I was placed back in verification status through Brookhaven requesting that I verify my high school transcript again. On 1/25/2019 I called the financial aid office and spoke with a rep who told me that I needed to go the financial aid office in person to have someone clear the code. On 1/29/2019, on my way to class I stopped by the office and spoke with a young lady that told me everything was fine and she will send an email over (to who I had no idea) and have the transcript code cleared by the next day when the "person" that can do it gets there in the morning. The next day I check online and the code was still there so on 1/31/2019, I called the financial aid office again to check the problem. She told me that it didn't show where I came into the office on 1/29/2019 but she will send another email to check the status. She also said I would not see any refund for my books until after the 13th of February. By this time, I am a few days away from the free trial ending for the online classes access codes so I took it upon myself to pawn my most valuable jewelry to pay for my books until my refund was released. I was trying to do the right thing because I took going back to school very serious and it was one of my top priorities, but why did I do that? On 2/4/2019, I went back to the financial aid office and spoke with a young man and he told me that the Director of Financial Aid is the only person that can clear the transcript request code and I watched him send another email over. He said that it will be resolved 1st thing in the morning and everything was good. On 2/5/2019, I logged in to the financial aid checklist and nothing was updated. On 2/6/2019, I emailed the financial aid office about this situation and my concerns and never received a reply back. On 2/7/2019, I went back to the financial aid office and spoke with the same young lady (that told me she would send an email and she never did) and viola! I got my answer! and I quote "The school does not accept my high school diploma because it was from a non accredited school a 'diploma mill 'and everything will be reversed. In order for me to attend DCCCD colleges I would have to get my GED." This is the reason I was placed back in verification mode and the code has not been removed.As soon as I got home I went online to drop my classes but only 2 were successfully dropped without penalty and the other 2 showed I missed the deadline to drop the classes by 3 days with a balance due of 399.90. On 2/11/2019, I went to the bookstore to return my books a total of $304.15 and I was told I was unable to get a refund because I scratched off the access codes and they can only accept the book that I rented with a refund of 27.90 pretty much leaving out of pocket $276.25. I feel scammed and belittled and I want my money back.