Sacramento student among hundreds unenrolled from Howard University weeks before fall semester
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Howard University in Washington, D.C., unenrolled nearly 500 students last week, including Cylia Rose Parker, citing missed tuition payment deadlines just weeks before the fall semester begins.
Parker graduated from high school in the Los Angeles area this past spring and recently moved to Sacramento until she was supposed to attend the historically black college and university this fall.
Parker showed KCRA 3 her financial aid package which showed over $40,000 in scholarships and grants directly from the university.
Howard’s tuition is nearly $39,000, which is why Parker and her family were left stunned by the notification that they did not meet the deadline for payment for tuition.
Cylia’s Financial Aid Summary from Howard University
She explained that she received an email last Thursday saying in part
“The July 10, 2026 deadline to make sure your tuition payment or payment arrangement to secure your enrollment has passed. As a result of this missed deadline, we can no longer hold your place in Howard University’s incoming class.”
“They never applied those grants and scholarships,” Parker said.
Parker said she never received any notification from the University that her tuition payment was not resolved. She and her family saw a balance on her financial aid portal but were under the impression that Howard hadn’t applied her financial aid yet.
The bill for her tuition and the financial aid package are both the university’s control so she believed that everything was taken care of.
Parker had a dorm reserved and even met with an advisor in recent weeks, so she was preparing to move to Washington D.C. next Friday.
Howard University’s president Wayne Frederick addressed the situation in a video statement on Instagram, explaining that the university had reviewed the cases of students who made payments or verified their scholarships.
“We have completed a comprehensive evaluation of every single student who was unenrolled. As a result, enrollment for a substantial number of these students has been restored, and final notifications to all affected students are now being completed,” Frederick said.
Despite this review process, Parker said she received an email Tuesday night stating the university could not confirm her enrollment based on the information at the time of review. She also no longer has access to her financial aid portal.
“I got a very big financial offer from them, which was the main reason that I committed because my entire tuition was completely covered,” said Parker, who’s now reaching out to other schools that previously accepted her.
Email from Howard University
The Parker family also received an email saying their $800 in deposits for housing and enrollment would not be refunded.
“I want to go somewhere for college. I think that’s the main thing. If it’s not Howard, it’s not Howard, but I want to go somewhere for my first year of college,” Parker said.
Parker has reached out to other colleges where she was accepted but is still waiting to hear back.
Howard University has not yet responded to requests for clarification on Parker’s case.
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