daughter halfway across the country. She wasn't even nervous about the money she had spent on flights, hotel rooms and a rental car to take her daughter to begin her freshman year at Clark Atlanta University.

Copeland was nervous because she had no idea what was going on.

Copeland didn't know what she was supposed to do when she arrived at Clark. She had been trying to contact the university's financial aid department for weeks, to no avail, so she had no idea how much money she owed for her daughter's first year. She didn't even know where on campus her daughter would be living.

According to Copeland and documents provided to The Root, Copeland attempted to contact the financial aid and housing departments at Clark dozens of times for more than a month. Unable to reach anyone in the financial aid or housing department, she desperately began dialing numbers to every administrative office she could find.

She finally reached a woman identified in emails as Ms. Udley, who tried to assist Copeland with the enrollment process and determining her daughter's financial standing with the school.

“We finally figured out that there was about a $4,000 gap between what financial aid provided and what I owed, which was what I expected,” Copeland explained to The Root.

Even though this was not official, and she still hadn't spoken to anyone in the financial aid department, Copeland booked nonrefundable flights and prepared to take her daughter to Clark to begin her freshman year.

"They told me there was a housing issue but assured me they would handle it. Every time I called they told me 'We're in meetings about it, don't worry, she'll be fine,'" Copeland said. "But the night before I left, I got a gut feeling that I should call again. And that was the day I found out that I had to come up with $8,000 if my daughter was going to attend Clark.

"They told me she was 'not financially enrolled,'" said Copeland. "I had no idea what that means. I have a sophomore in college and I've never heard that in my life. How is she 'not financially enrolled' if they've accepted her financial aid