Major question marks are being raised around The University of Chicago Financial Aid Office after $159 million has been handed out this year.

Dr. Dionna Lomax is not only a determined 2007 alumna of The University of Chicago, but she is also a full-time mother at home. She’s still paying off her medical school loans – most of the time.

“With having babies and life, I just forgot,” said Dr. Lomax.

That recent slip-of-mind dinged her credit score.

“I tried to call them directly to see if I could send them a payment and I couldn’t get a hold of them,” said Dr. Lomax.

Dr. Lomax said she called to The University of Chicago Financial Aid Office multiple times with no response.

“I said this is ridiculous. You have a person who is giving you a loan and servicing it, but you can’t contact them,” said Dr. Lomax. “I just started doing Google searches on ‘What sort of recourse do I have as a consumer?'”

That brought her to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Ombudsman. The Federal Student Aid website calls it a “final resource after individuals look for help through other customer service avenues.”

An investigator finally took Dr. Lomax’s case after that.

“Now they’re nice. Now they’re responsive,” said Dr. Lomax.

She says she’s astonished that it took going to the feds to get The University of Chicago to become responsive when she was trying to pay them.

A University of Chicago spokesperson sent back a statement to CBS 2 about money management, but ignored any questions about the ombudsman.

In the meantime, Dr. Lomax’s $130,000 in student debt is nearly gone after ten years of loan payments.

“The reason I contacted CBS is because I can’t be the only person in this position. I have friends who owe $400,000. These are student loans. The credit card company gives you more grace than the student loan,” said Dr. Lomax.

She says her complaint filed with the federal ombudsman is still open.