How BYU is ruining my life

This is going to be a long post, and I may start crying in the middle of it, so bear with me. Well, I guess none of you can tell if I'm crying or not, so that doesn't matter too much, but it is still going to be long.
I am in the Bachelor of General Studies program. That means I can take all independent study classes to finish my bachelor's degree. Since I am officially in the program, I am also eligible for federal financial aid. So last year I filled out my FAFSA and at the end of the summer was awarded around $2300 in Pell Grant funds.
Most students just receive a check from their Pell Grant; well, as a BGS student, I have other requirements. I must pay for my classes up front and then after I finish 25% of the coursework, I am sent 25% of the Pell Grant funds I am eligible up to that point (depending on the number of credits I am enrolled in); after I finish 75%, I receive the rest of the Pell Grant money. So I followed the requirements very carefully, and in November was sent a check for $592 after completing 25% of my coursework. When I completed 75%, I again contacted BYU to let them know, and they told me that $592 was the maximum amount awarded for 5 credits, which is what I was currently taken. Basically, instead of sending me the amount in two parts, they sent it to me all at once.
So no big deal. I used the money to pay for more credits and got to work on them. Then, towards the end of November, I noticed that all of a sudden my student account at BYU showed $1183 in it; I didn't know why, so I called and found out that it was mistakenly posted to my account and would be removed the next day. I was advised to tear up and throw away any check that I might receive in the mail, which I did.
Still no big deal.
Until two weeks ago, when I noticed there is a hold on my record for a past due balance of $592!! I called to talk to someone about it. The first person I talked to told me it must be because I tore up the check for $1183 instead of sending it back (even though I was told to tear it up...) She told me she would email me a form to fill out and then the hold and past due balance would be removed. I waited a week, and didn't receive a form, so I called again. This time it took me 45 minutes to get through to anyone, and the girl I talked to told me she would have to talk to a processor and call me back. She said she thought I was supposed to receive two payments of $592 for fall semester, and instead, I essentially received three (because $592 x 2 = $1183). She said since I tore up the check and didn't cash it, they would just do a stop payment and it would get sorted out. I told her just as long as I don't have to pay the initial $592 back, because I already spent it. It took her a week to get back to me, and when she did, I missed the call and she just left a message saying that she was very sorry because she knew I said I had already spent the money, but I would have to pay back the $1183. !!!!!!!!!! Remember, when I got the check for $592, I spent it on more classes; when I got the check for $1183, I tore it up and didn't cash it.
So. I called back. It took me 20 minutes to get through to someone else. He listened very carefully and told me he would have to call me back. Of course.
When he called back, he told me he had talked to someone that had checked to see that the check had not cleared the bank yet. He was going to have a stop payment put on it, but that person didn't come in until after his shift had ended, so he would just leave a message for him and then get back to me on Monday. He told me that even though BYU thought I owed them $1183, the "system" had $592 in it and that's why the past due amount was for $592 instead of $1183. I don't believe him. I don't think he knows what he is talking about.
So. You can all understand why I am freaking out here. I guess the very worst thing could happen would be that they are all idiots and I would have to pay back $592; but really, that's pretty bad, isn't it?

If anyone reading this blog has experience with stupid financial aid people, I hope you can help me. They are all either unwilling or incapable of helping me themselves.