<p>So, I graduated High School in 2008 (seems like forever ago!) and attended Columbia College Chicago for Film but could not return in Fall 2009 because I owed them money in the sum 8,000 which I have yet to pay...</p>
<p>so in the Fall of 2009 until April 2011, I attended the Art Institutes as a Film Major while commuting from home. While there I also did the Walt Disney World College Program which was a blast year! And I have also directed a couple of short films I am proud of, and I don't owe them any funds! However, my mom is moving, getting a new job and wants me out of the house! LOL And I wasn't being challened a lot at the Art Institutes and felt it was not worth the 20,000 dollars so I decided to apply to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design)</p>
<p>I was accepted and awarded a couple of very generous scholarships for the Fall, I even have one from the Marine Corps! Tuition is 30,000 + Housing but I really want to go and finish my film degree at an institution I can be proud of, not a degree mill such as the Art Institute, my time there was about 50/50 good and bad, not a total waste but I would like better for myself. </p>
<p>I am talented and have applied for an Artistic Scholarship and waiting to hear back. However, they would like transcripts from Columbia! What can I do?!</p>
<p>I e-mailed the FinAid office about a possible Academic Bankruptcy that was posted in the FinAid portion of this website so I will wait and see what they say!</p>
<p>What other options do I have? I have already sent SCAD my 250 dollar housing deposit and 500 dollar enrollment fee which is non-refundable and my Admissions Counselor is JUST now saying they need these transcripts... </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Whenever you apply for admission to a degree program at an accredited college or university in the US you are obligated to provide official transcripts for all previous study. How you managed to be admitted by the Art Institutes without your transcript from Columbia is beyond me. Was that just a certificate course rather than a BA or BFA?</p>
<p>You need to settle your account at Columbia. If you have to delay your enrollment at SCAD while you do that, well you have to delay your enrollment. SCAD would be crazy to admit you knowing that you don’t act responsibly about your debts.</p>
<p>I am very good student and talented in my craft. I’m not sure why anything else would matter! If the state schools here in Illinois had decent film programs of course I would attend but sadly they do not so I will not be able to attend a school for less than 20,000 dollars tuition.</p>
<p>I entered Ai as a Freshman.</p>
<p>What matters is that you owe Columbia $8,000. That has to be taken care of. You need to contact them. If you are lucky, they will allow you to set up a payment plan. If not, they will insist that you fork over the total amount right now.</p>
<p>Talent is fine, but you still have to pay your bills.</p>
<p>*I am very good student and talented in my craft. I’m not sure why anything else would matter! *</p>
<p>Schools hold onto transcripts because they know that people like you would skip out of paying off their debts for years (or even forever) otherwise. Why should School A be left in the lurch with your debt while you go off and spend time, effort and money attending School B? The transcript is often the only piece of leverage that they have.</p>
<p>Also, I wouldn’t hold your breath about getting the school’s “Academic Bankruptcy” applied to your situation. I’ve never heard of this kind of program and even if there is one at this college, it would probably apply to students in extreme and dire situations, far more serious than what you are facing.</p>
<p>You’ve have had upwards of 4 summers that you’ve known of this debt. You live at home. My two college aged kids have each earned between 3K - 6K every summer since graduating high school. Minimally you should have been using your summer earnings to pay down your debt at School A. And in the real adult world, one does not just walk away from a payable now debt for 3 full years. This was not a “student loan” from School A that could be deferred until after being out of school. </p>
<p>Maybe you can get a parent to lend you money to pay off this old debt. You may need to take a year off before transfer to pay off the debt on your own.</p>
<p>You have already lost the nonrefundable deposits since you thought you can just walk away from the debt because its a “diploma mill”. They will not release those transcripts until the debt is settled. If you don’t repay them the money you owe, you cannot proceed forward in your academic career and will end up owing more money(INTEREST).</p>