<p>Okay here's my story, I graduated HS in 2012 and I immediately went to a community college for one semester. I hated the school so I didn't return in the spring. I have less than 20 credits and the college refuses to give me my transcript until I finish paying off my bill which is a good amount considering I dormed. Now it is 2014 and I still haven't gone back to school because colleges need my transcript even tho I'm not interested in transferring credits. There has to be a way I can get back into school I am paying as much as I can to get my bill paid off but I don't have a lot of time to continue putting my education on hold. Please help</p>
<p>Once you take one class beyond hs, you are considered a transfer by most schools. If you avoid telling the new school that you attended a CC, you run the risk of being “expelled” when they catch you.</p>
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<p>
Yes, you pay off your bill and apply as a transfer to colleges that will consider you one. </p>
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<p>Schools use a Nat’l Clearing House to see if a prospective student has been enrolled in another college. Any school will find this out rather promptly. You have to pay off that debt first. Sorry, but it was your decision to dorm at a CC (!) and drop out. So, work FULL TIME and pay off that debt. It shouldn’t be THAT much…it was only a semester at a CC!!! </p>
<p>One semester at this community college cost me 10k I pay for school on my own, it wasn’t my intention to “drop out” I saw many students transfer out and that was my plan, I do not get much in financial aid and didn’t know the school would hold my transcript until my bill was paid otherwise I’d have stuck it out until I had a degree as those are easier to transfer with. I was just wondering if there were a way to have some sort of academic forgiveness because I know some colleges don’t care to see transcripts under a certain amount of credits so I was wondering if there were a general rule about that. Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>What community college costs that much? Is that room and board too? And BTW they wouldn’t let you keep attending if you owed them money.
Really you used their service, you need to pay them. It’s fair. </p>
<p>Which colleges “don’t care to see transcripts under a certain amount of credits”? Think about the elderly students who return to school and take a class a year. They don’t care how many classes you take as long as someone pays the bill.</p>
<p>The school is not going to “forgive” a debt; they provided a service, which wasn’t to your liking, and after you “used it” you didn’t go back. Just because you don’t have the funds doesn’t mean the debt goes away. </p>
<p>You break it, you pay. . . . .it’s that simple. When you signed all of that paperwork about the debt, I know that they spelled it out for you, indicating that you would OWE money. </p>
<p>How will you pay a second college?</p>
<p>I’m sure some of that debt was federal aid/loan so there will be a record of that whenever you go to apply again. If you have outstanding loans that has to be paid as well as what you owe the school. You are just saying you decided to go to a school you couldn’t afford and just not pay. That wasn’t a good plan. </p>
<p>At aunt bea, I am not talking about debt forgiveness. I am talking about acadenic forgiveness meaning a clean academic slate. I am paying my bill regardless, my question is on how to attend another college not on advice on paying my debt. That is being taken care of and I am well aware on how to pay my debt and the services provided. A lot of private colleges don’t always need transcripts under a certain amount of credits. I know this for a fact, I have spoken to many and have a friend who applied as a freshman and was accepted as one even though she had some college under her belt. At KKmama, I am not incapable of paying for college, It is taking time, were all your loans paid off immediately? My cc bill of 10k includes my room and board, meal plan and books. Around 8k for room and the rest is from tuition and books etc. I have heard of academic forgiveness in some state colleges dealing with students who either did poorly in school and got expelled or just did poorly and quit. Though none of these apply to me I was wondering if anyone knew if there were a thing for students going back to school after a gap. If you don’t have answers to these questions or are unsure I appreciate you reading but please don’t not feel the need to lecture me on what I have done wrong in the past or assume I am having some sort of lack of knowledge of how to pay my bills. I am looking to move FORWARD while paying my bill, which I never said I was going to stop paying I just know it will take some time and I was hoping to get back in school while I do it instead of waiting until I’m done. Not all schools hold transcripts without full payment and I attended one that does so I am unable to transfer until I am done paying.</p>
<p>@KKmama‌ @"aunt bea"‌ </p>
<p>Some colleges consider you a transfer with only one class, others with less than a year of credits. You will have to check the website for the policy of each college. If you want to know if a college will enroll you without a transcript, email the admissions office. Tell then how many credits you have and that you are on a payment plan or whatever you are doing.</p>
<p>@BrownParent‌ I can afford the school, I am paying the school. No one pays their loans off immediately after finishing. why do you assume I cant afford it?</p>
<p>This is why.
You won’t get that transcript until you pay the bill. That transcript will be required for you to start at a new college.</p>
<p>If you have a college in mind, contact an admissions officer and ask that person if there is anything you can do.</p>
<p>collegechio11 -</p>
<p>Each college and university sets its own policy about transfer status. Some will require anyone with one credit earned after high school graduation to be a transfer. Others will consider anyone with less than a full year of college credits earned after high school graduation to be a freshman applicant. This means that you need to ask each place that is on your application list what their policy is.</p>
<p>Many places (especially community colleges) will allow a student to enroll in non-degree status without submitting previous transcripts. However, in order to be admitted to degree status at an accredited college or university in the US you will need to provide official copies of all transcripts from any college-level course you have ever taken anywhere (either in or outside the US) at any time in your life. You need to be in degree status to qualify for federal financial aid and for most private aid. So, if you have identified a place that you would like to finish your degree at, and where you can work slowly toward that degree paying out of pocket until your other college debt it paid off, ask whether you can be admitted in non-degree status and whether or not credits earned in that status can be applied toward a degree program. Sometimes they can. Sometimes they can’t. Again, each place sets its own policy.</p>
<p>And honestly, if the reason why you don’t want to send your old transcript is because it is ugly, stop worrying about that. Most people have old ugly transcripts somewhere in their academic histories. The older your transcript gets, and the better your new grades are (even if earned one course at a time over several semesters), the less those old ugly grades will matter.</p>
<p>Academic forgiveness, from what I understand, is when students retake a class they failed and their college replaces the poor grade with the higher grade. I think there’s a limit to the number of classes that can be retaken. What you’re talking about is enrolling in a new college while you have an outstanding bill at another school. I’ve never heard of a college with a financial forgiveness program, but if you know of some certainly apply there if you can afford it. </p>
<p>Do you owe just the school or do you have state and/or federal loans? You may not qualify for more aid if you’re in default on a loan. Also, if you’ve used any semesters of federal aid I think that shows up in your financial aid records (because there’s a limit to how many semesters you can qualify for), so the college will know you went somewhere else. They also check the Nat’l Clearing House for previous colleges attended. Is there a school within commuting distance? Your best bet is to talk to financial aid offices at the schools you’re interested in and ask about their policies. Maybe if you show them you’re on a payment plan, it will help. </p>
<p>Thank you I was unaware of the degree status you mentioned, I will try that I appreciate it!</p>
<p>Can you take out a loan to pay the college? Then you would be considered paid off as far as the college is concerned and then just pay the loan? Isn’t that also how federal loans work as well as private loans? </p>