What happens when a school refuses to send transcripts?

[LateAntique]

This is more than I wanted to share, but I need some advice:

I attended a confessional Christian school for 3 years as an undergraduate. At the end of 3 years I could no longer affirm the confessional stance of the school, so I left and transferred to the school I'm at now. I contacted them about transcripts this week and suddenly I owe them $1,000 paid in full before they will send my transcripts (never mind that these charges did not exist when I left...and there was an entire year between this school and the one I'm at now). I can't pay it, so I probably won't be able to get transcripts from them. I'm going to contact the DGS at the programs to which I'm applying and explain my situation. What would you do in this situation? Do you think schools will be okay with this or am I screwed and will my entry into grad school possibly be delayed by a year?

[caputmundi]

WELL, this doesn't sound very Christian. I don't suppose you've tried that angle with the registrar already? Hmm... I think you are doing the right thing by contacting the DGS's to hear what they have to say. I think that's the only thing you can do. So now you play the waiting game. Sorry this isn't much help but I hope you hear good news from all of your schools. I feel for you...what a shitty situation.

[tarski]

I'm very sorry to hear this, hopefully it will work out . Some scattered, potentially bad ideas:

Your confessional school must have a reason for the claim that you owe them $1,000 (Spinoza and the principle of sufficient reason!). You didn't specify how fully you have spoken with them. Did you just email and get the refusal? Or have you gone to the campus and tried to figure out what's going on, fully explaining your situation, or at least phoned and did something similar. In my own experience the silly bureaucratic stuff progresses faster if I'm in their office.

If they actually have a reason, and it's one for which you cannot find a counterargument...a loan from family?

Something that wasn't quite clear from your post: did you do three years at this place, then one year elsewhere and now you're applying? Or was it more years at the elsewhere. If the former, it seems pretty problematic because you'll be missing the majority of your records. If the latter, the situation seems better.

Edited November 13, 2009 by tarski

[LateAntique]

WELL, this doesn't sound very Christian. I don't suppose you've tried that angle with the registrar already? Hmm... I think you are doing the right thing by contacting the DGS's to hear what they have to say. I think that's the only thing you can do. So now you play the waiting game. Sorry this isn't much help but I hope you hear good news from all of your schools. I feel for you...what a shitty situation.

I'm not sure questioning their Christianity would be the best route to go right now! ha. The situation sucks, but it has sucked with them since I left. There is always something.

I'm very sorry to hear this, hopefully it will work out . Some scattered, potentially bad ideas:

Your confessional school must have a reason for the claim that you owe them $1,000 (Spinoza and the principle of sufficient reason!). You didn't specify how fully you have spoken with them. Did you just email and get the refusal? Or have you gone to the campus and tried to figure out what's going on, fully explaining your situation, or at least phoned and did something similar. In my own experience the silly bureaucratic stuff progresses faster if I'm in their office.

If they actually have a reason, and it's one for which you cannot find a counterargument...a loan from family?

Something that wasn't quite clear from your post: did you do three years at this place, then one year elsewhere and now you're applying? Or was it more years at the elsewhere. If the former, it seems pretty problematic because you'll be missing the majority of your records. If the latter, the situation seems better.

I have no idea where the charges came from. I worked full time my entire time there so that I didn't go into debt. I paid my tuition and rent via a payment plan and they never stopped taking money from my account, so I'm sure I paid everything. This school has gotten into trouble before with financial scandals (they fired one of my favorite professors after he uncovered one), but I'm hoping this is nothing more than a simple accounting error.

A loan isn't an option. I'm the first to go to college and my family isn't exactly well to do.

I did three years there and left in the summer going into my senior year. I've done two years here at my current school. About 60 hours transferred (and will show up on my current transcript) from my former school.

[tarski]

but I'm hoping this is nothing more than a simple accounting error.

Hopefully this is the case, and it can be resolved quickly.

As for the balance of what you have vs what you don't have, I guess asking the DGS like you are doing is the best option. It seems like you will have a fairly significant amount of records from your current place (although I'm not familiar with how much of a year 60 hours would be, my school doesn't count them like that).

[JohnBom]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I was applying for a summer program and the school wouldn't give me my transcripts because I owed them $200. I didn't even have that at the time and they agreed that I set up a payment plan and pay it in installments. I was glad to do that because, unlike you, I knew I owed that money. Nonetheless, I felt like I was being held hostage by the institution.

[LateAntique]

I'm actually less worried about it now that I've contacted people at the schools to which I'm applying. Most have said, "If you can't get them, just let us know why and don't worry about it." The most important transcripts are my current ones and those went out yesterday.

[johndiligent]

I think you really need to make a desperate attempt at getting the confessional school to absolve you (heh) of the fees. Try every tactic you can on them. Raise a huge stink. Do you have any friends who are lawyers (or friends who are good at pretending to be lawyers)? Maybe they can find some way of arguing on your behalf. To that end, any friend that you have at the confessional school is someone I'd approach to see if they can ask the right people to get rid of the owing balance. Maybe you could draw up a contract that states you will pay them in full by such and such a date, conditional to their release of the transcripts now?

If all of this doesn't work (and soon, because I imagine time is of the essence) then you do need to contact the appropriate people at your schools and find out if they will consider your application without these transcripts. Maybe they'll accept an unofficial copy conditional to your presenting the official copy at a later date (once you magically come up with $1000)?

[LateAntique]

I think you really need to make a desperate attempt at getting the confessional school to absolve you (heh) of the fees. Try every tactic you can on them. Raise a huge stink. Do you have any friends who are lawyers (or friends who are good at pretending to be lawyers)? Maybe they can find some way of arguing on your behalf. To that end, any friend that you have at the confessional school is someone I'd approach to see if they can ask the right people to get rid of the owing balance. Maybe you could draw up a contract that states you will pay them in full by such and such a date, conditional to their release of the transcripts now?

If all of this doesn't work (and soon, because I imagine time is of the essence) then you do need to contact the appropriate people at your schools and find out if they will consider your application without these transcripts. Maybe they'll accept an unofficial copy conditional to your presenting the official copy at a later date (once you magically come up with $1000)?

I've already contacted most of the places and they've all said they would take an unofficial copy until I can get this resolved. The issue is not that I'm worried I won't get it resolved, but rather that I won't get it resolved in time for applications. I know this is a mistake (there's no way I left the school with a 0 balance and have somehow mysteriously charged up over 1000 dollars in rent and tuition...). For one, they sent my transcripts to this school in Fall 2008 when I came here and there was no charge then. One guy at an admissions today said, "Oh yeah, I've worked for a seminary.....I'm so sorry." I don't really have any friends there anymore - it was a small campus and becoming Catholic in Southern Baptist circles is just about the worst thing you can do.

[johndiligent]

I've already contacted most of the places and they've all said they would take an unofficial copy until I can get this resolved. The issue is not that I'm worried I won't get it resolved, but rather that I won't get it resolved in time for applications. I know this is a mistake (there's no way I left the school with a 0 balance and have somehow mysteriously charged up over 1000 dollars in rent and tuition...). For one, they sent my transcripts to this school in Fall 2008 when I came here and there was no charge then. One guy at an admissions today said, "Oh yeah, I've worked for a seminary.....I'm so sorry." I don't really have any friends there anymore - it was a small campus and becoming Catholic in Southern Baptist circles is just about the worst thing you can do.

Gotcha. Well, they're absolutely in the wrong, and if they released your transcripts when you transferred, I don't see how they could possibly maintain that you owe them money. There's got to be a statute of limitations on these kinds of things.

[kahlan_amnell]

If your current school has transcripts from your old school that should be good enough for applications if the schools you are applying to are flexible. Hopefully you also have an unofficial copy you could send them.

However, when you are accepted and decide to attend a school, they will need your official transcripts, so you will need to get that worked out by then.

I do think that you suddenly owing them money sounds suspicious, and getting a lawyer involved (or at least threatening to) might be a good way to go.

Edited November 15, 2009 by kahlan_amnell

[ChrisPA]

This is more than I wanted to share, but I need some advice:

I attended a confessional Christian school for 3 years as an undergraduate. At the end of 3 years I could no longer affirm the confessional stance of the school, so I left and transferred to the school I'm at now. I contacted them about transcripts this week and suddenly I owe them $1,000 paid in full before they will send my transcripts (never mind that these charges did not exist when I left...and there was an entire year between this school and the one I'm at now). I can't pay it, so I probably won't be able to get transcripts from them. I'm going to contact the DGS at the programs to which I'm applying and explain my situation. What would you do in this situation? Do you think schools will be okay with this or am I screwed and will my entry into grad school possibly be delayed by a year?

I know what your going through.

Today I received a postcard from my college that my state assistance (which was supposed to come in this month) was being withheld because I attended another school years ago and they want a transcript submitted to my school. I'm in school right now in the current semester and just registered for the spring last week. Now my old school I got screwed over not once, but twice by them. Back 5 years ago I had to pay out my pocket because I like I started college the first time no financial aide for me. Didn't qualify. A coworker lent me money and I payed her back and the school tuition as I attended. Next semester I only was registered for sociology and I had to cancel because I knew I couldn't afford it. Living by myself I was barely making it through. So, a few days before the due date I tried cancel the course before the semester, but the system blocked me. While I tried to contact the college and nobody was answering the phone at the office within the next few days, I got a letter in the mail to say that the final day to cancel the course was on the 9th just say. Which the 10th I received the letter. So finally my dad gets in touch with the college and they tell me I'm responsible for partial, which I argued with them because of how I access the system way before the due date and I was block. I told them look in your system to see that I tried to access the system and attempted to cancel it. Making me responsible to pay where your system didn't let me cancel, that's not fair. Now finally I'm able to attend school now I can't. I wanted to start fresh because I had to an widthdraw unofficially not to many credits. This school ruined my life. I'm 32 years old I'm disabled work less than 8 hours a week and been a disability and I have tried to go back to school for over 15 years... still can't. I hate this.

Edited November 6, 2010 by ChrisPA

[aginath]

I think it would behoove you to get to the bottom of the moneys owed issue regardless of the transcripts. Something like this could and has appeared years later on credit reports, sold to bottom feeder collection agencies, etc.

[tso123d]

Chris and Dacey: take a look at the date of the OP, it was made over a year ago! And it looks like it all worked out ok as in the sig OP now writes that he's attending ND.