Just when I started getting excited....

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I start classes next week. I'm taking my final prereqs and will finish in the end of July. I had a possibility to start the nursing program in fall if space was available.

Well, now I get this letter in the mail from the college I previously attended saying they won't send my transcripts until I pay them 3k!!

That being said, I don't have 3k so I don't know what to do. I still am starting at the new college but now might have to wait a whole other year to either a) pay the school and get my transcripts sent or b) retake all the classes that were going to transfer.

At this point im wondering if I should apply for the lpn program at the community college instead or take out some sort of loan to pay my previous college.

I wasn't even supposed to owe them! I only took two classes! I also received grants and loans for those two classes so it doesn't make sense at all.

Frustrated but not giving up! !

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

Are you sure you can just retake the classes? All schools that I know of want transcripts whether you plan on transferring credits or not. That's how they know that you are in good standing with your last school (academically or financially). Financial aid depends on your previous work, and you can get in serious trouble for frauding financial aid because they didn't know your previous GPA or how many hours you have attempted so far. (If you don't have the GPA or exceed the maximum timeframe without an appeal IT IS FRAUD)

If they have already accepted you, it is probably conditional until arrival of your official transcripts.

One reason you may owe the last school is because you ended up not meeting the requirements for financial aid and they took it from you. They may just need additional papers or signatures from you and they'll re-credit you. They are allowed to do adjustments at any time. You should call the financial aid office (not the bursar) and find out why you didn't get your financial aid.

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You're first step should be finding out why & what exactly they think you owe the money for.

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I would go to the financial office and see what the heck the deal is!

I certainly would want to know why they think I owe them 3k when it should have been covered.

I know you are eager to get started, but you need to resolve that issue first.

Don't just start taking out loans, either.

Find out about your 3k!

That's a lot of money

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I've never heard of anyone starting any kind of program without every transcript from every college ever attended In hand. It's usually one of the very first requirements listed, and they schools have full knowledge of every other college you've been to. Retaking your classes won't help that.

I had a similar problem...I took out an emergency loan for my first tuition payment a couple years ago and ended up dropping the classes after the refund date because I had some money trouble and couldn't afford it all. Anyway, I ended up owing my school $1100 . I have 3 kids...when I do have an extra thousand bucks, old tuition just doesn't come to the front of the priority list often.

Anyway, the only reason I'm starting a nursing program this summer is because I happened to also be attending a community college that ill-fated semester and had my transcripts up to date before they put a hold on them. So I have to go to the community college's ADN program instead of a BSN, but it's all good. Once I get a job, I can pay off the 4 year university and my transcripts will be FREE for the sending!

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Something is fishy here and sounds like fraud to me... 3k??? FOR TRANSCRIPTS? Where did you attend?

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.
Something is fishy here and sounds like fraud to me... 3k??? FOR TRANSCRIPTS? Where did you attend?
I don't think it's fishy. Thy are not charging $3k for a transcript. The OP has a balance of $3k with the school, and it must be settled before they'll release her transcripts. My transcripts had a hold on them until I paid $100 that I owed to the university when I was transfering to a different school.

It's one of the easier ways of getting people to pay their bill. If they want to go to school, they have to have their transcript. To get their transcripts, they have to be in good standing.

The reason the OP has a $3k bill is a different story. I listed one possible explanation above. Another is that the OP didn't finish the classes or didn't finish enough of the classes to qualify for fin aid. (got all F's or W's). If she didn't earn 6 hours credit that semester, she would have earned little if any financial aid for the semester. I don't know if this is what happened, because the OP hasn't stated the reason for the bill.

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I have actually called the business office at my former college and she said she doesn't know why it's that much. She said shed find an explanation and call me back. I haven't been able to get ahold of her since but until she figures it out and I pay it off then I'm out of luck.

My brother in law actually works for that school too, very high up in the school, and he is looking into it too. I never knew it was so difficult to just get some transcripts!

I took over 90 credit hours at this school all together with a 3.74 GPA and 4 classes that transfer.

Right now I am only taking prerequisites so my gpa doesnt matter at this point.

I need them before I could be accepted I to nursing of course. I could retake the classes I was going to transfer but the advisor at my new school says if we go off of gpa there I need at least 12 credit hours and I'm only signed up for 7 this summer so I won't have that until the end of fall and miss the deadline for spring enrollment.

Ugh. Sorry if I'm not making sense and than you for reading! I just need to vent. Everything was going so smoothly...

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I don't think it's fishy. Thy are not charging $3k for a transcript. The OP has a balance of $3k with the school, and it must be settled before they'll release her transcripts. My transcripts had a hold on them until I paid $100 that I owed to the university when I was transfering to a different school.

It's one of the easier ways of getting people to pay their bill. If they want to go to school, they have to have their transcript. To get their transcripts, they have to be in good standing.

The reason the OP has a $3k bill is a different story. I listed one possible explanation above. Another is that the OP didn't finish the classes or didn't finish enough of the classes to qualify for fin aid. (got all F's or W's). If she didn't earn 6 hours credit that semester, she would have earned little if any financial aid for the semester. I don't know if this is what happened, because the OP hasn't stated the reason for the bill.

What happened from what I understand so far was when enrolled, they enrolled me for two semesters and did my financial aid together in a "package". Since I dropped the second semester to persue nursing, they took all of my financial aid away

But my thing is I dropped them before the classes started so I should not be charged for tuition.

I need to get it settled one way or another but I owe them 3k cash after the grant and loan I took out for one semester (2 classes. 6 credit hours) just doesn't make sense to me.

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Specializes in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

Reapplying, but only for the specific semester might be your solution. I've never heard of financial aid done that way before though...

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I've always had my financial aid done by the year, but they only gave me half each semester, so it didn't matter if I didn't attend school the second semester. Also, I've had to return money because they awarded me full time amounts and I ended up only going part time...

If they make a mistake and give you too much money, the agreement you sign says you're responsible for paying it back, so maybe that's what happened? Hope you figure something out!

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