Where can I apply and what are my options? (Financial Hold) (high school, best)

[dherna10]

I started my first semester in college in the fall at a private university and after a really shaky semester I decided to withdraw and not continue on. I plan on transferring somewhere new but since I still have a very high financial hold with the university, I can't receive my transcript. I am wondering if it is still possible for me to apply anywhere else without it? I really have no care for the classes I took there since I did quite poorly and only attained about 9 hours of credit. I was a very good student in high school. I was very involved, achieved good grades, graduated 19 out of my class. I felt like I would do great in college, but I ended up having a really rough transition. I want to keep on learning, but I do not know what to do. I owe so much money to the school I was at that I'm afraid I won't be able to go back to school anytime soon.

[joe from dayton]

Enroll at a local CC and start over again. The old debt is not going away, so you need to figure out how to manage it.

[bler144]

Your enrollment would be contingent on not needing a copy of your first semester transcript, which even at a CC is not a guaranteed option. But joe is right that it's probably your safest option.

For certain certificate programs transcripts may be a necessity, plus not providing transcripts means you can't transfer the credits you did earn towards your new program. It's also possible it will come up as a flag if you're applying for federal aid, though most likely won't unless you continue to change schools.

So even in an "open enrollment" school like a CC you aren't guaranteed to skate without one, but your odds are decent.

That said, if you don't pay the tuition bill it will go to collections if it has not already, and that can be ouchy both in added fees and negative impact on your credit rating.

If it's not in collections yet your best move is probably to contact the school about a payment plan to work towards paying it off. Alternatively you could look for a non-federal loan that covers prior enrollment - they used to be fairly abundant and were often called "look back" loans, but off-hand I don't know who still offers one. But if they still exist most likely it would be from someone more like Sallie Mae than your local credit union.

The trade-off of taking a loan is that the bar for discharge of student loans in bankruptcy is higher than other forms of debt., presumably including the tuition bill owed. But I'm not a bankruptcy lawyer and can't give you detailed advice on that score.

[Ruth4Truth]

Work two jobs this summer to pay off as much as you can to that school. Work through fall, if you need to, or for a full year. Then apply to a CC for your first two years of college, and transfer to a 4-year school after you build a great transcript.