transcripts being held hostage

[Ideas]

Thanks much for the feedback! I agree with you, I'm assuming at this point it's better to admit to TESU that I had a idiot moment and forgot all about it rather than wait for it to blow up in my face. Hopefully it doesn't. The admissions person I am working with seems fairly cool, so hopefully it is a non-issue. Maybe I'll even get lucky and get out of a couple of electives. Thanks to the OP, too, I literally had no idea something like this could pose a problem.

TESU might not require it, but yeah, trying to order one is a great idea by davewill!

[sanantone]

I want to correct myself. I could not find on the website that TESU requires all transcripts other than for the nursing program. I remember having to list every college I attended when I applied, but do not remember if anything said that I had to send all the transcripts. This should be easy to find out by calling admissions. I did not check the catalog.

[davewill]

Thanks much for the feedback! I agree with you, I'm assuming at this point it's better to admit to TESU that I had a idiot moment and forgot all about it rather than wait for it to blow up in my face. Hopefully it doesn't. The admissions person I am working with seems fairly cool, so hopefully it is a non-issue. Maybe I'll even get lucky and get out of a couple of electives. Thanks to the OP, too, I literally had no idea something like this could pose a problem.

As long as you're able to supply one, it won't "blow up in your face." You don't have to call or "admit" anything, just go ahead and send it. TESU won't think anything of receiving another transcript.

[clep3705]

Exactly. Don't make yourself guilty. Schools receive transcripts all the time. No big deal. If you're still worried that you'll be asked why you sent it in after all this time and why didn't you send it in sooner, say this: I was looking at my transcript and noticed I hadn't received credits from school xyz. That's when I realized you'd never received the transcript from school xyz, so I took care of it right away.

[clep3705]

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/UG_Prospectus.pdf

page number 5 "You should have all your official transcripts and documentation of all your past college credits, professional and/or military training and other experiences sent to the University" Does should mean must?

page number 48 "Be sure to have all transcripts and credentials, if applicable, sent to the University." What does if applicable mean?

[ladysoleil]

Exactly. Don't make yourself guilty. Schools receive transcripts all the time. No big deal. If you're still worried that you'll be asked why you sent it in after all this time and why didn't you send it in sooner, say this: I was looking at my transcript and noticed I hadn't received credits from school xyz. That's when I realized you'd never received the transcript from school xyz, so I took care of it right away.

Thanks. I played a lot of phone tag with a lot of people today and finally got the transcript ordered. I applied for admission in early April, so I think I'm still in a reasonable time-frame for transcripts to arrive. If they ask why I have a transcript for a school that I didn't list on my application, I'll tell the truth, it was over 20 years ago, I only had a handful of credits, and I forgot to list it. Hopefully the credits (if any) will just get added to my evaluation and I'll never have to think about this again. I appreciate the advice!

[AwardTour]

I have similar concerns for myself. I don't owe any money to anyone but 15 years ago I enrolled in a community college and I never went to any of the classes. I did not even do the right thing and withdraw from the classes. I received nothing but failing grades and I was put on academic probation.

That was 15 years ago. Now, I plan on getting a degree from TESU. I don't have any credits to salvage from the past because they are all failing grades. Why should I even submit a transcript to TESU? Will this possibly hurt me when I try to graduate from TESU? I know the safe answer is to just submit my transcripts even if they are bad. But am I really taking a risk by not submitting transcripts that are that old that I don't even intended to get credit from? COSC told me that I don't have to submit them but it sounds like TESU is more strict.

[sanantone]

http://www.tesu.edu/documents/UG_Prospectus.pdf

page number 5 "You should have all your official transcripts and documentation of all your past college credits, professional and/or military training and other experiences sent to the University" Does should mean must?

page number 48 "Be sure to have all transcripts and credentials, if applicable, sent to the University." What does if applicable mean?

Should does not mean required, but only TESU can confirm what they mean. The wording for their nursing programs is different.

For RN to BSN and RN to BSN/MSN applicants:
Please send all official diploma nursing school and regionally accredited college or university transcripts and college-level examination score reports to:

Office of the Registrar
Thomas Edison State University
101 W. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08608-1176

For MSN and Graduate Nursing Certificate applicants:
Please send official transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended (diploma nursing program, associate degree program, BSN program, graduate program) to:

ATTN: Graduate Studies
Office of Admissions
Thomas Edison State University
111 W. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08608

Applicants for the Graduate Nursing Certificate program must have an official transcript sent from all institutions of higher education attended, including institution where the master’s degree in nursing was awarded. Transcripts must be sent directly from the institutions to the Office of Admissions in unopened sealed envelopes with signatures across the seals. TESU will not evaluate transcripts from other countries and there is no need to send them to us. If you are transferring foreign credit, the University will accept credit recommendations, with a required course-by-course evaluation completed by any of the following agencies:

Thomas Edison State University: RN to BSN/MSN Admissions Requirements

Edit: I think I've found the answer.

If you have attended college in the past, submit official copies of transcripts. Thomas Edison State University accepts up to 80 credits earned at regionally accredited community colleges and up to 120 credits earned at regionally accredited four-year institutions. Send transcripts from all the colleges and/or universities you have attended. These transcripts must be sent directly from the institutions to the Office of the Registrar in unopened sealed envelopes with signatures across the seals.

Thomas Edison State University: Apply for an Undergraduate Degree or Certificate

[dfrecore]

Thanks. I played a lot of phone tag with a lot of people today and finally got the transcript ordered. I applied for admission in early April, so I think I'm still in a reasonable time-frame for transcripts to arrive. If they ask why I have a transcript for a school that I didn't list on my application, I'll tell the truth, it was over 20 years ago, I only had a handful of credits, and I forgot to list it. Hopefully the credits (if any) will just get added to my evaluation and I'll never have to think about this again. I appreciate the advice!

They won't ask.

[dfrecore]

I have similar concerns for myself. I don't owe any money to anyone but 15 years ago I enrolled in a community college and I never went to any of the classes. I did not even do the right thing and withdraw from the classes. I received nothing but failing grades and I was put on academic probation.

That was 15 years ago. Now, I plan on getting a degree from TESU. I don't have any credits to salvage from the past because they are all failing grades. Why should I even submit a transcript to TESU? Will this possibly hurt me when I try to graduate from TESU? I know the safe answer is to just submit my transcripts even if they are bad. But am I really taking a risk by not submitting transcripts that are that old that I don't even intended to get credit from? COSC told me that I don't have to submit them but it sounds like TESU is more strict.

You might want to order a transcript for yourself, just to see what they say. When I went to college, even if I didn't withdraw from a course, I didn't always get an F - I got an I (incomplete) for some, which did not give me a GPA. If a school sees that you didn't go to a single class for an entire semester, they may have given you something like that, or withdrawn you for the entire semester, and you may have no GPA there at all.

If you do have a GPA of 0.0, then you may have a problem, but you can figure that out after you know for certain what you have. They may be willing to change it to all I's or something (whatever they give there), or have some other way to help you.

You can also ask TESU what would happen in that situation, if you have an old transcript with all F's. They may have some sort of forgiveness program or something.

I know when I transferred all my credits to WVNCC, they had a policy of not counting bad grades older than a certain number of years old. TESU may do that or something like it, who knows.