Balance owed to school.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, 

So about 1.5 years ago I started gardening and i went from 480 to 680 Equifax, the others from 690 to over 700. I still got a few baddies I will work on in the next few months, but I also want to start to deal with my college loans. 

I have a few federal loans that were rehabbed and are currently in forbearance, I want to apply through studentaid.gov for a consolidation to have it all under one payment. Is this a good idea?

Second, I still owe the college about 25k, they sent it off to collection a few years ago (around 2012) and then all of a sudden about 2-3 years ago it fell off my credit report. Now I want to finally get the transcripts and finish my degree, I have 12 credit hours to finish, to get my bacherlors. How do I approach the school about this? Just call them and ask about it? I would like to take out a loan to cover the 25k and pay it off. 

Any suggestions would be of great help!

[Kree]

Many schools do not allow credit transfers more than 5-10 years old.   Check into your intended school's policies. It might not be worth even contacting the original school.

[Anonymous]

First, good for you on working on your credit.

Next, what is the statute of limitations in your state for debt? Like the other poster mentioned, a lot of schools will not transfer older credits. Please check with your intended school to see if they do. Also, that you will only need to take 12 CH at the new school. Many colleges force you to take 30 or more CH to earn your degree from their institution no matter how many CH you are transferring. If you are going back to your original school, they are more likely to accept your former CH. Also, see if you can get your unofficial transcripts online.

Lastly, please make certain it is an accredited school. Some employers do not recognize some schools.

[beutiful5678]

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@Anonymouswrote:

So about 1.5 years ago I started gardening and i went from 480 to 680 Equifax, the others from 690 to over 700. I still got a few baddies I will work on in the next few months, but I also want to start to deal with my college loans.

 Congrats on your progress so far!

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@Anonymouswrote:

I have a few federal loans that were rehabbed and are currently in forbearance, I want to apply through studentaid.gov for a consolidation to have it all under one payment. Is this a good idea?

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What are the balances and interest rates for each of the loans?

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@Anonymouswrote:

Second, I still owe the college about 25k, they sent it off to collection a few years ago (around 2012) and then all of a sudden about 2-3 years ago it fell off my credit report. Now I want to finally get the transcripts and finish my degree, I have 12 credit hours to finish, to get my bacherlors. How do I approach the school about this? Just call them and ask about it? I would like to take out a loan to cover the 25k and pay it off.

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I would try calling your school's bursar's office to inquire about paying off the balance.

[Batsamandrobin]

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@Kree wrote:

Many schools do not allow credit transfers more than 5-10 years old.   Check into your intended school's policies. It might not be worth even contacting the original school.

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+1. It's also likely that your original school has a hold placed on your official transcripts, which many schools require for transfer. I owed ~$15k to a previous college a few years ago, and they would not even consider a release of my transcripts until I made a large lump sum payment to bring the balance owed below 50%. Also agreed to significantly increase my monthly payment. 

I'd recommend that you send the bursar's office an email, outlining all the positive improvements you've made with credit and see what happens from there. Best of luck!