Alright, let’s talk about this whole Ohio State thing I went through. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, felt more like wrestling a bear sometimes.
So, it started pretty simple. Needed to get some old academic records sorted out for a new job prospect. Thought it’d be easy, right? Just fill out a form online, pay a fee, done. Nope.
First, I went onto their website. Found the transcript request section. Seemed straightforward enough. Filled in all my details – student ID from way back when, dates attended, the whole nine yards. Then I hit the payment page. Card declined. Weird, plenty of funds. Tried another card. Same thing. Okay, deep breath.
Next step, I decided to call the registrar’s office. That was an adventure in itself. Got the automated menu, pressed about five different numbers, finally got put on hold. Listened to that same classical music piece loop for, I swear, 20 minutes. Finally, a human voice!
Explained the situation. The online payment wasn’t working. The person on the other end sounded kinda bored. “Oh, you might have a hold on your account,” they said. A hold? For what? I graduated years ago, paid everything off.
They transferred me to the Bursar’s office. More hold music. Lovely. New person, same explanation from me. “Hmm, let me check,” they mumbled. Keyboard clacking sounds. “Ah, yes. Looks like there’s an outstanding library fine from 2011.” 2011? Seriously? For like, five bucks?
Felt my blood pressure start to climb a bit. A five-dollar fine from over a decade ago was stopping me from getting my transcripts? Okay, fine. How do I pay it?
Navigating the Payment Maze
Turns out, you can’t just pay it over the phone. And the online portal where I was trying to order transcripts wouldn’t let me pay the fine either because my student account was ‘inactive’. Catch-22.
They gave me instructions:
- Find the specific payment form for ‘past-due miscellaneous fees’ on their website (took me ages to locate it).
- Print it out. Yes, print it. In this century.
- Fill it out by hand.
- Write a check or get a money order for the five dollars.
- Mail it. Snail mail.
I actually laughed out loud. But okay, whatever it takes. Drove to the bank, got a money order (who even uses those anymore?). Found an envelope, a stamp. Mailed the darn thing off.
Then, the waiting game began. Checked my email daily. Tried calling the Bursar’s office again after a week. “We need time to process mailed payments,” they said. Fair enough.
Another week went by. Still nothing. Called again. “It should be cleared soon.”
Finally, about two and a half weeks after mailing that five-dollar money order, I got an automated email saying the hold was lifted. Victory?
Went back to the transcript request portal. Entered my info again. Clicked pay. Success! The payment went through.
Got the transcripts electronically a couple of days later. The whole process took nearly a month, countless phone calls, hold music torture, digging up old info, and mailing a physical piece of paper across the country, all for a forgotten five-dollar fine.
So yeah, that was my little battle with Ohio State’s system. Glad it’s over. Learned that sometimes you just gotta jump through the hoops, even if they seem ridiculous. And maybe check for tiny library fines before you graduate.
