
Many were shocked by how far this school was willing to go for some chump change.
By Xiomara Demarchi — Written on Jul 07, 2023
Photo: @estarssecretaccount96 / TikTok

A recent graduate “almost cried” after discovering her high school would be withholding her diploma until she paid off her debts.
The graduate was shocked to find that she was denied a diploma on the day of her ceremony.
TikTok user Ellie McCormick, a former high school student at Millard West, shared a video of herself outside of the Baxter Arena where her graduation ceremony was held. She captioned the video, “Hot girls get a pink diploma anyway.”
Dressed in her cap and gown, a cheerful McCormick lip-synced lyrics from Meek Mill’s “Going Bad” single as she showcased her diploma cover with a conspicuous pink slip that read, “Your diploma has been pulled until you have paid your Laptop repair fee. Please see the amount below.”
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The notice provided instructions on how to pay the fee and where to pick up her diploma followed by a single strand of text addressed to the graduate: “McCORMICK, ELLIE J. $15 - LAPTOP REPAIR.”
Photo: Tiktok / @estarssecretaccount96
While most schools would normally alert students of any outstanding balances prior to the time of graduation, this didn’t seem to be the case according to McCormick.
“Babe $15 u could’ve easily paid that,” one user wrote, to which McCormick replied, “I didn’t know I owed it!!”
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In the comments section, people expressed their shock and shared their own experiences.
One user recalled owing their school $70 for returning a laptop that was claimed to have had a cracked screen. “I never paid it so till this day I have no diploma LMAO.”
Another user commented, “My school tried to hold my diploma over 75 cents from me breaking a keycap …in the 4th grade.”
“15 dollars… just pay it... my school gave a fee of 250 if you did anything like take pics onstage at grad,” a third user wrote.
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While most agree that the school may have gone a little too far over a paltry sum of money, at least they gave her the courtesy to attend graduation!
Xiomara Demarchi is a writer based in New York and frequent contributor to YourTango news and entertainment team.