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