DDs college is going to kill me (short vent inside)

[Amber in SJ]

So in August we paid dds tuition minus the scholarship she received. Our balance was $0.00.

 

Two weeks later I was paying housing and our tuition balance said $1000.00

 

What?

 

Turns out the scholarship requires 15 units not the 12.5 dd was taking.

 

Mad scramble to find a class that has no pre-reqs because her transfer transcripts have arrived but have not been recorded. Good luck finding such a class 2 weeks before school. We found a random class that she is interested in but counts for nothing in her major or general ed.

 

School started last week. She went to her TTh class and the entire class sat & waited because the professor didn't show up. Someone from the dept showed up to tell them their professor had taken a job in China last week & not been replaced yet. They should come back Th. Th arrives with the class & a note saying the class has been cancelled for the semester, have a nice day. This is a class she needs to have finished by the end of this year to submit her portfolio to stay in her major.

 

And sure enough we get a notice yesterday letting us know we owe $1000 in tuition because her scholarship was cancelled due to student being below credit requirements.

 

She is trying to add another class. Trying to find a class that is not another random class but one that will count toward her major and/ or general ed. Luckily her transfer units have finally been recorded so she is eligible for the classes she needs, but most are full. She has missed the first week of whatever class she adds and is panicked about it.

 

This is not my roll-with-the-punches child. I have two of those and two collapse-into-a-sobbing-heap-and-then-fix-it-after-I-have-expressed-all-my-feelings children.

 

OK, rant over. I feel like as I homeschooler I didn't build up enough of a tolerance for bureaucratic nonsense that happens in schools; even the best ones.

 

Amber in SJ

[Annie G]

:grouphug:

 

What a crummy start of the semester!! I hope she finds a class and things go smoothly for her.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Oh, my! How terrible. I hope it all gets sorted out soon.

[Sneezyone]

I get the vent, I do. It's hard to watch your kids experience frustration. But is it really your job to build up a tolerance for this? I think this is one of those lessons, intangibles of college, that kids have to learn in a big hurry...a) know your scholarship requirements, b) know your major requirements, c) schedule enough classes to be full time so you don't lose fin. aid, and c) when in doubt, use the academic advisors on campus.:grouphug:

 

And pardon me...FIGHT ON!! Touchdown #4.:D

[Mergath]

I get the vent, I do. It's hard to watch your kids experience frustration. But is it really your job to build up a tolerance for this? I think this is one of those lessons, intangibles of college, that kids have to learn in a big hurry...a) know your scholarship requirements, b) know your major requirements, c) schedule enough classes to be full time so you don't lose fin. aid, and c) when in doubt, use the academic advisors on campus.:grouphug:

 

And pardon me...FIGHT ON!! Touchdown #4.:D

 

:iagree: Also, she needs to schedule an appointment with her advisor ASAP. This kind of thing is why college students have advisors in the first place.

[kiana]

Talk to her advisor AND the department that cancelled the class she needs. It is entirely possible that since the class was cancelled out from under her they may add her to a full class (unless it's a lab class, those have a hard cap for a reason.)

 

ETA: I meant that SHE should talk to them, sorry.

Edited September 2, 2012 by kiana

[Denise in Florida]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

Dd21 has had many experiences with that kind of schedule mayhem. :glare:

 

She is also the 'melt-down...cry...' type with a strong dose of 'let me do it'. :001_smile:

 

I hope the semester works out for your daughter, and she will have learned lots of skills in coping with pointless bureaucracy.

[kalanamak]

Try to find the highest mucky mucky you can actually speak to, and then be very sweet but no noodle. Iron fist in a velvet glove. Ooze your faith that he/she can see how redonkulus this is, and that s/he will put on a cape and a mask and fix it for you.

[Sneezyone]

Speaking to professors, deans and advisors on behalf of your child is practically guaranteed to get him/her labled immature and unprepared. Not something you want to do with the faculty *in the child's major* who may also be called upon to write letters of recommendation.

[EmmaNadine]

Speaking to professors, deans and advisors on behalf of your child is practically guaranteed to get him/her labled immature and unprepared. Not something you want to do with the faculty *in the child's major* who may also be called upon to write letters of recommendation.

 

As a college professor, I completely and totally second this piece of advice. Also, having the student go over my head without talking to me first is also a big no-no.

 

However, if there is a class that she wants to take that she has the (unrecorded) prerequisites to take, have her go talk to the professor. Many universities allow professors to override prerequisites for various reasons and allow students to take the class. I've done this frequently when the transfer class was close but didn't quite line up, or other bureaucratic reasons.

Edited September 2, 2012 by EmmaNadine

[Amber in SJ]

I am not doing it for her. She is the one who has to find a class. She will be the one to talk to the professors/ advisors. She is the one that has to make it all work out & if it doesn't work out and she loses the scholarship, she is the one who will have to pay for at least some of the difference.

 

As for the "know your scholarship requirements" comments; she did. The requirements on the application said "full time." At this school & most schools that is 12 units. It was several months later that we were notified that it meant more units.

 

She has no control over the college cancelling the class. She can hardly take extra units just in case they cancel one.

 

I am the one who has to hear her frustration when she calls. Because she is my first one to leave the nest, I am having a difficult time with it.

 

I don't tell her I will fix it or make it all better. I say; "Oh that stinks. What are you going to do?" or "I am sorry. It sounds frustrating, but I know you can figure out a plan." I do ask her if I can help but I don't do the things she can do for herself.

 

Amber in SJ

[Sneezyone]

I get it, I really do. I certainly called my mom a time or two that first year to vent and complain, usually right around my cycle :D, but beyond being a really great listener and cheerleader, there's really nothing more she could have or should have done. Good luck!