I have registered for classes for next semester. It was an exhausting and irritating process to say the least. First, I found my advising appointment had been moved behind a week, because I was on file as a sophomore. This came as a surprise as I transfered in with sixty two credits and that is the credit limit for a junior. Well, long story short, Pima Community College did not transfer over my last fifteen credits...because I had missed the December graduation deadline. I thought this would not impact my credits transfered to the University, but since I am technically graduating with my AA degree in May PCC decided not transfer my credits until then. This means I had to pay an additional ten bucks to have my official transcript processed, and I had to take the time and effort to walk them down to U of A administration. (Let me say that the only helpful person during this entire process was a young INTERN by the name of Rachel, and I recommend everyone ask to be seen exclusively by her when attempting to deal with admin.)Rachel, my administration advisor, promptly input my transcript information that same HOUR.
Next, I spoke with my advisor. This was a pointless meeting as I took none of her advice, but this meeting is required and tedious. She would not allow me to register for an advanced non-fiction writing class as an elective, because I am not a Creative Writing major. I would be totally fine with giving priority to this major, but this particular class is not a requirement for CW majors. My advisor would not give me permission to take this course, because she advised for me to take some other none required elective that would have meant the same for me anyway. LAME! She also inquired as to why I was taking history courses, and I explained my minor is history. She said I should concentrate on my major, and I had to remind her I am a junior and should be worried about completing my minor requirements. She replied (I hope) jokingly stating I should worry about my minor my senior year like everyone else.
Now I am somewhat disappointed in the courses I am taking next semester, but at least I am enrolled. I don't even want to think about the hassle of financial aid.
--Nikki
Wow Nikki, I totally understand you completely! I absolutely hate the whole U of A’s system. When it comes to any sort of counseling, you might as well ask another student who has been there awhile, because honestly, I think they know more of what’s going on than the actual advisors. I actually had two different advisors from Eller when I first enrolled into the U of A. I transferred everything from Pima and they still said I needed to take 12 credit hours to establish a U of A GPA, before applying for Eller. It seriously sucks, I feel like university’s in general are a money making gimmick.
ReplyDeleteMy counselor’s did not help me schedule classes one bit. They told me to pick anything between the 100-200 level., (because I already have all my pre-requisites). One of the advisor’s signed me up for MCB 404 or something, it’s a molecular biology class. I am not a science major, nor do I plan to do anything that requires a lot of math, so this really irritated me. She tells me one thing, “Look for classes in the 100-200 level” and signs me up for something that is “Level 400 something”. Ridiculous!!!
I have learned after 2 semesters at the U of A, you are your own counselor/advisor. They know just as little, if not less than you. I’m sorry that you had to go through the trouble too. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been easier to just begin college at the U of A, instead of transferring from Pima, but like most students, I don’t have the money to pay for the U of A for 4 years, which is why I chose the alternative, Pima.