Ok, so I worked my ass off to graduate a year early from high school. I did it successfully. I graduated 10th in the class above me (2003, I was originally 2004). Graduated in the top 2% of the class; the 10% get automatic (but apparently not hassle-free) admission to any state school. I advanced in national merit. I got a 1530 on my SAT. I applied to the University of Texas at Austin. I applied for the Spring 2004 semester. I began to wait patiently for the acceptance letter in the mail. I predicted none of the misfortune that was to come. So then its Thursday October 30th. No letter. I decide to check UT’s ascetically pleasing, but otherwise worthless online BeALongHorn application status thing. It says that I applied for the Fall 2004 semester. I immediately freak. I panic. I finally regain control of my thoughts. I call the admissions office and they say not to worry and that they will fix everything. They confirmed that I applied on time, had my transcript sent in on time, had my essays in on time, and had way more than adequate scores. Everything was perfect at the very least. Then it’s Monday November 3rd. I check the BeALongHorn thing again, everything is fine. They got it right. I am ok. Then it’s today, Saturday, November 8th at approximately 7 pm. I am watching the UT game. Hoping that they would win. I watched the aggie game: they lost horribly. Everything was good. So, just on impulse I decide to check the BeALongHorn thing. I thought that they might say that I was accepted on it: they’ve had time. I’m still shaking from what I saw. So horrible.
The Quote: “Your application for admission has been cancelled. A letter of explanation has been mailed to you. Please contact our office for more information.”
HOLY FUCK!! What do you mean CANCELLED??? You surely don’t mean annulled, stopped, called off?? It can’t be cancelled. I sure didn’t cancel it. I would remember that. I don’t remember you saying anything about canceling my application. I was very sure you said everything was “OK.” It didn’t say anything about being cancelled on Monday. But it says it now. But why? Why would it be cancelled?? Are you trying to kill me here?
I’m shaking from anger and uncertainty. I can’t form complex sentences easily. I can’t break that into paragraphs. I apologize for any irritations my rant my have caused you. Please tell me that this won’t be a problem. Please tell me that on Monday, when I call, that I’ll be able to fix everything without yelling or crying or dying.
Why does this happen?? Am I evil? If that karma stuff is real, I must have been a real bastard in another life.
I’d wait until I got the letter explaining the cancellation before I panicked. Seriously. It may be botched paperwork on their end, or it may be something you need to fix. Either way, I’m sure it’s no big deal to take care of.
If it turns out that you miss the Spring 2004 semester, you can always take a semester of general education classes at community college and transfer those credits to UT. It’s not the end of the world.
One of the things you are going to learn by going to the University of Texas is how to deal with large bureaucracies. Patience and not blowing your cool is important.
Welcome to the life of a student at a large university. Here’s some advice:
Save records. All records. Save emails. Write down who you talked to when you make calls. I’ve routinely had to consult these notes when I had to call/email back to correct the problem the first person was supposed to correct. And stay on their ass. Don’t trust them when they say “Everything will be taken care of.”
(hijack) In Indiana, the ratio of applicants to conservation officer positions is roughly 10 to 1, every time the Department of Natural Resources hires a group. (/hijack)
Don’t panic. Don’t yell, cry, insult, etc. It’s a stupid chance to show that they would be RIGHT to track down the problem and WRONG to let it stand. If you yell, cry, insult, etc., you demonstrate that it is RIGHT for them to say, “Sorry; better luck next time.”
UndeadHero I aspire to go to medical school after I graduate normal college. Though I know several people that do want to be park rangers. There is something attractive about be “A Wilderness Protector” apparently.
Just to continue the hijack, the position of “park ranger” generally requires a college degree, and is a perfectly worthwhile and respectable profession that many educated and intelligent people hold. I’m not sure why you would sneer at it, UndeadHero.
Whew. Well maybe it’s over. They confirmed that it was a mistake on their part and that I was fortunate to catch it. So for the moment it is all better. There will probably be more problems before it is all over…there always are.
