The Higher Education blues

With the fall semester approaching people are doing the mad dash to get everything for their new semester squared away. If you assumed getting set up for college was easy. Well, you are wrong. One would think that the college administrators make this an easy process for the new students and returning students but this is truly not the case. I have experienced the higher education blues first hand.

Ideally administration offices should be like a one stop shop. Where every office you need would at least be close to one another. This is totally not the case at Bergen Community College; which I will be attending for the fall semester as a Liberal arts transfer student. Having been to college 3 times, yes I said 3 times, with no degree to show mind you but I digress. I knew there was always some run around but this college took the cake.

The best part of this experience is that the college application was free and so was the testing, not like some schools. *cough Essex cough*  I went to apply online but was not able to do so since I had applied like 4 years ago and had already been accepted. After many calls to the admissions office, I was told to come in to get my status changed in the system so that I could sign up for classes. Sound simple enough? Well, since I was coming in as a transfer student and a Veteran, I had to make sure all my transcripts were sent over to the school. I did this about a month before I intended on going in that way I didn’t have to wait to sign up for classes because this semester I needed online and weekend classes. So I did my VA stuff and got my approval from them, gathered all the documents I thought I needed and proceeded to the school.

I was there literally ALL day. I got my status changed at the registration office, then was told I had to go to testing. Well, here’s the thing, I already took a placement test at my old school. What I wasn’t told on the phone is that I need to have my test results sent to testing so that they can put something in the system so that I can sign up for classes. After finally having my score sent over I was told I could go sigh up for classes. Well, I knew that I had to go to an academic advisor because I was transferring. I get to that office and was told I had to go make sure my transcripts were evaluated. So I went all the way to that office, waited and finally saw someone who then told me the person who evaluates the transcripts was on vacation until the 21st. Are you Serious?

So I trooped back to Academic advising with this news and they decided to help me. They helped me sign up for class based on my major. Once I had my schedule I had to go back to the Veteran Liaison so she could take my paper work and put a hold on my classes since the VA is paying for it. SO.... I thought I was done.


Yesterday I got an email from the Bursar's office saying I had until yesterday to pay for my classes. Seriously? Did the Veteran Liaison not do her job? So in many efforts to try to contact her, I decided to just go down to the school and take care of this. So as soon as I walked in she seemed to have a bit of an attitude. She helped me nonetheless but I am the one that should have been pissed. Once she put the hold in the system I went to the bursar’s office to make sure I was good to go. The line was long as expected because everyone had received the email that they had to pay for classes by the 19th. When I finally got to the line, they stamped my schedule and I was told I had to go get my college ID. Another journey to find ID's, I finally got that done.

I just have to say, school hasn’t started yet and I'm already exhausted. The Higher education blues have already started to set in. I am going to fight them though because this time I am not leaving without my degree.

A little advice to all those who will be going to school this fall, don’t let the college run around deter you from achieving your goals and dreams. In the End it will all be worth it.