I’d love to say I have some kind of well thought out, eloquent post in me. I do not. My sad, neglected blog is likely to remain just that for the foreseeable future, and this post won’t break that trend. This is just a thought dump. A “what’s going on with me” that most of you will likely gloss over if you even bother to read it in the first place.
Man, that sure sounded emo.
Shortly after I started the final push for my Bachelor’s Degree back in 2011, I purchased an Asus Eee PC so that I would have something portable to do my school work on. It cost me about $400 at the time. I upgraded the RAM in it to the maximum that it could possibly hold, and I threw a SD memory card in it to run ReadyBoost as well. In the years that have followed, I have installed tons of software on it that I have needed to complete my assignments. IDE’s, Server software (IIS AND Tomcat), database programs, the MS Office suite, you name it.
In all the time I have been using this netbook, the only thing I have had to do to it to keep it running was buy a new battery.
As I approach the final 5 weeks of my scholastic career, my little netbook is struggling. It has never been reformatted. The amount of time I’d have to spend re-installing all the software I need just hasn’t made it worth pursuing. What used to be a zippy little machine is now sluggish and frustrating to use.
But it still works.
Once school is done my netbook is probably going into retirement. I may reformat it first and see how it performs after that, but I’ve got my eye on more powerful machines as I move on to the next phase of my life and career. Regardless of that, it will be somewhat painful to let this little engine that could go. It has performed well beyond my expectations, and was worth every penny I spent on it. When I do decide to finally shut it off for the last time, I know I’ll feel more than a little sad.
“That will do, Netbook. That will do.”
I’ve been doing mini-rants on my Twitter/Facebook feeds about a letter I got from the University of South Florida for the last hour or so. I have decided to encapsulate my frustrations and conclusions here to spare anyone additional spam.
I received my Associate of the Arts degree from St. Petersburg College in December of 2005. I graduated with a GPA of 3.241. Shortly after graduation I applied for admission to the University of South Florida, but I never actually finished the application process. Life got a bit on the busy side, and I let things slide for a few years.
I recently applied again, hoping to finally start working on my Bachelors degree in the Spring. A few days after applying I went to check on the status and was greeted with a “you will be notified by mail of our decision.”
This is never a good sign. I’ve heard that statement far too many times when applying for credit. It always means “we’re telling you no, but we aren’t going to tell you to your face. We have to put this in WRITING.”
So the letter arrived today. Sure enough, I have been rejected. Why? I have completed less than 60% of the classes I have attempted in my post-secondary career. When I first read this I was livid. I ran the numbers and they didn’t add up. I was sure they had made a mistake.
They did not.
I have left a message with the Dean of Admissions, but after pulling transcripts and doing all the math myself here is what I have come up with. I have attempted 135 hours. I have completed 79. This means I have completed 58.51% of the classes I have attempted. In order to be eligible for admission to USF I need to pass 7 more credit hours worth of classes before I am eligible for admission. I am going to discuss this with them and get definite numbers, but this looks to be the position I am in.
I am angry, hurt, frustrated, and annoyed by this. I will not, however, let it defeat me. I still need to get my foreign language requirements in. I have a few grades on my transcript that are F’s that do not need to be taken for my degree. I have some classes I can take to give them what they want, and I will do so.
I will be a USF student one day. I will get my degree. I will not let this hold me back from improving myself.
I won’t.
UPDATE (3:58 PM EST)
Well….This sucks a big bag of flaccid manhood.
Apparently USF counts all attempts toward taking a class in figuring out your attempted to completed ratio, even if you’ve taken the class over again for credit. Saint Petersburg College does not, so those numbers weren’t being figured in to the ones I was working with.
Here’s what I’m facing with USF…
Total hours attempted – 143
Total hours completed – 76
Percentage – 53%
In order to be CONSIDERED for admission under the standard guidelines I need to take and pass 23 credit hours worth of classes. In order to guarantee it, though?
Another 60.
Anything less than 67% requires review by the admissions panel.
I have been told that I would be accepted at any of the other USF campuses. The major I wish to take is only offered at the USF Tampa campus. My only course of action at this point is to write a letter of appeal to the director of undergraduate admissions.
I know for a fact that I can get 16 hours of work in that I NEED to have done for my BA at SPC. Beyond that I am unsure.
This requires some additional thought and decision making.
It is currently 7:30 AM on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010. I am on vacation, and will be until next Thursday. Krystalle, Rafe and I will be leaving very early Thursday morning to drive to Atlanta for Dragon*Con, but for now I am simply taking some time off and generally trying to relax.
I am…restless.
I don’t like being a dick.
Ok, I’m sure there are some people who may read the above statement and say to themselves “then maybe you shouldn’t be one,” but those people suck and probably don’t read my blog anyway.
I digress.
Accounting is not, in my opinion, a subject that one should attempt to learn by (essentially) teaching yourself. Which is, in my opinion, pretty much what an online class is. Math? I can get that through repetition and reading. This accounting shit, though…I’m just not groking it.
I got an 89 on my first test. I fear for the next one. I pretty much guessed on a lot of the homework I just finished. Fortunately he posts the solutions to the home work and most of our grade is on the tests, so I’ll be able to review his answers before hand and maybe that will help me understand, but…yeah.
Not fun.
My upcoming Summer would certainly not make for a very interesting essay.
Applied Calculus I
Financial Accounting I
Elementary Spanish I
Wheee!!!
On December 16th, 2006, I am going to be graduating with honors from the St. Petersburg College.
The degree is only an Associate of the Arts. No major. Nothing “special” about it. Just a plain old A.A.
But you know what? I’m proud of it. I’m proud of the fact that even though I’ve got a good career I stuck it out to get it. I’m proud that despite some major fuck ups I’m graduating with honors. I’m proud of the fact that I’ll be the first person in my immediate family to hold a college degree of any kind.
So, yes, I’m going to march. I’m going to put on the stupid gown and go through the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony and I’m going to have my picture taken in it and that night I’m going to throw a party.
More details will come out as the date approaches, but suffice it to say that most of you will be invited.
And yes, if ya wanna give me goofy graduation related presents and cards they will be well received…because I’m going to revel in the celebration that should have happened a long time ago.
So there.