Class Schedule Madness: Part 2

Preparation

When I decided to take Fall semester off I made sure to put all my ducks in a row so that I would have no problems when I returned in Winter. I remembered when I got back from Texas and wanted to enroll from Spring/Summer, the Registration office told me that if I was gone for more than one semester I would have to reapply.

So I went to my scholarship page and deferred my Fall Scholarship. I made an appointment with my bishop and submitted an Ecclesiastical Endorsement for the Fall/Winter year. I submitted a Graduation Application for April 2011, and I received a Registration Priority Date for October 26, 2010-- today.

When I woke up this morning, I got out my laptop and signed into my Route Y account and began looking up the classes I needed to register for. When I click the Add button a little window pops up that SHOULD read, "REL C 325 has been added to your class schedule." Instead I get a evil window that says, "You are invalid to register for classes."

WHAT THE FRACK?

The Disaster

I call the admission office to find out what is going on. The student there tells me that I had to submit a deferment form if I planned on missing a semester, which I didn't do, so the system automatically kicked me out. The deadline to submit a deferment form was... October 1, 2010. NO WHERE in my search to get all my ducks in a row did I ever see any mention of this form. NO WHERE did it tell me, "If you are going to miss a Fall or Winter semester, you need to take the following steps: a . . . b . . . c . . ."

So the chick directs me to the website where I can print off the form to MAIL into BYU at which point she informs me that it can take up to three days to process, but because I missed the deadline, there is no guarantee that it will be accepted.

Remember that perfect schedule I had worked out so that I could take 14.0 credit hours and only be on campus for four hours, three days a week? Potentially down the toilet if I have to wait four days to register for my classes. IF they accept my form to let me register at all. No classes, no graduation in April 2011.

On top of it all, my fabulous baby who has been sleeping 4-6 hour stretches through the night woke me up every 2 hours last night.

The Breakdown

I had a breakdown.

The Solution

I called Casey and told him everything that was going on in between sobs. He was awesome and really supportive. He gave me just the advice I needed to get me going again. He said, "Tukataa (that's his Thai nickname for me, meaning 'little doll') you need to go down there and do what you do best. Talk to an administrator, not a student who can't do anything, and don't leave until they fix it for you. All they probably have to do is click a button and it will be fixed."

So I got up, quickly got ready, threw Sander in his car seat and headed down to campus to try to get the whole thing taken care of before the 11 AM Devotional when the entire campus goes on break. When I got there I skipped the student windows and went straight to the Registration Counselors Office. I talked to the receptionist and told her I needed to see someone and asked if anyone was available. She told me that I was not allowed to make a same day appointment so I would need to come back tomorrow. . .

uh, no.

I told her, "Dude, I live 45 minutes away. Isn't there anyone who can see me today? I can be here all day." So she said that she would go check with the counselor and see what she could do for me. And, lo and behold; God is good, God is great- my counselor's 10:00 appointment had cancelled on him and he could see me right away.

I went in and talked to him, a Mr. Selk, and told him my whole situation. He got online and entered some things into some form boxes, clicked a button and told me I could now register for classes. I was in there with him for no more than five minutes. A four day process was reduced down to five minutes. My buns were saved.

I went out of the building, got on my laptop and registered for all my classes except one which I need a permission code for. Luckily, I took a class from the professor about 5 years ago so I remembered him. I went to the Harris Fine Arts Center and asked for his e-mail and schedule to see if he might be around so I could talk to him before I left. Lo and behold; God is good, God is great- he had an office hour that hour and was in the building. I went down and waited outside his door for a little while as he had stepped out. Sander had been amazing through the whole process! He was so quiet and alert, just looking around at everything with only occasional outbursts. So I rewarded him by taking him out of his car seat and played with him while I waited. Dr. Hollingshaus came back not too much later and invited me into his office. We talked about the class, about life and my new baby. He was extremely congenial and inviting- taking the time to chat with me as a peer when he really didn't have to.

The class is going to be really hard and a lot of work. He said the 395 class should really be a 500 or 600 level class because of all the reading they do and because it is the same class they teach to their grad students. Yikes. He said they are, however, very generous in their grading; they grade more for effort than a right answer. So it will require a lot out of me, but the professor is cool and seems willing to help out students who want to learn.

Altogether, a potentially disastrous morning didn't turn out too badly. I have my ideal schedule, I have registered for all my classes (except the TMA 395 but Prof. Hollingshaus is going to e-mail me the code when he gets it) and my scholarship is still available for me. No doubt about it, being a student and a new mom is going to be difficult. But I think a degree is a worthy pursuit and I will rely on the Lord to help me get though it.