Emergency!!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Okay Guys, so it's not a life or death situation, and I apologize for labeling my post urgent, but this is the last place I could possibly turn! I know I can count on you guys to be more helpful than my dreaded admissions officer, so thanks in advance for reading my annoying rant.</p>

<p>So, some of you know the incredibly irritating story about my transcript situation. I wrote about it in the "Transcript Status" thread. Basically, to make a long story short, I had a very hard time getting my transcripts sent to Berkeley and having them accounted for. Three out of Four of my transcripts were successfully received by my admissions officer, but there was one that was misplaced, either in the mail room, or by my admissions officer herself, I will never know.</p>

<p>Anyway, I have been in contact with my admissions officer through e-mail and telephone for a while now. I finally just decided to stop waiting around for her to get that last transcript even though the school that sent it (in june) checked with their records and saw that it was received and signed for by a UC mail room employee. I decided to send another copy just to get it taken care of. I got it sent to my house and shipped it to Berkeley overnight. I tracked my order, and saw that it was received and signed for by a staff member at the begining of this week. After a handful of e-mails and phone messages, none of which were returned, I finally got in touch with my admissions officer this afternoon. She tells me the last transcript has gotten there (why she didn't confirm this with me after countless requests, I do not know), and that she was staring right at it the moment I called. Phew. So I start to think everything is all over, but no.</p>

<p>This woman sent me a 'standard' letter last week stating that I had 10 days to get that last document in, or else my admission would be considered for termination. When I got the letter I was frustrated because I knew that it had been sent, received and misplaced by someone on campus. But who cares, I sent it again. Well anyway, there's a block on my registration, something that can only be lifted by my admissions officer when she gets all the documents. So today, after she tells me the last transcript is in her hand, I ask her to please remove the block so my grants and loans can be placed in my CARS account. She then proceeds to tell me that my IGETC certificate is not in my student folder - she doesn't have it. I go on to tell her that my IGETC certificate has been marked as 'received' on MyBerkeleyApp checklist for over two weeks now. I also remind her that she sent me an e-mail the morning she got the IGETC certificate (which was sent seperately from my transcript) but she continues to insist that I must be confused, and that she doesn't have it. I tell her to check her 'sent' e-mail and look at my checklist, but she just keeps calling me "honey" and "sweetheart" and tells me she will look for it, but doesn't think she has it.If or when she finds it, and only then, will she take the hold off my registration.</p>

<p>Okay, I'm sooo sorry for this post, I know it's long. But what do I do? She has obviously now lost document # 2, a document that she verified receiving a while ago, and personally checked it off on MyBerkeleyApp some time ago. I don't understand why she would e-mail me that she got it, and check it as "received-final" on my checklist if she never got it. She couldn't have been confused because everything was sent in seperate envelopes. I made sure to check with her about every single document. </p>

<p>I need to complain - I need assistance - something! It's so hard to get in touch with anyone on the Berkeley campus, and I can't even find the main phone number for the Office of Undergrad admissions. I have now wasted over 45 dollars sending her these documents, because she has misplaced them. I don't know why I have to live with a block when I have done nothing but send them correctly.</p>

<p>I am scared my admission will be revoked because of this. I am afraid I won't be able to pay my bill on time because of the block. Any help is appreciated more than ever!</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

2

<p>omgoodness, IzzieBear, this truly has gotten ridiculous!</p>

<p>for reference: For general inquiries about the campus, call (510) 642-6000.</p>

<p>the number for the Admissions office is (510) 642-3175 ~ open until 4 lunch from 12-1</p>

<p>it's almost as though you need to "storm the gates" or something :(</p>

3

<p>Oh Gosh, thank you for that number! I couldn't find the main number, and when I called (510) 642-6000, I got some weird message about the number being disconnected. I tired numerous times.</p>

<p>I will call the Admissions Office tomorrow - my dad is going to help me out because I seem to be getting nowhere with an admissions officer that treats me like a child.</p>

<p>Thanks for your quick response, you've helped loads with the phone number!</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

4

<p>She sounds like a sweet woman, sweetheart, and it seems like she's trying to help you, honey, but I don't really know what there is to be done. I'd have your mom, or someone with a really sweet voice call your admissions officer and be gentle as possible, possibly keeping her on the phone long enough for your counselor to look around and find the darn thing.. your mom can say something like, "I'm calling on behalf of my daughter.. she's really distraught about this and she's jumping up and down and has locked herself in the bathroom on several occasions... she's certain that everything is in. Could you, perhaps, just look around for it a bit more, doll? Is there anything that we can do? I mean, she's already bought a Berkeley sweatshirt~ there's no going back!" [this concludes my being an idiot]</p>

<p>TTG</p>

5

<p>Edit:Misunderstanding!</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

6

<p>ask the representative about whether it HAS to be mailed.</p>

<p>have you tried hand-delivering it?</p>

7

<p>At this point, it's a matter of her taking back her confirmation. I guess I will have to see what happens after tomorrow. My community college will not let me take the IGETC out of the admissions office for some reason, so I will not be able to hand deliver what she claims she suddenly does not have.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice though :)</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

8

<p>I think that TTG was (perhaps poorly expressed) giving advice, IzzieBear, that you should have a parent call and give the counselor the same treatment. At least I hope so.</p>

9

<p>Okay, if that's the case, then I apologize. I thought he/she was mocking me, but I suppose I was just read the post wrong.</p>

<p>I plan to have my dad call tomorrow, maybe he can try a different approach. Thanks to all of you. Any additional advice or info is fully appreciated.</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

10

<p>Ah yes, the dreaded Berkeley red tape. I've had my share of these types of things, but they seem to work out in the end. My advise is realize that in the end everything will be fine. You might have to stress for a while and you will probably have to deal with more crap, but in month you'll be sitting in your first class none of this stuff will mean anything anymore. (cliche alert!) Nothing good comes without a little struggle.</p>

11

<p>Thanks G&S, you made me feel better.</p>

<p>You know, I never really understood what the whole "red tape" thing meant...until now.</p>

<p>I'm sure everything will be fine, like you said. I guess I'm just new to all this, and never had to deal with a huge public university. I know I'll get used to these sorts of things, and the next time I am confronted by a situation like this, I will be able to relax a bit more.</p>

<p>Hopefully I can get the ball rolling, and fix the situation.</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

12

<p>This sucks and i'm sorry it happened. I hope everything turns out okay and that you keep us posted.</p>

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<p>Aw, thanks DRab! :)</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

14

<p>Hey, I was serious! You've got to get their attention somehow... it's a whole lot more exciting than "hey, it's me again. You got it? No? Ok, I'll call tomorrow." My way is a nicer way of being forceful- tender annoyance. It's bound to work and if it doesn't, well, then I'm really really sorry.</p>

<p>TTG</p>

15

<p>Heh. I know. At first I thought you were mocking me, but then I realized you were being serious - haha. I tried to be as nice as possible, sweetly laughing along with her when she said "Well, I'll look for it, but I have so much paperwork, I get really frazzled!"</p>

<p>I understand that she is responsible for hundreds of transcripts. I guess I'm just upset when I see one thing on my checklist and in my e-mail box, and then she proclaims that it is not in my folder - it's somewhere else. Perhaps it's hidden in the chamber of secrets, I have no idea.</p>

<p>Tender annoyance is key in a lot of situations. I'm going to try her one more time tomorrow, perhaps actually have one of my parents do it instead. If this does not help, we're going to someone else.</p>

<p>Thanks again TTG!</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

16

<p>"Thanks again TTG!"</p>

<p>that's more I like it... hahaha =)</p>

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<p>hahah..i'm sure it is :P</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

18

<p>Hey Izzie,</p>

<p>You know, it's a great idea to get someone like your Dad to help you out by talking to the admissions officer. Sometimes, these ppl (like the admin officer) will react differently to someone older like your Dad. I used to have the same problem like you in a similar setting. I would ask for things nicely at the store or over the phone, but despite being nice most of these ppl end up being rude to me for whatever reason (maybe because they know they can and get away with it. Or maybe I'm really hard to please). So, nowadays, I don't even fool with customer service ppl. over the phone. I just get my husband to talk to them and VOILA! Things get done just like that. No mess, no fuss, no catfights <em>meow</em>. </p>

<p>I know everything will turn out fine. I have my high school transcript still "not received," and I haven't received that letter yet. I ain't sending her another until she formally requests it. :)</p>

19

<p>Aw, thanks for the kind words suzzie!</p>

<p>I so hope that my dad accomplishes more than I have. If she just comes out and says "You know what, I did get it, but I lost it", I will try to understand and just go ahead and have another one sent. It would be okay if she kindly took the block off my registration, and excused me from the 'Final 10 Day Notice'. I mean, it is, afterall, lost due to her own mistakes, and it would be really unfair if I had to work around a registration block, especially when I need a clean slate to access my CARS account. blah.</p>

<p>Such helpful people on this board, I'll let you guys know what happens tomorrow.</p>

<p><3,</p>

<p>Izzie Bear</p>

20

<p>oh the bureaucracy.</p>