<p>I called financial aid office this morning and i had the worst experience on phone. the lady answered my questions in a really unfriendly way.
I called. The reception was bad. So I kept on saying hello, anyone there. Then she said we better stop talking at the same time to get things done.
I was like OK. </p>
<p>I asked why I still havent gotten my preliminary financial aid. She said we received your fafsa on monday. Then I said in a casual manner, so that s why. She was totally offended, "you gotta stop being impatient. I am not a machine and I cant answer your questions right away."
I didnt say anything. </p>
<p>Then she told me blah blah. I couldnt hear her last sentence. I said pardon me. She then treated like I dont understand English. She repeated her last sentence in three parts, adding in "do you understand" after each. </p>
<p>Yes I am a foreigner. What s wrong with not being able to understand certain things or listening well like others who are native english speakers. I do believe i deserve something better than this.
I always wanted to go to UCSD. But this call really reminded of me those councelors in high school that looked down on foreigners. If I were to deal with such people, I d rather stay at where I am. I hope not all people are like that. I am really upset about it. </p>
<p>Anyone ever had a similar situation? or can anyone tell me how people are like in general?</p>
<p>yeah i've heard some of the UCSD people u speak to on the phone are mean..but u probably just got someone bad.</p>
<p>but the people here are really nice and laid-back, both student body+profs. with some exceptions, people are willing to help u if you need help..and most people seem approachable.</p>
<p>The administrators that I've had to talk to are generally quite nice and very friendly. My academic advisor is like the sweetest woman ever and like REALLY helpful (Terri Cain, if any of you are in Muir, is the BEST ACADEMIC ADVISOR EVER).</p>
<p>yeah, i got something similar to that. i called the financial aid office on monday to ask if the winter admits have gotten their preliminary awards yet. i read it somewhere on the myapplication website that winter admits have to wait unto december to receive their awards. so i told the woman that, and here's a dialogue:</p>
<p>lady: umm, i don't know WHERE you got that idea, but you're wrong.
me: haha <em>trying to be polite</em> maybe i was wrong.
lady: no, YOU ARE WRONG.
me: umm, okay.</p>
<p>then she was explaining some stuff to me that i didn't know, so then...</p>
<p>me: ohh wow i didn't know that!
lady: yes............. i know............ that's why i'm TELLING you this.</p>
<p>she was pretty unfriendly too. haha it would be funny if we were talking about the same lady, kingsian!</p>
<p>i cant believe people can be rude like this. I mean that s her job. Literally, her job to answer questions. If she doesnt like it, quit it instead of venting her anger at us.
I am at ucsb. It sucks in terms of academics. But people are nice, at least those in the offices are. never had i before met someone or whom i talked to was like this lady.
if ucsd werent better than ucsb, i d definitely not go there becoz of this.
anyways, I am going there for sure since I dont expect to get in Cal. Hopefully i may see u all on campus somewhere next fall tho i dont no you.</p>
<p>I'm gonna take the lady's side here. I bet they get a thousand calls every day asking stupid questions like "can you guys give me more money?" or "when am i gonna get my aid package?". I bet they are sick of it by now. And when someone asks simple questions and doesnt understand the answers, it gets really annoying. I dont mean to be mean, but learn to understand things better and learn to look for answers instead of calling and asking.
[quote]
What s wrong with not being able to understand certain things or listening well like others who are native english speakers.
[/quote]
We are in america my friend. They speak english here. So you are expected to speak it and understand it. Its like being in a differential equations class and not knowing how to integrate simple functions.</p>
<p>^ well, as someone already mentioned before, answering stupid questions is their job. They signed up for it. If they don't like it, then they should get another job. It is simple as that, really. Why keep doing a job you don't like and take on all the stress? I bet they don't even make that much money anyway. furthermore, he was not asking a stupid question. he was asking a perfectly legitimate question that deserves a response. And so what if they get thousands of calls everyday about the same question? You see cops running around the street risking their life hoping to not get shot but you don't see them complaining, do you? but then this broad is calling US to calm down? what a joke. She has no right to displace her frustration on some random foreign kid who wants help.</p>
<p>There's a saying that goes, "If you treat me like a beast, i will respond like a beast. If you treat me like a man, I will respond to you like a man." as far as i know the kid was treating her like a human being.</p>
<p>No, it's not their job. Their job is to review the financial aid docs, calculate the amounts of awards etc. Dont think they've got a dedicated receptionist there that has the job of answering the calls. Whoever's got a minute will respond.
I'm not saying the lady is right. I'm saying the student made himself into a suffering creature that got terribly abused by a mean finaid officer, and the whole issue is pathetic. kingsian should suck it up, real life is gonna be just like that.</p>
<p>"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. " - G B Shaw</p>
<p>Kingsian, listen to Dima - (s)he's being reasonable.</p>
<p>i know i ve to speak english. i know i ve to adapt to life.
what about this? you go to hk, you are expected to speak cantonese but u cant. and people treat you like if u are stupid coz you cant.
How would you feel? btw, if that is not her job to answer questions, I wouldnt be even talking to her.</p>
<p>There is no exception to rudeness. Having rude staff people is not good for their ucsd image. First impressions are always what people go by.. thats just human nature. If i had to choose between ucsd and ucsb and called them both up, I think when I am making my decision I would clearly remember the rudeness of ucsd and kindness of ucsb. If the woman you call is not in charge of financial matters, why can't she just say so and refer him to the correct person? Just because you are having a bad day or cannot clearly hear/understand someone does not give anyone the excuse to bite people's heads off. She needs to realize that she is kind of representing ucsd. I wouldn't want to go to a college that treats its students like garbage ( i am not saying they do.. just an example). If this incident has really upset you kingsian, I recommend emailing them, or calling her back again and explain your situation to her again, if she becomes rude again, ask he to refer you to someone else.</p>
<p>kingsian I support you on this issue.
Even though dima is right about that wasn't really her job, the way she spoke and responded to him was absolutely impolite and offensive.</p>
<p>In Hong Kong, however, no one expects your to speak Cantonese. Since it's an international city, speaking English makes you even more superior...lol
Just wondering Kingsian, are you came from HK?</p>