<p>I Thought I would share something I am going through with UC Berkeley at the moment;</p>
<p>Okay, so I was admitted to UC Berkeley as a transfer student for Fall of 2008 from a California Community College. Because of my own personal negligence and lack of resourceful thinking, I thought 1 year of high school language was acceptable for IGETC certification. Therefore, on my UCB application, I informed them that I would be IGETC certified. I did, however, tell them that I had only taken 1 year of a language in high school so my grades and classes were 100% accurate on the application. So when I went to get IGETC certified yesterday, I was denied by my CCC because I had not taken one course of Elementary Spanish in college. I called Berkeley to inform them of this information, and I requested that I take it during the summer before I matriculate. They said in all probability, my admissions would be revoked!!!</p>
<p>The summer Spanish class ends in late June so I would still be certified long before attending, however, they cannot seem to overlook this technicality. I was admitted as a Molecular and Cell Biology Major with many major pre-reqs, yet elementary spanish 1 is going to hinder my future.</p>
<p>Also, I had to email my admissions officer informing her of this situation and my alternatives, however, she did not sound confident.</p>
<p>Has anyone experienced a similar situation that could possibly offer advice?</p>
<p>Does anyone else agree that this is ridiculous??</p>
<p>Yeah it really sucks, I was sooooo happy to get in too! I am going to call her Monday and find out what is going on. :(. It seems a bit extreme, but who knows.</p>
<p>Have you seen about taking a test for credit type deal?
Whereby you sit down and do a spanish exam and if you pass you get a pass for a quarter/semester's worth of whatever level spanish it was you passed on the exam?</p>
<p>I have moved this thread out of the general Transfer forum to the UC Transfer forum. I think you are more likely to find anyone with related experience here.</p>
<p>Good luck. It does seem terribly bureaucratic. I don't have any UC-transfer specific advice to give you (and I hope someone does). But one thing I have learned in life is that persistence is a good thing. Always be nice. Always be in a "I think you are the person who can help" mode, notin a "I've been screwed over mode." With the right attitude and persistence to keep seeking someone who can help you resolve this, I hope you will find success.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear that...
But then I start worrying my fd. She has a similar situation. She did not take any fore. lang. class in CCC, will she be IGETC Cert? The backup she has is that she received formal education outside of high school (in Hong Kong), so she may satisfy the requirement. I don't know.</p>
<p>I would work hard with your CCC to petition that you challenge the course(s), basically test out of it, as brackis mentioned. One thing I've learned in my CCC years is that even if there's a very explicit rule, it can almost always be overturned with the signature of the dean of counseling and the registrar's office. Rule of thumb, if you get denied by one person, talk to his/her boss and keep climbing the chain if necessary.</p>
<p>Remember that you won't be trying to request that they overlook that requirement of the IGETC, but rather that they give you alternative ways to complete that req. and take it in good faith that you will do it.</p>
<p>Same thing happened to my friend, they ended up rescinding her admission from haas in july. She couldn't SIR to anywhere else n ended up staying in CC for a semester. Whatever they tell you get their name so you can refer later if any problems arise.</p>
<p>I agree with those who have suggested you attempt to test out of spanish. Take the clep test, your college probably offers it in their testing center. Not only will you be able to get the IGET cert, you will also get credit for taking the test. It is pretty much a win all around if you can pass the test.</p>
<p>Of course, that is a big if. The reason that one year of high school language is not enough is because high school language is usually not very good. When you take a first semester language class in college you will probably have students around you who have taken high school language and are still starting with the first semester in college. Sometimes they have taken multiple years in high school and are still struggling with First Year Spanish (French, German, whatever) I in college.</p>
<p>I hope that you work this out, but the requirements are clear:
[quote]
Area 6 – Languages Other Than English (required by UC only) </p>
<p>Proficiency equivalent to two years of high school study in the same language</p>
<p>I think it is! I have the same problem with State and it's only a friggin Speech class. I'm staying in the area and now I may have no place go for the fall and might have to wait a whole semester to go back to school. It is so standard for them to say it but I don't think everything is black and white. I'm appealing UCB and going to fight the Speech requirement at State....it's the only thing I can do. I am so tired by the way!!!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input, I have not been able to get this situation off of my mind all week. Anyways, I am a Molecular & Cell Biology major, so it is not technically REQUIRED. I am going to call my admissions officer tomorrow and get a status update. I am pre-med and have been at a CCC for 3 years now and cannot afford to stay there any longer. If this falls through, my only back up school is USC. If I get rejected from USC and UCB rescinds me, I honestly dont know where I will be in the future. It isn't fun feeling like you have no control over your future :(.</p>
<p>It's been a really tough week for me as well. I also don't know what to do if I have to stay at CC for one more year, but if that's what it's going to come down to I will definitely reapply. Keep us posted on your situation!</p>
<p>I was talking about IGETC requirement, not the schools specific graduation requirement. Can you show me where you got this information for transfers? Thanks.</p>
<p>Wow - I'm surprised to see that I'm not alone. I can't sleep or focus on my finals. I've been trying to get letters of recommendation and so much stuff together. I feel hopeless, yet I'm still trying. It's crazy how it can be so difficult to just learn! That's all we want...</p>