To those who were skeptical that I’d ever go back to school, here’s the proof!
And to me, for slowly realizing why I stopped going to school in the first place! LOL…
Monday:
I was told by my program coordinator last weekend that I needed to drop by the Newnham campus to pay my tuition so I can get my schedule. I woke up early on Monday to do just that. Lineups were pretty long, but that’s obvious since it’s the first week of the semester. The only thing was that I couldn’t locate my mother. She’d been in a meeting, so I really couldn’t do anything without her information. I finally got a hold of her, so I got the info… but the payment system went down. I was told that it might take a while, and that I should try again the next day.
After that, I went to Allie’s to have some pancakes with Lorna as well. We went to Fairview after, shopped a bit, then headed downtown to meet up with Pierre and have dinner. We went to Katsu Sushi @ Danforth for some all-you-can-eat madness! Oh Lord… I was very satisfied. After dinner, Pierre and myself dropped Allie and Lorna home. He came over so he got to finally play Assassin’s Creed. He’s hooked, just like I thought he would. Now he’s just waiting for my 360 to get fixed so he can get his game on once more. He’s too cute.
Tuesday:
I stayed over Pierre’s on Monday night, so I headed to Newnham from there at around 10:30. I got there and the lineup for Registration was so long! It was about an hour wait. I remembered that Lorna told me the day before that I could just give info over the phone and they’ll process a payment. I did just that. I stepped out of the line, called Admissions and asked them to process my tuition payment. It was fun doing that while I was looking at the students standing in line. I was told by the person to start heading to Seneca@York to pick up my registration package and my schedule (finally!).
It took me about 30 minutes to get to the campus and another 20 to find a parking spot. Jesus, it was like a rat maze trying to find a spot in there! I found it quite amusing actually. At least the parking garage is right beside my building. No need to walk far. I go inside the building (it’s quite nice!) and line up for Registration… again. After 20 minutes in line, I give them my student number (I don’t have my student card yet) to pick up the package. I ask for my schedule too, but they said that I needed to take the skills assessment test first to get my schedule. I asked them where I do that and they told me to go upstairs in the building. Great… another lineup. What do they tell me once I get there? I have to go back to Newnham to actually do the test! That was just stupid, but what can I do. The kicker was that the test centre was only open until 4pm, and it was already 3:10pm.
I drove back to Newnham as fast (and as safe) as I could. I quickly borrowed a pencil from my cousin, Sarah (who works for International Admissions), and ran to the test centre before they closed. Another 20 minute wait before the test. I finally get to the exam room and I learn that the people with me are from Seneca@York as well… and they have partial timetables! They were just waiting to be leveled in a couple courses, but their timetables are already online. I told the invigilator that I don’t even have access to SIRIS (the student record system), e-mail, or have even a partial schedule. This sucks, but I proceeded with the test anyway. I had to do an essay about the cost and lengths our society goes through for beauty, answered a few math and tech questions, and did a reading comprehension. I finished that sucker in 30 minutes. They told me that I should have my schedule by tomorrow once they finish marking it. The waiting game begins once more!
Wednesday:
I go to my campus early in the morning to go to Registration to ask for my schedule. Once again, they don’t know why I don’t have one. I guess I’m not the only one looking for it. I was sent to the admission advisor to see what was up. It couldn’t have been because of the fees payment since that was processed 10 minutes after I made the call. It can’t also be because of the assessment test I took because even my fellow students who took it with me already had partial schedules. After talking to her, she just told me to go home and just wait until it’s up on SIRIS. I finally got my SenecaONE card and finished up other things I needed to do. I headed home, but I wanted to visit my cousin at the other campus before. I told her about my problem, and she was wondering why I still don’t have it. She made a couple of phone calls, and the outcome of it will make you laugh. Here goes… the program I’m in is full. Apparently, I’m on a waiting list.
Yes! You read that right. I’m not even officially registered for the program yet. That’s why I don’t have a schedule… and I’ve already paid the tuition. If the program was full, why the heck would you tell me to pay for the tuition? Oh Lord. So I headed back to Seneca@York to actually speak with the program coordinator himself. He said that they made a calculation error with the number of seats available versus the number of students actually registered for the program. However, they did get my skills assessment results back. They seem pleased with it, especially that I managed to achieve a high level in it. Well, gee-whiz. I think after 3 years of university IT experience, you’d think, eh? He apologizes for it and he said that he’ll pull some strings to get me in the program. I hope he kicks out someone else so I can take their spot. I actually told him that, and he laughed, and said he might just do that! He said that my schedule should be up by tomorrow afternoon on SIRIS, and if not, to go to him again to sort things out. *sigh*
87 kilometres of driving, $30 worth of gas, 7 grande caramel macchiatos, and 7 cigarettes later… my schedule is still AWOL. Let’s just hope that things will sort itself out by tomorrow. I’d just hate to not be in school already by now. I’ve been waiting for this for a while…
My first full week went by without a hitch! I’m loving the program and the campus. Yes, it does take quite a bit of a while to get there (2.5h via TTC, 1.5h via GO, 1h via viva). I love my classes. It really is quite a difference from how they teach and do things in university. Of course, I hated all the admin hoopla that happened on the first week, but I’m just glad to have that over and done with.
