This got so long and I'm probably just whining (you can tell me as much, it's ok :) ).
I got my application in by their early deadline and nearly immediately was asked for an interview. So I set one up in December. They told me they would be taking a 4 week break for the holidays and that I would get an answer by January 10th.
January 10th rolls around and I receive an email saying my decision won't be ready until February 11th. Well that's fine, thank you for letting me know!
February 11th comes and goes without any contact one way or another. I give them a few days leeway and call the admission's office and leave a voicemail. They email me back the next morning and tell me they'll have a decision by the end of the week.
The end of the week goes flying by without a word, and when I respond to the earlier email, I get the response 'We're still working on it, we'll let you know'.
I look at the website and see that March 1st is their final deadline for applications, so I figure maybe they're waiting until then to give me an answer. In the mean time, since I have no indication to do otherwise, I book a trip to see my boyfriend over his spring break, the week of March 13th.
So I wait until the 1st passes and send another email, asking politely for a status update, and get a response saying I had been accepted, they'll be sending me the official paperwork the following week. Also they would like me to come to a meeting on the 15th on campus. With three days notice. After stalling for three months.
They would also like me to enroll in a 3rd party online course that will bring me up to speed on my math skills, since my BFA wasn't really heavy in them. I am to complete this course before the Quantitative Methods class begins in July, or my admission is void.
I receive my paperwork and see that there is an April 1st deadline. So I fill out my confirmation of enrollment and enclose a check for $1000 on March 22nd and mail it off. Keep in mind that this place is right down the street. There are two weeks for this piece of paper to reach them in their self-addressed, prepaid envelope.
March 29th I get an automated email reminding me of the deadline, saying that they were concerned they hadn't heard from me yet. So I respond politely, asking if it's possible that mine hadn't been processed yet, since they had just come back from spring break as well. A woman I'll call Tracy responds saying that no, it hasn't arrived but not to worry about it, she's sure it will get there on time, and she'll send me a confirmation when it does.
Confirmation never appears, so on April 1st I answer her, asking if I should just make an appearance at the office and fill out a new form in person. She sends me a pdf copy to sign, and information with which I can call the cashier's office and provide a credit card number. She sends me the confirmation as soon as I send her the pdf back.
Once I'm confirmed I enroll in the 3rd party online course.
I receive an automated email that provides information for the university's Blackboard online portion, and when I log in, see that the master schedule says the Quant course actually starts on May 9th. Oh good.
The Blackboard also says that their on campus clinic needs my immunization records by no later than the 22nd. And that I can turn in these records during orientation on the 29th (what).
There is also an announcement saying that we should watch our emails for a piece of statistics homework to be completed by orientation, and to be prepared to come to campus to pick up the necessary materials for it.
On April 12th I finish the course and consult my admissions information, and realize there's no information provided on how they would like me to prove that the course has been completed. The 3rd party site has an option where the university can view my test scores online, or I can request an official transcript to be sent to someone. I address an email, asking politely for clarification, to a general email address for the office.
Also on April 12th, my credit card is finally charged for the $1000, and I call my old Pediatrician's office in town for a copy of my records.
On April 14th Tracy responds to my email and says to please ask the site to send her an official transcript. PS your check arrived today, our campus mail system routed it to the wrong office, what shall I do with it? (Don't campus mail systems do the darnedest things with important paperwork?)
On April 16th the third party site responds to my transcript request, saying that their business agreement with the university is for the test score option only and maybe I should email my university to ask whom needs to see the test scores and be trapped in an infinite time loop.
Yesterday I went in to the Pediatrician's office and was handed my records, but told they were 'incomplete', thus no one can sign them. The woman working the desk has no idea what 'incomplete' means, suggesting maybe I'd seen another PCP between my last visit and now. Except I haven't and looking at the record, they have my most recent vaccinations for Tetanus and Meningitis that were required for my undergrad. In fact, these were the people who supplied my records for undergrad. What is clear is, since it's been labeled 'incomplete', no one is willing to sign it, which effectively makes it a worthless piece of paper and totally worth my time to have picked up.
I called the university health clinic to be sure, and their suggestion was to ask if it could be 'stamped' by the office instead of 'signed', because apparently stamping makes it official but not as official as signing it. What. Just what.
Right now I'm playing phone tag with the health clinics at the new and old schools, trying to see if that record counts or if I get to be re vaccinated for every disease ever between now and Friday (or was it next Friday?).
Do I even need to mention that this supposed statistics homework with the fast approaching due date (and the call to come get the materials for it) hasn't appeared yet.
Edit: There has now been a suggestion that I get tested to see if I'm still protected. The test costs two times more than just getting the vaccinations again. Gee, what a useful test!
Sorry for the block of text, I've been holding that in for a while >>