Dear admissions department of a certain community college that is affiliated with my provincial government: Fuck you. Fuck your condescending, know nothing, lazy ass. I looked at the open courses, I applied to get in and then I paid your 25.00 “processing” fee. After you took my money you couldn’t tell me if I was accepted into the course, you couldn’t tell me if the course was still open because you only update the openings once a month. So for 30 days out of the month you are excused from not knowing what the fuck is going on? When I was rejected for the course I asked you if I could get my money back you said no, that it was a “processing” fee. If the course was full before you received my application or even looked at it, then that is not processing an application, that is taking money for nothing and letting me pay for your teacher’s salaries to boot. When I pressed you further you said I should contact my MLA. You are the ADMISSIONS department that is what YOU do; take inquiries about admissions and the applicable fees therein. If you can’t do that properly what the fuck is it that you spend your day doing? You are a fucking idiot. People who work for academic institutions or any bureaucracy whether it be government or otherwise are coddled way to much. This has got to stop.
—Pissed off
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.
Similar story here: I paid $200 (!!!) to apply to Ryerson Uni through the Ontario Universities Application Centre (the only way to apply) in Feb and STILL haven’t heard anything. In the meantime, I’ve already made up my mind what school I’m going to, and it sure as hell isn’t in Ontario.
Asked if I could get a refund because it took (is taking) so damn long – of course I can’t.
You would think in this computer age, one would be able to press a few keys and have access to course information. I also think the “processing fee” should be included in the bloated cost of the course.
So why was your app rejected? Because the course was full or because they decided your app. wasn’t good enough?
If it was full at the time you put your app in you should definitely get a refund. If not I think you’re shit out of luck, but I believe it’s the former rather than the latter because this particular place isn’t really HARD to get into.
In the age of computer technology, they should be able to update that info on a daily fucking basis. No excuse for a 30 day update system.
The reason they dont publish whether the course is full or not right up to the minute is so that they can have room to play with who they let in and who they dont. Ie. if someone kicks up enough stink, calls the right people etc… they let them in. If this happened when the course was listed as “full” and the wrong people got wind of it, it’d be a shit show. Plain and simple. Atleast the universities will post this info live up to the minute on their online registration systems.
I’m going to ask PK the same thing. If the course was full you would have been put on a waiting list, if you didn’t want to wait that long, well that’s your own problem. If you got rejected that mean’s you didn’t have the credential’s to get in, which mean’s instead of freaking out about 25.00, perhaps it would have been a better idea to figure out why you were rejected. Most times if you need a pre-course they will get you in it without the application charge. At least they did for me.
Universities are money-hungry businesses, just like any other. You know what I learned from university? I learned that university is fucking expensive, it means a hell of a lot less to employers than actual job experience, and unless you have no debt and good connections, you may as well have your diploma scrawled on a piece of Charmin two-ply (which, incidentally, you’ll be lucky to be able to afford at any time over the next ten to fifteen years).
I agree with UJB. I went to smu for a year and then realized it was bullshit. I applied to the NSCC and went through a similar situation, I am guessing you were trying to get into a trade? From what I remember on the application it’s obligatory that you choose three courses that way if one fills up, they can just put you in another even if it is completely unrealted. That’s how they get you, because then they hide behind the fact that your application was put through but without you getting what you want. I doubt it had anything to do with credentials, given the fact you don’t really need any to get in. User fees are a cash grab, a way of generating revenue without providing a product, or service outside the general confines of customer service. If it’s any consolation, I have heard of people going to small claims court over this very thing and winning.
“money starved” businesses might be a more accurate term. Of the few sources of revenue for a university, students are just the easiest ones to tap. I don’t think Universities WANT to be charging as much as they do for tuition because it ruins their competitiveness. They have to levy huge fees because the federal funding formula is mess up. I’m not saying that’s fair, just pointing out that they are not trying to gouge you for no reason.
Also, I agree that University and even College is not for everyone. Somehow, that’s become a measure of success for our children but a lot of young people just end up with massive debt and no real increase in employability.
UJB, you certainly don’t have to tell me.
3 years of Acadia on campus and another 2 off was enough to have me worth less financially than all the hobo’s in HRM combined.
I just dream of the day I can have a savings account that is actually for savings of more than two weeks at a time. ‘Course, I could have than now if I felt rationing only dry dog food for a few years.
Let’s hope the NDP can help me out.
zZz, keep that hope up. No government can afford to give out money and in fact wait for all of them (regardless of party) to start picking our pockets again.
@miles, I somewhat disagree with your post, to say that they do not want to charge huge fees implies that a univeristy unto itself has the abillity to determine right from wrong, I know you were probably speaking about the heads of the university, but the fact they continue to charge so much
makes me beleive they don’t care either way. Personally if the goverment were to take over post-secondary institutions, with a goverment that does not create user fees instead of raising taxes we would all be much better off. At least then the people of this province would be the true priority in the eyes of these institutions as opposed to the priority being to attract foreign students and students from outside the province. Just my opinion.
What’s worse is when they do it to
returning students.
They have the program availability posted
on their site. Go to “How to Apply”, and
on the info page, there will be a link to
show the availability. It’s usually a couple
of weeks behind. Three weeks at the most
from what I remember.
When you’re talking about the CoCo,
some of their programs have waiting lists
that have the next few years filled up, so
depending on the program, you might be
on the waiting list until 2012 if you apply
now. It’s a popular school because their
tuition is cheap, your grades don’t mean
jack-squat, and they have this bullshit
slogan over 90 some percent employed
in NS, over 85% in the field of their choice.
They’re doing something about that
though, finally, to make it possible to allow
more students in per year.