my uni situation just got fucked, urgent advice requested

Discussion in 'General Advice' started by Erica, Aug 30, 2016.

  1. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    'urgent' because i need to have made a choice here tonight (= in 8 or so hours? 9?)
    I'm trying to keep this as informative and concise as possible. I'm sorry if I fail.

    The situation: I just started a program at uni, 3 years of language studies, first term is locked on general linguistics and after that we pick a language to major in. I'm really excited. I fucking love languages.
    EXCEPT! My love of languages means that I have already read a basic class in linguistics! The first term will cover pretty much the exact same thing! Me taking this class is unnecessary and ridiculous! I talked to the study advisor person today and there's a chance they won't count towards my credit either which is Bad because if I am not studying full time I will literally lose my apartment :)))

    my options are this
    • get transferred into Nordic Languages A (studying grammar + danish norweigan icelandic. icelandic is literally the only exciting part of this premise.)
    • Contact specific person in the English apartment, pray that they have free spots in an English A class (I went to talk to her 15 minutes ago, she's not in her office and won't be until Thursday )
    • Get transferred to Swedish A (spend one term learning how to read novels until I hate them)
    • Stick with linguistics, pray it won't get me kicked out // drive me insane with how bored I'll be
    I am naturally extremely upset with myself but that's not the point of this thread so I'll save the venting for later
    But this is, to say the least, not what I had planned when I came here. What comes closest to something I might have initiated myself is English? So that's. ... yeah. But what I actually want to do is pick up a new language. like mandarin or Russian which they do teach here and I was really looking forward to

    I don't know what Im asking for her. Insight? Advice? How to not hate myself for not having the foresight to see it coming? What to consider when making my choice? Literally anything I'm freaking out pretty badly right now haha
     
  2. wixbloom

    wixbloom artcute

    If it's just one semester of boring class in order to both get to do what you really want AND keep your apartment, it really seems to me like the best thing to do is take the boring intro classes. Doodle a lot and keep a journal of random thoughts while you're there, get good grades without having to study, and move on to the next thing.
     
    • Like x 1
  3. Kaylotta

    Kaylotta Writer Trash

    I agree with @Wiwaxia, having had to do a full year of a class that was utterly useless to me... It happens: universities are DUMB about shit like this. As long as it doesn't screw you over, staying in Gen Linguistics is probably safest.

    otherwise, I'd choose Nordic Languages - sounds like it works for your degree and is at least vaguely interesting.

    (why can't you wait until Thursday to talk to the English person? Course registration deadline?)
     
    • Like x 1
  4. rigorist

    rigorist On the beach

    I took calculus three times due to administrative weirdness. I actually learned calculus the third time.

    Take the class, get a good grade, maybe even learn the material.
     
    • Like x 5
  5. Codeless

    Codeless Cheshire Cat

    Erica, correct me if I´m wrong but the class covering material you have already taken is the one that might not count towards your credits and thus get you kicked out right?
     
  6. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    Yeah, registration deadline. Technically I'm already late because classes have started/are in the process of starting, and he made it sound like if I don't make up my mind Right Now they won't let me in at all

    yes that's it
    to live here I need to be studying full-time, I'm not sure how my landlord measures it but the standard is that 30points worth of classes per semester = full time. I don't know if they'd kick me out if I fell a couple of points short, I was going to call them but my mother told me not to
     
    • Like x 1
  7. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    sticking with linguistics, pro:
    • Will be familiar with a large part of the material and will as a result probably not have to study all that much to get decent grades
    • Will get to stay with my classmates
    • Won't have to go through the trouble of changing class just as everything is starting
    • The class is slightly different to the one I've read, intersperced throughout are subjects/angles we didnt' discuss back home, so I will be learning new things (my approximation is I'll be unfamiliar with 10-15% of the information)
    • Will get a proper grasp on the subject that is technically my reason for being here
    • I already have the class literature and my notes from last semester
    cons:
    • The least certain option, since I've no idea how much of it will count towards my credits (and neither does the advisor, at a glance)
    • Might, due to the above, end up 'wasting' a semester and have nothing to show for it
    • Potential boredom/guilt combo which will be Bad, mental health-wise
    • Chance of being kicked out (slight chance? big chance? i have no idea)
    • Due to con #1 I won't know how many points I'm reading this semester which means I'll have to cancel my financial support (bc it's dependent on how many points you're reading). (this shouldnt be that much of an issue, I'm relatively confident in my ability to be okay w/o income for a semester. also if I don't have to study much I can try to get a part time job.)
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2016
  8. wixbloom

    wixbloom artcute

    I don't know about the others but boredom/guilt combos are something you're susceptible to no matter what course you pick, if not right now, then sometime in the future because there's always some boring semester and because mental illness and the college experience often have a way of Making Each Other Worse.

    Also why did your mother tell you not to call the people who might help you understand your situation better and make an informed decision?
     
  9. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    ....you have a very good point

    I, well. Who knows??????? Because I'm making a big deal out of nothing? She doesn't think they will. She might be right! She says I should do the parts of the class that I'm unfamiliar with and if I have to, add on an evening class or something, but I don't think that's possible? The evening class is, but I can't separate the parts I know from the parts I don't and then only attend the classes & exams that are new to me. + I'm not allowed to sit in on the lectures if I'm not really in the class.
     
  10. Kaylotta

    Kaylotta Writer Trash

    Sounds like you need to find someone who actually knows whether taking the general linguistics class is going to count for credit. That'd be my priority one. If it is actually going to make serious trouble for you, switch to Nordic Languages. If it is not going to make serious trouble for you, then take it and think of it as a basketweaving course. Easy A. A breather.
     
    • Like x 2
  11. wixbloom

    wixbloom artcute

    @Erica If you are making a big deal out of nothing, having a competent authority tell you to calm down and that you're making a big deal out of nothing will probably help you though...
     
    • Like x 2
  12. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    Okay

    I don't think I can do much for figuring out if the class will give me credit or not since I think the advisor is the person who's supposed to know, and he didn't
    I'm procrastinating. That's dumb. I'm gonna go try to talk to my landlord and ask what they count as full-time and explain the situation, and then I'll take it from there. (If they count it even though I might not get full credit for it then there is not nearly as much of an issue anymore bc my priority one, I have concluded, is getting to keep this room. I like this room, I like this corridor, I like the people I live with, and I don't want to leave. ok. breathing now.)

    Thank you all for the advice
    (tho let's face it I'll probably be back in an hour or so when I have More Facts pffft)
     
    • Like x 4
  13. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    I will not be kicked out regardless of how much credit I end up getting for the class.
    Am feeling a lot less panicked about it now.

    The only remaining thing is dealing with what basically comes down to a moral dilemma (aka 'can I really in good conscience take this class when I know it won't be as much of a challenge as it ought to be') which I know is a silly hang-up... So I'm gonna try to ignore it and just welcome the slow start? (emphasis on try)
    ..... I might also end up at least contacting the English person to ask if there's still room because that class, actually does sound really interesting, ,,, but I should probably not
     
    • Like x 6
  14. Codeless

    Codeless Cheshire Cat

    Does telling your brainbugs that you´re reviewing the material help? I mean, the repeat won´t actually hurt you, and there might be new stuff.
     
  15. rigorist

    rigorist On the beach

    Excellent!

    All I can do is relate my experience from re-taking calculus.

    I don't use calculus in my life or work for much of anything. I have forgotten the details of all those integrals I had to quasi-memorize. But I know calculus. I'm pretty confident I could recreate most of it in a few hours from basic principles--limits theory, anyone?

    I have a passing acquaintance with linguistics, since I started college thinking, "Yeah, linguistics sounds cool!" Linguistics is really frakkin' hard! I'll warrant there is a lot you just glossed over when you read the class the first time that you will learn the second time.
     
    • Like x 3
  16. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    Maybe? I mean. Given that I barely did any studying the first time around...

    Yeah, you're right :')

    Now I just gotta hope the guidance councelor accepts that logic, haha. I'm gonna email him. yells loudly there have been too many emails and phonecalls today let me r e s t
     
  17. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    aaaaand done.
    I guess if he questions me I'll just cite anxiety issues as a valid reason for why I should technically be grateful that I'm getting a soft start here. He's the person you're supposed to talk to if you need accommodations for nd stuff too so he might be understanding? Def not gonna bring it up unless I have to though pffft
     
    • Like x 2
  18. Lib

    Lib Well-Known Member

    It's also perfectly understandable that everyone takes a while to settle in at university, new situation, new place. So planning for that ahead of time and making sure you take classes that will allow you breathing room comes off as really smart.
     
    • Like x 1
  19. Erica

    Erica occasionally vaguely like a person

    update/conclusion: Sent guidance councellor somewhat detailed email explaining what I wanted to do and why, got two letter response ('OK') why do teachers always do that thing
    Had a relatively calm anxiety high over the decision, second-guessed myself a lot, got down on myself a lot, and then I actually had another lesson in the class, met my classmates again, hung out with them that entire day (I think I have learnt how to social holy shit) aaaand basically I am now generally reassured that yeah, this was right. (I like my classmates! The professor who's gonna teach us grammar is fun! I am happy to stick around with these people and maybe actually make some friends before we're all split up next semester.) So!
    Thank you so much to everyone helping me out in this thred. I really appreciate it! c:
     
    • Like x 6
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