I did my Master's defense today.
Did I pass?
Yes and No.
Really.
Yes, because I did! My committee grilled me for a good hour, and made me realize how much I don't know. But at least I passed!
No, because the stupid Graduate School of OSU (not, thank goodness, associated with the History department) messed up my paperwork, and now I need to resubmit in my application for "graduation" ALL OVER AGAIN. Worse, because of the messed up paperwork, the person from the Graduate School said that the report form, with the signatures of my committee members stating that I passed, was "invalid."
INVALID.
Worse
Word
Ever.
Gave me heart palpitations. And he said that I had to take the exam again.
WHAT THE CRAP WAS THIS???
Apparently, the messed up occurred because I had signed up to do my defense as part of Spring semester, but because of various reasons, my defense could only take place after the semester ended but before Summer semester began. It's a very slim window between these two semesters, but I was told that May 6 was one of the dates that fell within this window of opportunity. Hence, I scheduled it today.
Well, May 6 turned out to 2 days too late and part of Summer semester, and so my application for "graduation" in Spring was canceled. Fine, my bad (or whoever it was that told me May 6 was okay). Except that THE GRADUATE SCHOOL DID NOT TELL ME THAT MY APPLICATION WAS CANCELED.
How can you cancel an application for graduation without telling the student? What type of university administration are you? Such oversight is unacceptable.
Also, I can't apply for summer graduation because I'm not registered for classes during the Summer. Therefore, if I want to obtain my Master's, I either
1) Register for summer classes, retake the exam, and submit in the paperwork all over again
OR
2) Wait till Fall semester, retake the exam, and submit in the paperwork all over again.
I broke down in tears at this point. How could I not? Take the exam again??? Especially since I already passed?
I was so mad, I confess that I mentally cussed the graduate school. Sorry, but not sorry either.
The good news is that the situation is sort-of salvageable. After wiping my tears and talking to other graduate students who have other very vocal complaints about the Graduate School, I've learned that
a) Because I was a TA for 2 semesters, I can get a tuition waver for Summer semester. So it won't cost me to register for an independent research class - THANK GOODNESS AND HOORAY!
b) I'm not the first graduate student to encounter this stupid situation (seriously?), so all I need to do is talk to the history department coordinator, who will help me. Not to worry. All I will need to do is resubmit all the paperwork again, which is a huge pain, but NO RE-TAKING OF THE EXAM. Once again, thank goodness and hooray!
But right now, I'm stuck in limbo. Passed but not passed. And I hate limbo. Worse feeling ever!
Wish me luck as I try to salvage the situation.
It was an adventure. Proud of you that you kept yourself together (for most part)!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nightmare! I am so sorry, but happy at least you don't have to retake your test. Congrats on passing! I am in limbo myself with housing, and I agree it sucks.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible! I'm so glad you passed though!!! It is a huge relief to have that over and it's seriously harder than the defense. I had to do my qualifying exam twice because I started as a masters and switched to a Ph.D. and they said it didn't count, it was AWFUL. So glad you don't have to repeat it. Grad school administration can be terrible (I don't know why because it doesn't have to be) and I'm sorry you have to deal with it.
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