Comments on: My Dirty Little Secret…. http://www.offassist.com/2009/05/23/my-dirty-little-secret/ Real Bookkeeping. Virtual Assistance. Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:02:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Justin http://www.offassist.com/2009/05/23/my-dirty-little-secret/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Justin Sat, 23 May 2009 20:42:03 +0000 /2009/05/23/my-dirty-little-secret/#comment-18 Geesh, that really stinks.<br /><br />It makes me think of the process I've gone through with my schooling. (I started law school with the University of London this year.) First they were late making admissions decisions - instead of late-September early-October, it was mid-November before they let me know by email, and November 23 before I got my paperwork in the mail. (Yay international mail.) The deadline for registering, in order to take exams the following May, is November 30. There was, literally, no way I could get the paperwork filled out, get the money from the bank (had to be either a check drawn on a UK bank in pounds, or, as I found out later, a credit card - there are no UK banks around here, and US international money orders don't count for some post office international agreement reason.)<br /><br />Then, they didn't advise until mid-January that they extended the November 30 deadline. I didn't go ahead and register after missing the November deadline because I couldn't take exams anyway, why cough up my money (about $1,000) a year in advance when it could be drawing interest? <br /><br />While I was scrambling to get my registration together to meet the new deadline, I found out, again, way late, that I had to be registered for exams by February 28. Registering for exams with UOL doesn't mean signing up on a website, especially if you're in the US: You have to contact your testing center (there's like 100 in the US), find out what their fee is (almost $700), get your paperwork from them, and get it back by whatever their deadline is so they can have it to London by February 28. Before you can do that though, unlike every other country they serve, US students have to contact the exams office in London to determine which of those 100 testing centers you should use. Again, literally not enough time to jump through all the hoops.<br /><br />Because they didn't get information out in a timely manner three times in a row, I've had to push my whole degree back a year (UK courses are year-long, rather than semesters). I'm sticking with it, because despite the problems, the program is tailor made for my needs, but you can bet I'll be sending stuff in months before the deadlines from now on.<br /><br />And, just to top it off and relate back to the topic of student loans, I can't use them because UOL's External System doesn't have a student aid office, and the student loan people won't talk to anybody or send the check to anybody but the student aid office. Thank goodness the degree, provided I get it in three years, is only about $5,000 (less now because the exchange rate is better).<br /><br />Argh. Geesh, that really stinks.

It makes me think of the process I’ve gone through with my schooling. (I started law school with the University of London this year.) First they were late making admissions decisions – instead of late-September early-October, it was mid-November before they let me know by email, and November 23 before I got my paperwork in the mail. (Yay international mail.) The deadline for registering, in order to take exams the following May, is November 30. There was, literally, no way I could get the paperwork filled out, get the money from the bank (had to be either a check drawn on a UK bank in pounds, or, as I found out later, a credit card – there are no UK banks around here, and US international money orders don’t count for some post office international agreement reason.)

Then, they didn’t advise until mid-January that they extended the November 30 deadline. I didn’t go ahead and register after missing the November deadline because I couldn’t take exams anyway, why cough up my money (about $1,000) a year in advance when it could be drawing interest?

While I was scrambling to get my registration together to meet the new deadline, I found out, again, way late, that I had to be registered for exams by February 28. Registering for exams with UOL doesn’t mean signing up on a website, especially if you’re in the US: You have to contact your testing center (there’s like 100 in the US), find out what their fee is (almost $700), get your paperwork from them, and get it back by whatever their deadline is so they can have it to London by February 28. Before you can do that though, unlike every other country they serve, US students have to contact the exams office in London to determine which of those 100 testing centers you should use. Again, literally not enough time to jump through all the hoops.

Because they didn’t get information out in a timely manner three times in a row, I’ve had to push my whole degree back a year (UK courses are year-long, rather than semesters). I’m sticking with it, because despite the problems, the program is tailor made for my needs, but you can bet I’ll be sending stuff in months before the deadlines from now on.

And, just to top it off and relate back to the topic of student loans, I can’t use them because UOL’s External System doesn’t have a student aid office, and the student loan people won’t talk to anybody or send the check to anybody but the student aid office. Thank goodness the degree, provided I get it in three years, is only about $5,000 (less now because the exchange rate is better).

Argh.

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