Yay! Bureaucracy!

Last Friday, the 13th, I got another response from the University of Maryland. Hope springs eternal. I thought it might be notification that they had found and sent my official transcripts to Washington State.

Foolish hope.

They returned my check to me again, with the same cover letter as before. However, instead of saying that they couldn't find my transcripts and requesting proof of my having attended (check box five), they checked box number four. That says that "We cannot process your request at this time due to an undisclosed hold. Please contact the appropriate office/division for further information." Which is followed by three addresses with check boxes next to them; none of which were checked.

I was pissed off last Friday and ranting. I've calmed down a little. It does still bother me though, the last time I requested official transcripts from the University of Maryland, in January 2002, there was no problem. Now? Now there's a fucking problem? What. The. Hell.

I suspect that the actual searching for transcripts is being done by underpaid interns. And, since my records go back to 1985, no one's willing to go the extra bit to track the dang things down. I suppose they don't expect me to show up, as I'm on the other side of the country.

They may be very, very wrong. Because if I need to take a week and go back east to get this shit done, I will.

Today, I called the 800-number for the Stateside Student Accounts office. I went through level one of the automated phone answering system, chose an option, and got looped back into the same menu (the recorded voice was different, the script was the same), and finally got a live person. Yay! (One must take one's triumphs where one can.)

This operator was helpful and seemed to care about solving my dilemma. She also had an awesome Southern Maryland accent and I could feel mah Myrrlin' accent coming back to life. I explained what had happened and what I was trying to do. She put me in contact with the Student Accounts office--yes, that's what I thought I was calling initially, but quibbling over such things can drive one barking mad--and another woman who had an even thicker southern accent answered. I explained again what I was trying to do and, after several attempts for her to get my information so someone could call me back, she confessed that our connection was terrible. Hilarity ensued. Eventually we got everything together, and I included my e-mail address so there was another avenue to contact me.

If all goes as I'm told (Yeah, you know that hope thing? My middle name is Hope. I either have very optimistic or very cruel parents.), someone will contact me by Wednesday. I hope that they'll have some way for me to break through this muddle.

After I got off the phone, I tried to call the admissions adviser at Washington State, thinking that she might have a suggestion about another way to pursue getting my official transcripts from the University of Maryland. *laughter* She no longer works for WSU.

Awesome.