The saga of missing transcripts, quarters vs. semesters and Oregon vs. Texas has finally come to a fruitful conclusion. We started out by applying at Blinn College for early admittance as in-state residents. We were elated when they said YES! Please, come on in!
And then...
We had 3 weeks to get an official school transcript sent over from MHCC. We had 3 weeks to take the THEA mandated tests. We had 3 weeks to apply for financial aid. We had 3 weeks to convince the math department to let Tanner into Calculus. We had 3 weeks to register for classes. We had 3 weeks to determine which classes to take. We had 3 weeks to work it all out with Tanner's new employers.
First bump in the road: the federal government decided to make us prove that we were indeed VERY poor. Twice.
Second bump in the road: the state of Texas decided to make us prove that we lived in Texas.
Third bump in the road: the transcript did not arrive. Twice.
Fourth bump in the road: the state of Texas decided to make us prove that Tanner could read. Seriously.
Roadblock: transcript from MHCC was sent to the wrong address, then resent to 2 addresses. Oops.
It's against state law for a college to accept any student without proof of education like a transcript or GED or high school diploma. So...Tanner spent hours and hours in the administration office trying to convince them that he really was qualified to attend college. Like the head of administration explained, "Look, I could call MHCC using the number in the phone book. They could notarize a transcript, fax it to me, and swear on the recorded telephone conversation that your information was accurate, and I still would be breaking the law if I admitted you...unless you retake your entrance exams as an Ability to Benefit Exam." So, with one day before registration began, Tanner spent hours in the examiners office explaining why he should be allowed to take the exam at such short notice. Finally, they agreed to let him take it the following morning.
So...he took the exam...AGAIN and passed it....AGAIN, and rushed down to the math department to beg them to admit him into Calculus I. He heard someone say, "Tanner, Tanner, Tanner..." and the pit of his stomach lurched, his heart sank. This was not a good sign. This is the sound of a car lot manager who doesn't want to pay your prices. This was the Chair of Mathematics talking.
He had heard that there was this crazy kid who had spent days trying to circumvent the rules and regulations governing the mathematics department and BEGGING to be allowed into Calculus I. Apparently, the former-assistant chair no longer had the power to "force" registration for a math class. The Chair of Mathematics told Tanner that the former-assistant didn't have the authority to agree to allow Tanner into the class, that they don't allow any forced classing from a school that has quarters instead of semesters and that they had grave concerns that there were holes in Tanner's mathematics education. So, the Chair of Mathematics prepared an impromptu test for Tanner....
So, Tanner took ANOTHER test. The math section was just a little more involved, but of course he passed it. The Chair was duly impressed and enrolled Tanner in Calculus 1, 2, and 3. Thank you mom and dad for teaching us how to self-educate. All the time we spent studying Trig Identities on our own really paid off, since that was the sticky point.
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