School is almost to a close now. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is counting down the days till winter vacation and calculating the minimum grades I need to get on my finals to pass my classes. Hopefully everyone is working hard, studying and preparing for finals. For those of you who have not started studying, may the odds be ever in your favor. If you come back from Thanksgiving break and all you did was eat turkey and watch football, I hope you enjoy your last few days of cramming before the reaper comes.

I guess it’s kind of a mercy that they plan finals right after Thanksgiving break. I mean yeah you have two extra days to start studying but in reality, how many people really do start studying over the break?

I’ll admit I will make myself sit down for at least a couple hours each day and do a little work, but I understand how tempting it is to just relax and eat leftovers. If you have started studying and feel prepared for finals, great!

If you’re like me and you’ve been studying but still feel like you’re about to walk into Hogwarts while Dolores Umbridge was headmaster, just breathe, we’re almost to the finish line.

For those of you who are going to start your last semester here at BC in the spring, let me give you some advice. If you have seen my previous columns, you will know that this was my last semester and I am transferring to CSUB for my Bachelors. However, the process to transfer was in no way an easy path. I know that counselors and professors always caution you to start the process as soon as possible, well I’m here to tell you they’re right!

This semester was infuriating for me. Not because of my busy schedule, or my health or my workload. No, it was all from trying to transfer to CSUB.

When I came to BC from an out of state university, I was given a plan of what classes to take so I could transfer. I was also told which classes from my old school would transfer here and to CSUB. I have since followed that plan perfectly.

So starting my last semester, I went to the counselor’s office to make sure that I was set and ready to graduate. I got all my classes, even extended the amount of units I could take so I had everything.

So about a month and a half ago, I try to apply to graduate, and all of a sudden my degree path is telling me that I have not yet completed one of my required courses.

I went to the counseling office immediately and asked what was the problem and for the next three weeks I was bounced between the counseling and admissions office without any improvements or answers.

I spent every day missing class and waiting to ask if anything had been done about my situation. A week before the deadline for graduation I was even told by a counselor that they had been out for two days so they’d get to it when they have time.

It wasn’t until the day of the deadline that everything finally got fixed. If you are planning to transfer I’m warning you, don’t stop until your application is in and you have everything ready at your next university.