This writeup will cover the past four days, because things didn't feel
resolved until today. On Friday, I talked with the undergraduate coordinator, Dr. Hrechak. My
graduation application was stalled because I was missing a
requirement for graduation. I was rather
shocked, since my advisor from last semester told me I was set. We had a discussion about this, but since my former advisor was not in his office then, it couldn't be verified until Monday. In the meantime, he suggested I look for a suitable course, and it might be possible to still register for it. The biggest barriers would be the
registrar and the professor teaching the course, since it was already 4 weeks into the semester (essentially over 1/4 of the way through).
The most annoying thing was the course I was missing. It was a general elective in math or science, any level. I couldn't believe I could be delayed by 6 months for a single 100-level elective course. I left the office extremely annoyed, mostly at my advisor. Although there was a chance it could get cleared up on Monday, the strong possiblity of getting delayed was not making me happy.
A family friend called when I got home, and we went through the usual small talk. She asked about school, and I said it was going great. She knew from my mother that I was set to graduate this winter, and she asked about that. That got me a little upset, but I just lied and said everything was fine.
On Saturday, I reluctantly went through the course catalog to check for suitable courses. I thought it was extremely lame. I looked at a lot of 100-level courses but they were just not interesting. I settled on a few 300- and 400-level courses. Then I got a phone call. A former client of mine wanted to discuss a job offer for me upon graduation. Knowing my future was uncertain, I just proceeded like it wasn't.
Turns out I didn't have too much to fear. Dr. Hrechak talked with my former advisor and concluded that my former advisor did make a mistake. They decided to let me go ahead and graduate. I can only assume they feared I would sue them or blow up the school. Things aren't the same post-Columbine. I walked out of the office, wanting to break into a skip. The day was sunnier than it was before.
Now all I have to do is pass my classes.