| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
No more transfers to UW
For years, thousands of students around the state were led to believe that if they graduated from a Washington state community college with a 2.75 GPA, they would be admitted to the UW under the Direct Transfer Agreement. Well, this agreement is now defunct, and the results are showing up in the bottleneck of students scrambling to get in to the University right now. Friday, the front-page story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer succinctly translated this development in its headline: "No more transfers to UW." The story went on to say, vaguely, why this is happening. Something about "demand outstripping projections" and "overcrowding." It also had an ominous quote from UW President Mark Emmert, who said, "This is just one manifestation of a much, much bigger problem." I remember when I got my first denial letter from the University. It read, briefly, "Sorry, no room for out-of-state transfer students." I had applied for winter quarter of 2004. I called the school and a very nice woman told me that, as far as she knew, I would never get into the UW unless I graduated from a Washington state community college in the next few quarters. She told me that the UW was required to accept Washington state community college grads through the Direct Transfer Agreement if they had good enough grade point averages -- a 2.75. So, if I finished getting my associates degree at North Seattle Community College, I'd be golden. She warned me, though, that the Direct Transfer Agreement was ending soon, and if I didn't get my associates degree before I applied for the next fall, I would not get into the University of Washington -- ever. So I went through the process. I enrolled in North Seattle Community College and completed my associate's degree just as the UW advised me to do. Now, students don't have the luxury I did. The Seattle P-I quoted a few UW students who had been turned down for admissions because of these latest developments. Like me when I was denied, they were disappointed. I remember what that felt like. The UW was the only place I had planned on going to college -- I had no backup plan. But because of the Direct Transfer Agreement, I could fix the problem. Now, students are just screwed. This leaves me with some mixed feelings. I understand that education is important. All the way back in kindergarten, the idea of college was an implicit goal. I also understand that space at the UW is limited. Fifty people will never fit in a classroom that only has space for 25. Those two comprehensions, however, have hit a crossroads at the UW. Space has now become a higher priority than education, even for in-state students trying to get into a Washington college. This makes me feel like people shouldn't rely too heavily on educational programs. In the article in the Seattle P-I, students had staked important parts of their futures on the Direct Transfer Agreement. I guess they shouldn't have. I am curious what the "much, much bigger problem" is too. Should I be frightened or perhaps paranoid? What other rules or programs might change next? Who do I trust? And if the world ends, would I be willing to be a Cougar? |
| ||||||||||||||||||
