Checksum Arcanius

If all goes well, this will change to include Biology 200…
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This morning, I was able to sign up for the first class that I actually intend to take at the University of Washington. The magic was made possible first by the wonderful Mary of the UW Chemistry Department, who cut gloriously through red tape to quickly get my Chem 111H and 112 at BYU transfered to the UW’s 142-152-162 series. The next piece of the puzzle clicked into place at 9:15am today, when the Math department officially gave me credit for UW’s Math 126, based on my experiences in BYU’s 112H and 113H along with BCC’s Math 227. Between Chem 152 and Math 126, and with a previous fix on Physics 121 (which really should’ve been right in the first place), I was finally able to enroll in Chemical Engineering – Thermodynamics (CHEM E 260). I updated my facebook entry accordingly and took a gander at a few others that are taking the course. It looks to be about evenly balanced between BioE and ChemE with a few oddball CSE and others thrown in the mix.

In some minor ways, particularly narcissistic ones, I am a bit of a packrat. Occasionally, the habit pays off, however. When I went to the UW on Wednesday to be advised, I learned, much to my dismay, that despite all of my credits being transfered, very few of them transfered to anything specific or useful. For example, my Physics 121, 220 (formerly 122), and 123 courses turned into generic “UW 1XX” and “UW 2XX” credit. Great if I’m looking for credits, but useless if I want to take any more physics classes. That example is especially vexing because the courses are, as near as I can tell, exact equivalents of UW’s Physics 121, 122, and 123.

However, the problem does not stop there; rather it is systematic: My Math 112H and 113H classes at BYU turned into only 124 and 125, even though both classes are 4 semester credits and cover everything in the three UW 124-125-126 series. But I’m not resting on that laurel alone – I also took Math 227, Multivariable Calculus, as BCC. This, if anything, was my sole weak point in completing the 124-125-126 series. So I have certainly covered the material. Furthermore, I took Math 208 and 238 at BCC, which translated into 300 level classes at UW, both of which require Math 126. So I have credit for classes that I am not allowed to take, because I haven’t fulfilled the 126 prerequisite. The same story is repeated for Computer Science (BYU’s CS 142 is exactly the same thing, as near as I can tell, to UW’s CS 142), Biology (I took major-course Microbiology at BYU, along with Biology 250 at BYU, yet I don’t have credit for Biology 180 yet), and Chemistry (I took major-course Chem 111H and 112 at BYU, which cover at least UW Chem 142 & 152, and I would argue, 162 as well, since the next step at BYU is OChem [I took 351 and got credit for it at the UW], and at UW, OChem comes after 162, so once again I have credit for a class that I can’t take yet due to prerequisites not matching up).

My Bioengineering adviser informed me that she thought the credit evaluator was having a bad day or was being lazy, but the result was that I would have to go around to each of the departments where I am seeking credit and talk to advisers there. I talked to several after my advising, and discovered that they wanted to see course syllabuses before making a decision.

Finally, to bring this article full circle, I just happen to still have every syllabus from every college class I have ever taken. There is yet hope that Ryan will be a Bioengineer and not an English major. Sometimes, being a narcissistic pack rat pays off.

Europe, long lauded as more progressive than the US, struts its compassion with laws like this “sunshine directive.”

Of course it would be more funny if the US were not headed down the same path.

In other news, I get to register for classes at the UW today. I have yet to report on the business trip – expect that in the near future – and there is much interesting news on Katrina, including the forced evacuation of people for their own good. It just keeps getting better down there.

I recently received an “Advisor’s Worksheet” from the University of Washington, giving me a listing off all the credits I have earned over the years transfered to the UW. The total comes to 139.5 UW credits, a good deal of which are listed as 1XX and 2XX – meaning that there is no exact equivalent at the UW. Particularly interesting is the fact that while Biology and Chemistry credits show up as BIOL and CHEM, all of my Physics credits show up as simply “UW” – apparently, the UW Physics department doesn’t recognize BYU’s, or maybe the UW doesn’t have a Physics department… Perplexing indeed.

All that is missing from the report are the last two classes I took – English 270 (Professional Report Writing) , ENGR 205 (Electric Circuits), the the Associates of Arts and Sciences (DTA) degree that should be posted this week sometime. Happily, the BCC transcript server is down right now, so I can’t find out presently. So, since those two classes do transfer directly to UW classes, I should end up with somewhere in the ballpark of 149.5 credits, a mere 30.5, or just over two normal quarters, from minimum graduation requirements. However, I expect that with Bioengineering and Computer Engineering as my intended major(s), I will be spending more on the order of two years at the institutions.

I recieved a call from my mother moments ago informing me that the big packet arrived from the University of Washington today. As opposed to last year’s small letter, this means that I was accepted into the school.

Contrary to what UW admissions initially told me, I did not need to get into a major to gain transfer admission to the university. So I am in the school, but not in the Bioengineering department yet. This may be for the best because in reality, I’m still torn between computer engineering and bioengineering. I will have to put in more research to figure out which I really want to pursue, or if its worth the extra work to do both.

Stayed up all night working on my 25-page paper. It is now up to 18 pages. I think I’ll make it. It looks pretty goo so far.

Fortunately, this plethora of school/work/bike trip preparations will end soon, and I will only have one thing to worry about: pedaling.

Circuits test: 79. Not great, but not the end fo the world. I guess I’m getting a B in that class. I think that’ll be my first B from BCC. Oh well, getting out just in time I guess. I graduate this August.

I still have a personal statement to write for UW Bioengineering. Before I leave, hopefully.