PLEASE HELP....Graduate Admissions office unfamiliar with AP and military training

[sartort]

I've been dealing with a lot of back and forth with the graduate admissions office and don't know what to do at this point. Once they received the transcript for the undergrad institution I'm getting my bachelors at, they e-mailed me a request for official transcripts from Advanced Placement and AARTS/ACE (military transcript for basic training and specialty training). Neither one of these are colleges so they don't mail out paper transcripts. I had an official electronic transcript from AARTS sent because that's the only kind the federal government offers for this professional coursework. The grad admissions office told me that electronic transcripts aren't official and that the college needs to send a paper one, referring me to the guidelines, but because it's NOT a college the guidelines are actually irrelevant and I can't seem to fix this issue. If they don't process my app for this reason, won't they be denying me because I am a veteran?

 

The AP issue was very surprising to me because schools are usually so familiar with it. The grad admissions office, however, told me that I took AP courses through a college that my high school had an agreement with, which is completely false, and that's why they are telling me to send a transcript. They said that's how I received credit, which is also false. The credit came from my current school after they determined that my scores on AP exams were good enough to be equivalent to coursework there.

 

I've sent them all of the documentation I can, and I'm currently down $175 between all the fees for just this program so I don't want to give up, but I don't know how to get them to process my app if they keep requesting things that don't actually exist. Has anyone had similar issues that they figured out how to fix or does anyone have any suggestions for me? I don't want to upset them, but I need them to send my application to the PA program and at this point they won't.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give!

[rev ronin]

Yeah, that definitely sounds boneheaded of them, on both counts. Assuming your statement of the problem is accurate, it may just be one person who doesn't know how to do their job, so be sure and ask. But believe me, $175 is a small drop compared with the price of attending a school where the type of incompetence you describe is allowed to thrive.

[sartort]

I've actually communicated with three people in the office already with full explanations. It may be possible that because it is summer the regular staff aren't there, or people could be new. If I contacted their undergraduate admissions office, which is likely more familiar with these organizations, and asked them to explain it to the grad admissions office, would that be okay or do you think they would feel like I was being rude? I don't want to just jump to asking to speak with someone above them if I don't have to.

[rev ronin]

You want to get a problem resolved without escalating if at all possible. Asking the undergrad admissions office to help sounds like your best way forward to me, because they should know which end is up.

[jsfelder0417]

I don't know if you're still having this problem, but get in contact with Casey Santee, he's the head of the Vets Sanctuary at ISU. I'm a Meridian PA student now, and a vet myself, so if you still have trouble PM me.