So changing majors is always kind of messy, especially when one is planning on graduating within 4 years... in engineering. So I figured, at the time computer engineering pays 10% more than computer science, 60% of the coursework overlaps, and I'm 2 quarters ahead of schedule; worth the risk of trying to switch over.
Spring09 worked out well. Fall09 went smoothly as well. Winter 10 ended up being pretty bad (probably cause I spent most of it being sick.. or at a concert).
Normally, at the end of the last quarter, I need to petition for ECE classes cause they are only open to electric and computer engineering majors only. So, as a spaceholder, and plan B, I enroll in an equivalent amount of computer science classes in the case that I don't get my ECE classes. Winter10, they approved my petition, and gave me my add code around week 3. But told me to go as if I was already enrolled in the class before.
They told me to do the same thing for spring. Except this time, when week 3 rollled around, they were like, "No you petition did not pass. " Great, so I've been attending classes I didn't need, and didn't attend the ones I now need.
Their reasoning was... I only had average ECE grades, and the only reason I was still alive in ECE was cause I had very good CS grades. So they wanted me to stop wasting my time playing around in ECE cause they were a chance that I would not be admitted into the major, whereas I have a pretty good safely net for CS and I'm still on schedule, despite playing around for 3 quarters.
Now compounding to my issues.. I can't stay enrolled in my CS30 class cause the system thinks I already took the class and am repeating it without authorization. Also, some of my grades came out super late last quarter, so after the deadline for grades passed, they were like, oh, your GPA isn't high enough, so we're putting you on AP. Of course my GPA isn't high enough, I don't have grades for half my units. Then my grades came out a week after the deadline, and it was crap, but still high enough to keep me off AP. So on the system, I'm not on AP. In my paper file, I am.
So my problems are simply: I can't enroll in CS30, AP, and I'm 3 weeks behind in work.... and the fact that I'm taking 19 units doesn't help either. These problems also leads to further problems.
The CS30 problem. First, I talked to the College of Engineering (CoE) adviser. He looks at my history, consults the master course listing book, calls the ECE adviser, and then calls the CS adviser, still doesn't know what to do, so he refers me to my CS adviser.
My CS adviser does the same thing, consult book, make phone calls, scratch head. He tells me he'll fix it before the end of the next week. Then he moves on to get permission from my dean, pester the office of the registrar to fix the problem, and email my professor explaining why he's adding a student into her class mid-week3.
While he's working on that, my CoE adviser wants me to fill out AP agreements. It involves that I list all my current classes, and I stay under 16 units, among other crap. Since I am technically not qualified for AP, and I don't even have all my courses. CoE adviser didn't believe me, and called my CS adviser, who just responded with, "I'm working on it, it'll work when it does." They didn't want me to put classes I was not enrolled in on the paper, so they just told me to complete it when I get officially enrolled. Good stall is a good stall.
Then there are professors that are not too happy with me joining lecture week 3. They can't really do anything about it cause I'm being added in by my adviser. But they can still pull me into conferences to discuss my progress in the course. At least I'm allowed to makeup some of my work.. in some cases anyways.
So I'm playing catch-up for 3 weeks worth of work in 12 of my 19 units. Busy busy...
On the plus side. CS easier to me than ECE, sure it's kind of dry sometimes, but ECE was getting boring too. My schedule is now officially morning/night class free, though I have a bunch of annoying 1 hr gaps in between classes now. It's also spread throughout the week better too. Most important part is 2009 employment data shows that CS pays about 10% better than ECE now. I'm switching into an easier major that has tons more job availability that pays better. Awesome.
