I am having an anxiety attack !!!

[Greggie]

Ok, so it's been almost two years since I got out of school, and I am as ready as ever to get back in the classroom and finally put my brain to use again. I have wanted to be a psychologist for as long as I can remember, am fascinated by psychology and am definitely an academic at heart. The only reason why I have postponed my education is because I was not able to graduate from the Norwegian equivelant of high school because I had gone one year International Baccaulaurete and then transfered back to normal high school, and therefore I was missing a couple of courses from the year that I was missing. I recieved this news just as I was about to graduate, but was given great help in regards to finding out which courses I needed to finally get my diploma. I am taking these exams in a couple of weeks.

 

HOWEVER, yesterday I went down to my old school to get an English copy of the courses I had so far, so I could send them to the university which I am applying, and there was some question about how they would incorpoate my IB courses when I recieved my exam grades from the missing courses in the diploma I would then receive.

 

Today I woke up to a haunting e-mail, saying that my IB grades were not approved (since they have a completely different system than normal Norwegian high school), so it's almost like that whole year doesn't count for anything. When I read this, I was horrified, and as embarrassing as this is, I actually broke down crying, and I haven't cried since my boyfriend of two and a half years broke up with me. What frustrates me most is that all of this was investegated when I was supposed to graduate, and I was told "You need to take these and these exams and you will be good," and now suddenly, no? I am absolutely distraught; have not been able to do or think about anything else since I recieved this e-mail, even studying for my upcoming exams seems pointless. All I can hope is that this person has misunderstood, because this WAS thoroughly investigated when I was about to graduate. I tracked down the person who helped me with which courses I need to take, and sent her a (desperate) message on Facebook. She hasn't replied yet, but I am almost scared to read it when she does: what if she says they made a mistake and that my IB year counts for nothing and that I am nowhere near graduating? I was supposed to leave for Australia in just three months (I have the grades to get in; all I needed was those extra exams for my diploma) and have already quit both of my jobs! I am on the verge of tears again... Don't know what to if the worst case scenario comes true here...

[I_Speak_Jive]

Greggie,

 

I did the IB in Norway, of all places, and I graduated with several dozen Norwegian students who got into Norwegian universities with their IB grades without any problem. There are tons of people who convalidate their IB scores with the standard Norwergian system, so this latest email you have received is probably nothing more than an annoying misunderstanding.

 

If I understand you correctly, you are heading to Australia to do your degree? Aussie universities love IB graduates, as do most places in the world. Even in the unlikely event of your final high school diploma not coming through, you can get in touch with your future university and see what sort of general or foundation courses they offer/require --a lot of Western universities offer alternative access routes for people who do not have a regular educational path.

 

I assume you got accepted to uni based on your predicted grades for these exams you are about to take, as well as those courses you have already completed, plus your personal essays, test scores etc. This means they actively want you as their student, and administrative blunders are not likely to get in the way of that.

 

Good luck with it all, deep breath, cup of tea, big smile, and you'll be just fine

[lavenderdove]

You need to try to fight this... do you have any documentation from before when they told you what you needed? And definitely get in touch with whomever approved your program in the past.

 

I think you need to appeal immediately, and if the same person says no, go above their head. you need to clearly spell out that you made all these decisions based on being told it was acceptable, quit your jobs, have plans to move in place etc. They need to take responsibility for misleading you, and make it right by approving your diploma.

 

Also, sometimes schools will accept conditional enrollment in cases like this (your new school), where you can start your degree there as a provisional student (special probationiary status), but need to complete the prerequisites before you convert to a regular student. So perhaps you need to take a few additional courses in Australia before you get your final approval as a regular student there, but they let you complete for prerequisite classes there rather than where you are now. Once you complete them, they'll enroll you as a regular student rather than a provisional one.

 

But i'd really fight it first with your old school... this is totally wrong if they did the analysis, told you what to take, then refused you at the last moment.

[lavenderdove]

btw, in the U.S., you have to either have a high school diploma OR a GED, which is passing a series of tests to show you have the equivalent of a high school education in terms of learning.

 

So perhaps if you've taken the right tests, the school in Australia will accept you based on taking the tests.

[Greggie]

Ok... First of all, thank you so much for your replies; you all make very valid points and helped calm me down in a time I was in dire need of some calming words. I have just talked to the inspector at the school where I did IB (I only did one year though, then transferred back to normal high school, so did not graduate with an IB diploma, but made good grades in the year I went which were counted as "final grades" when I transferred) and it turns out they have not talked to the IB-inspector and so there seems to have been some confusion and no one seems to know what they're talking about.

 

I also have several arguments for why they must be in the wrong:

 

1) When I made the decision to transfer back to normal high school, I remember the IB-inspector telling me that if I changed my mind, I could always come back to IB. NO ONE told me however that it was not actually POSSIBLE to transfer to regular high school, and that the grades made at the first year in IB would be not be approved. And that seems sort of relevant? If someone would've told me this, I would've never made the decision to transfer obviously.

 

2) So far they have been saying that you NEED to have taken the exams for the IB grades to be approved, but there are no exams in the first year, and there would have been no way for me to take any exams that year, so basically they're saying that transferring back to high school after one year of IB is impossible, yet no one thought to mention this when I transferred (if it in fact is true).

 

3) IF the IB grades really weren't approved as "final grades", this means that I was accepted into the third and final year of high school based on invalid grades that were worth nothing. This is just wrong on so many levels. MAJOR MISTAKE on the high school's part if true.

 

4) Everyone else that was in my class got "terminal grades" that spring, but I got "final grades" because of my decision to transfer back to regular high school. The inspector of the school told me just now, "IB doesn't operate with "final grades"", yet that is what I recieved on paper, and final grades mean that you have graduated the course and that they are approved approved APPROVED.

 

So yes, all logic defies the things that they have been saying; I am truly calmed down now, and believe that it will all work out. I believe there have just been some misunderstandings. (And if the case is that there haven't, and my IB grades for that one year count for nothing, then there has been some SERIOUS WRONGDOING on both schools' parts.) The IB-inspector has not been in yet, so no one has had the oppportunity to speak with him, and I am hoping that once they do, it will be confirmed that the grades which I recieved from IB are approved. He will be back in his office on Monday, and the inspector will talk to him, and give me a call. In the mean time - positive thinking!