erew Posted April 5, 2013 Posted April 5, 2013 There are two parts to my story. I'll try to be brief. I needed to pay my tuition deposit to reserve my place within the program. The school is in Canada, I am in the US, and naturally the deposit needs to be in their currency. I was given three options: international bank draft (recommended by school to use Travelex), money order, or personal check. Starting Monday, I visited my bank and was told that they couldn't do a money order/cashiers check in foreign currency, nor did they know what an international bank draft was. Obviously, I can't write a personal check in a foreign currency. Tuesday I went to the post office and was told their location stopped doing international money orders; four post office locations later, I still had no money order and was finally told that they couldn't make a money order in foreign currency, like the bank, despite what I was reading online. Wednesday, and at a different bank location with Travelex transaction information in hand, I tried to start the Bank to Bank wire, but the teller couldn't figure it out. After E-mailing Western Union (Travelex's partner) directly, I learned what the teller needed to do, so I returned, to the same teller, and got the wire to go through ... or so I hope. The bank that the money is first wired to has an address in Nebraska, but the only address the teller could pull up (due to location, she said) was in Minnesota. She reassured me that this would not be a problem because it's a wire (i.e. electronic) transfer, but after the week I've had, I have little confidence it will work. The same day as I paid the deposit, I tried to overnight my acceptance letter/receipt of deposit via UPS. With only my luck, they had already closed their registers for the evening and was only taking cash. I was reassured, again, that my letter would get to Canada by Friday at the same price if I returned the next day, so I left. When I returned in the morning, the arrival date had changed to Monday (the date it's due) with the price I was quoted; if I wanted to get it there by Friday, I had to pay an extra $70, but since the letter has to go through customs, they cannot guarantee a delivery date, even if I paid the extra money. With some regret, both in wishing I was more assertive and that money wasn't an issue, I decided not to pay the extra money just to risk the letter getting held up at customs and still not arriving until after Monday anyway. The advice I need is whether I should contact the admissions department directly and tell them my situation. It's not that I need an extension, it's that I'm nervous things aren't going to work out, either the wire or the arrival of the acceptance letter (which is, literally, a checked box noting I'm attending and that I've enclosed the deposit). I'm afraid I'll come off as irresponsible though and I'd make a total fool of myself. In fact, I'm afraid I'd look like a basket case, as I'm sure I do here. But hey, less judgement, right?. Anyway, the reason I waited so long to get this done was that I hadn't heard about general acceptance from one program and my other top program hadn't (and still hasn't) given me any information on funding. I would be devastated not only to know that I could have done more to make sure I kept my place in this program, but also knowing that waiting to learn that I lost my place after all would also make me lose my place with the other top program (they have the same due dates). Thoughts, anyone? I really appreciate any advice (and yes, I will graciously take any comments such as, "why did you wait so long?!" or "calm down, missy.").
musicmage09 Posted April 5, 2013 Posted April 5, 2013 I would just email the person you have been in contact with and tell them that you have already accepted and submitted all the appropriate documentation via mail. Just say you are in the US and ask who you need to contact to make sure the documents have been received and processed. I would just skip the long explanation of the troubles you had. I wouldn't worry about "waiting til the last minute to respond." Remember many people make a choice last minute because they are choosing between programs. RubyBright and callista 2
erew Posted April 9, 2013 Author Posted April 9, 2013 I did as you recommended and received a very short Email with no real answer to who to contact or whether I'll be contacted once it's processed. Nevertheless, it was signed for this morning and the amount they were to receive through the wire transfer is now reflected in my account. Looks like all that stress was for nothing, ha. Oh, to think this is just the beginning of the stress that's yet to come. ;-) Anyway, best of luck to you and your future goals. Thanks again!
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