torquill | Well then.

I talked to the peer advisor today.

I told her where I was, what classes I thought I still needed, and that I was running out and wanted to check on how close to graduation I am. By my figuring, I needed a total of 45 credits, from 35 units of required courses and 10 in electives. I'd have to scrounge another eight units in electives at this point, and graduate next June.

She ran the numbers and said that I need 38 credits including required courses, and (with the Entomology elective I want to take anyway) I'm set. I'm waiting on two classes that are only offered in Winter quarter, but those would be the last ones... and I'd be set for graduation after Winter quarter.

Graduation before the end of March? Yes, please!

It's kind of mind-boggling, really. I first entered college in fall of 1994. I'm still working on my first Bachelor's twelve years later. Sure, I was planning to graduate and go into the postgrad program here... someday...

Suddenly the indefinite future isn't looking so indefinite. Summer session and two quarters. Almost exactly the same number of weeks as I've already spent here, at this moment, with several weeks of vacation to break it up.

I should make a note of the deadlines to file for graduation and to enter the graduate program; I also need to look at the graduate program as something other than a black box, and start asking questions at the department. By this time next year I'll either be off school for a quarter, or in the middle of my first quarter as a postgrad. Yikes.

As a plus, suddenly the state of my academic standing (units taken per quarter) doesn't look so dire. Neither does financial aid. I need to take care with both of them, but I don't have to think about more than a year down the line, as I had been doing.