Queen's College Cambridge Sucks

That's right. You heard me.

Let me set the story. Here I am, singularly glad and happy to be going back to school, starting a PhD, and at Cambridge no less! I get all my paperwork in on time. When the University sends me something, I return it within 24 hours. And after researching Colleges, I put you down as my first choice. I got my formal offer from the University, I believe dated November 10th. The only thing left was to get my College membership and I would be sorted and ready to start!

So you got my paperwork somewhere around then.

One week passed.

Two weeks passed.

I called the Graduate Studies Office, they said it takes time.

Three weeks passed.

Four weeks passed.

I called the Graduate Studies Office again. They expressed alarm that you had held my paperwork for so long and said they would chase it up.

Five weeks passed.

I call again, now concerned. It's a week before people leave for Christmas. My adviser needs to know my start dates. My industrial partner needs to know my start dates. My funding is held up because I don't have a College. I can't get a rail pass (because of how my PhD is set up, I'll need to commute between London and Cambridge and on my student stipend, that rail pass will be a necessity). I can do NOTHING because I don't have a College and my application is not finalized.

So Monday I talk to Graduate Studies and finally get someone who is willing to put me on hold while they call you, Queen's College, to see what the hell is going on and why you've had my paperwork for over a month. The woman comes back to tell me that oh, you didn't realize that I was for a January start, so you just put my paperwork to the side and ignored it. Oh, and on top of that? You weren't offering me a place after keeping my papers all that time! She assured me that my papers were being sent back and I should call Thursday (today) to follow up with my second choice College since time was now so short.

So I called today.

Would you believe... no I know, you won't believe.... Queen's College hasn't sent my fucking paperwork back yet?! I know! It's very hard to believe, isn't it? I mean who would do such a thing? It's just internal mail for chrissake. And you found out that you had royally (no pun intended) fucked up on Monday and it's now Thursday and NEXT WEEK is Christmas. What the hell??

So the woman at the Graduate Studies Office was somewhat apologetic but apparently there's very little they can do when a College fucks up. In fact, there seems to be little recourse at all for when Colleges do wrong. She says to me, well you know, your application can get sent to up to five Colleges and usually we give them three to four weeks. Well that's just not possible now is it? No, it isn't because Queen's College fucked up.

So I call my second choice College directly, I mean, why wait? And I ask them if they have any places left for the Lent term (seeing as how while Queen's was sitting on my papers, other, responsible Colleges were making offers to other students) and I'm sure you see where this is going, but no, my second choice College is full now. So no good.

Now apparently, Queen's was going to 'reconsider' my application today, or that's what they told the woman at the Graduate Studies Office- but I just checked my online self service page this evening and it says Queens did not accept me. WHAT THE HELL??? Do you think I'm actually going to be offered a College place in a single day, ie, tomorrow?? You screwed up so I get screwed? That is NOT fair. And what was so wrong with me anyway? I don't need accommodation. I'm fully funded. What would it matter to you at all?? The LEAST you could do after fucking up was to try and make amends. But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck.

And you turned what was otherwise a lot of excitement and glee about going back to school into a huge fucking headache and misery. I realize there is nothing I can do, so I just hope this post gets googled and you get outed as being the hugely irresponsible organization that you obviously are.

Shame on you Queen's College. You suck.