Missing VIsual and Performing Arts A-G requirement

bagl
Fri, 18 Nov 2022 09:55:15 +0000

Hello! I am a high school graduate currently applying to universities in my home state of California. I have just now discovered that, despite my otherwise good academic record, I am technically ineligible for admission to CSU schools solely because I am missing the “1 Year of Visual and Performing Arts” section of the A-G Requirements, as I was never enrolled in such a course. I was vaguely aware that such a requirement existed, but I was under the impression that my counselor had composed my schedule in a way that I would meet the bare minimum requirements to be eligible for state universities and that any necessary criteria had already been met by a previous course or was in progress or wouldn’t be an issue. It was never once mentioned or brought up by my counselor at any point (including the frequent mandatory student-counselor meetings, discussions regarding my schedule or discussion of college-related plans) that I would be ineligible for admission to state universities upon graduation: I’d at least expect something as urgent as this to be conveyed to me at some point in the process, as there were many opportunities to do so and multiple solutions that could have been worked out on short notice (such as taking an AP exam to fulfill the requirement) if only I was aware of the issue. I understand that this is partially my responsibility, and I don’t mean to sound entitled, but I can’t help but feel that this is an important part of a school counselor’s job that was simply neglected here. As a working student who’s often preoccupied with other responsibilities, finding out at the last minute that I’m ineligible for the universities I’ve applied to because of some little meticulous detail that was never addressed by the people whose job is to manage such things is, well, a little frustrating. I’ve tried emailing CSU admissions offices, but they’ve been unsympathetic to my situation thus far and seem to be very strict about this. They’ve mainly just restated their official position that all requirements must be met prior to graduation, and that I’m out of luck unless I go to a community college to attain the necessary credits. I’m just looking for constructive advice here; any comments are appreciated. Thank you!