Passing by the Skin of My Teeth at the UNC

Friday, March 21st, 2014 brought a huge victory for me, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me take you back to February 3rd, 2014.

It was my first day as a student at the psychology school at the National University of Córdoba (UNC). I didn’t know a single soul, and yet the place was more crowded than a Ricky Martin concert.

Two and a half weeks later, I took and passed my first exam with a grade of 4, which, suffice it to say, is the kind of score you get when you’ve passed by the skin of your teeth. Still, I gave myself credit because it’s not easy to read, study, and truly understand an academic textbook written in a language I’m not used to reading.

Yes, I’m American, but I’m also Latino who was raised in the States for most of my life and have been immersed in English since before I was five. Because of that, my reading and writing skills in Spanish are extremely rusty. I've found that to be the case for a lot of us hyphenated Americans (as some racists like to call us).

A week and a half later, we had to turn in a term paper. The other two people in my group helped me with parts of it, and I ended up getting a 7, which at the university is equivalent to a B in the U.S.

Two weeks after that, I took the second test. Some would consider it the final exam for the term if you scored a 7 or higher on both the first and second exams. Unfortunately, I got a 2, and you need at least a 4 to begin what’s considered year one of the psychology degree program. I was obviously bummed because I had worked my butt off studying for hours on end.

Fortunately, I was given a second chance to make up the test with the lowest score. I crammed for the exam and took it again two days later. After 48 grueling hours of waiting, very impatiently, I finally got my result.

It was a 4.

With a 4 on the first exam, a 4 on the second, and a 7 on the term paper, I’m now officially able to enroll in all first year psychology courses beginning April 1st. As an added bonus, I also get a student bus pass, a lunch card that lets me eat at the university cafeteria for practically nothing, and access to the campus gym. I can check out books from the library, and I now have dental and other health benefits as well.

Because I scored a 4 on both exams instead of a 7 on each, I still have to take a final exam for the pre college course I just completed and pass it before the end of the year. I get six chances throughout the year to retake this exam until I pass. It essentially combines the material from the first and second exams. If I don’t pass it, I won’t be able to take the final exams for my first year psychology courses at the end of the year.

What this means is that I still have a lot of work ahead of me. In addition to my regular course load, I’ll also need to prepare for that final exam to make sure all of my other coursework counts.

Now, what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten a 4 on the second exam? I wouldn’t have been able to register for any courses other than a non intensive version of the pre college course I just finished. That would have set me back an entire year, which at 36 is a significant loss.

All in all, I think I did really well. On top of that, I’ve met some incredible people along the way. The folks below are those people.

I have two weeks before the new term starts, and I plan to enjoy every single moment of that free time. In fact, I’ll be taking a trip to the province of San Juan very soon, and I’m really hoping this place lives up to the expectations. 

As soon as I get back, I’ll be updating the blog with photos and videos from the trip, along with whatever stories come out of it.

For now, though, I’m taking a moment to appreciate how far I’ve come. Not everything has gone as smoothly as I would have wanted, but I pushed through and made it to the next step.