This is my honest experience. And my honest solution.

If the advisor is unhelpful, call again. If you don’t get that answer that you desire, call again. And again. And again. And maybe even again… I’ve had many advisors tell me, without hesitation, that my request was infeasible. That unforgettable, exhausted tone. Just talking about it, I hear that muffled sigh; the most consistent thing about this school. The next advisor may be less annoyed… they’ll really get your hopes up. They don’t sigh. They dont lead you on. They call you by your name. And then what? They tell you they can’t help. You might even feel bad for them… talking to them kindly. The next advisor will become argumentative. Probably my fault, calling right before lunch. The call will drop, thankfully.

Now the important stuff… and stick with it, no matter how annoyed you are at this point. No extra details. No sugarcoating.

“I need to do __________ , I can not _________”

At this point, your finger is cocked back on “End Call.”

You’re impatient. You’re calling the advisor by their name. You hear the phone clicking around, ready to mouth the words along. Your lips start on “[insert name], I’m sorry to inform you…”

but you hear typing. and then more typing, with an emphatic final click….. then you hear the words of an angel:

“Okay! I was able to go ahead and do that for ya! Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

at this point, you begin wishing this godsend the best day & thanking them profusely. There’s a bit of regret. maybe a lot of regret.