I applied for one of those college summer programs for high school kids, at Columbia University.

The application process has me absolutely stunned by its inefficiency.

For one thing, I sent them at least four e-mails requesting clarification, or any report on the status of my application. Not a single one of them has yet been returned. I mean, we're talking I sent these things at least a month ago. Heck, I was an early applicant! And aside from the whole not answering e-mails and not answering phone calls thing...

Well, I got an e-mail from them, and it says something along the lines of "Could you tell me when you attended [insert incomprehensible name] High School?" And I'm like, "I... never went to that high school. I've never even HEARD of that school! What?" So I reply saying, no, I NEVER attended that school, in fact I attend a very normally named public school.

And then after that I get an e-mail saying I can track my online application process by entering this code into the tracking webpage:

...

And there's a HUGE BLANK SPACE where the tracking code should be. What?

I reply saying, uh, hello, you didn't SEND me a code here! No return e-mail.

Finally today we get a letter from FedEx saying "I am happy to inform you that you have been admitted to Session I of Columbia University's Summer Program..." and I'm like "Yay!" And then I read on and it says "... as a residential student in the Approaches to Reading and Writing cirricular option."

...

I DID NOT APPLY FOR THAT COURSE! I applied for the Engineering course!

What is WRONG with this system?

Thankfully later today I received yet another e-mail saying, whoops, our bad, you actually did get accepted into the engineering course.

Nevertheless the inefficiency of this program is absurd! One more mixup and we are NOT paying six thousand bucks to attend there. For all I know they could end up having me down as living in the bathroom in the girl's dorms, and attending a class on The History of the Brick in a classroom that turns out to be the janitor's closet.