So, here’s the tea.

There are few inanimate objects that really make me want to kill a bitch. I lie, there are many objects that do this, however, the ones that I will be addressing today are: University/College websites. They suck ass and I don’t mean one of them, I mean ALL of them.

Their issue is not with interface or general aesthetic, they are usually really nice to look at. I am sure that they are simple to navigate for a student who has already been enrolled in the institute before but I am speaking from the perspective of a newcomer. Their issue is the sheer lack of available information as well as their confusing and often contradictory instructions.

Let’s start with the lack of information. As someone who isn’t going into STEM, I have learnt NOTHING. They’ll give you the dictionary definition of your faculty but then you’re on your own, kiddo! The information that I did manage to acquire came from contacting the lecturers themselves and even they took a while to reply (because they are respected individuals with a profession that requires attention even outside of set work hours). When choosing electives not only was I extremely lost but so were my peers! For the life of me I could not find any definitive tips or rules regarding registration. Even now, I can’t even find the list of prescribed textbooks, smh…

When registering I was told to contact a specific individual who then told me to contact a certain department who THEN told me to contact the individual whom I had contacted in the first place. When receiving my timetable for the year I deadass couldn’t read it. I’m not dismissing the possibility that I could just be extremely dumb, however, I like to think that I did the best I could seeing that I was a future freshman armed with no instructions whatsoever. For those wondering if I ever figured out the timetable, I didn’t. A sophomore friend created a friendlier, more organised timetable for me. I’m not a dude but I for sure felt both grateful and emasculated at the same time. Why is a website giving me emotional turmoil, do I seem like a Tumblr chick to you? On second thought, maybe don’t answer that…

Even when applying for college, every website just seemed so complicated. My theory is that they weed out the weak ones by purposefully making their sites a living hell. There was a stage where I had an outstanding contract which I didn’t even know that I had to send the college a physical copy of until months later when one of my fellow peers where discussing their application process and their sibling was already attending the institution! I read things through. As Gina Linetti as I am, when it comes to college applications I go FULL Amy Santiago on those hos. Until very recently I’ve just been floating in a deep abyss of anxiety and confusion and all because of a college website.

What bothers me most about this is that this ain’t an unsolvable problem. If a uni IT guy ever comes across this: WEBSITES SHOULDN’T MAKE YOU STRESSED! None of this is a jab at the universities themselves, I for one totally dig my college, but if you teach web design you should at least have a user-friendly website, ya feel? Work from the perspective of a high school senior…you know, the people you want to attract in the first place. If you feel me, feel free to comment on this post because tbh I feel personally attacked by university websites.

Think of the children!

-Birdie