Remember being in high school and looking at the description of Pomona in those Princeton Review college guides? For the most part, the people whose job it was to write about Pomona College did an accurate job. They were right about how people here either have party hook-ups or else are practically married, and they were right about the general laid-back attitude that students have. However, those writers really need to be commended for being right about one of the things that really matters; the efficiency of our administration.

Admittedly, I wasn’t very worried about how the administration of my future college would work when I was a junior in high school. Even so, Pomona grew better in my mind as I read how the administration here "runs like butter." Sure enough, I got here and I discovered just how much like butter things run. I’m pretty glad that I don’t go to some 3rd rated liberal arts college in Massachusetts, where people don’t get to learn the virtue of patience as they wait for a month to receive their grades. Those fidgety, impatient Williams kids get their grades online as soon as the teachers turn them in.

Speaking of grades, when I think of a smooth and efficient machine, I think of the Registrar’s Office. Think about it: aren’t the lovely ladies in there always so happy to see you? They’ve got a smile on their face while they attentively try to solve your problem, and sometimes they even have a little joke to brighten your day. Every once in a while, they’ll kid around with you and tell you how that class you took last semester isn’t really going to count towards PAC 8, even though they told you a million times to "just enroll in it, it’ll count at the end." And even when you start getting a little panicked, those jokers keep their poker face while they tell you to write a petition, even though it will "most likely be denied."

Those of us fortunate enough to have to deal with the Financial Aid office get to experience even more outstanding service. Just so you don’t forget about your friends in the Financial Aid office, they leave little love notes in your mailbox just about every other day, usually asking you to do something. Who needs a boyfriend when you’ve got FinAid? The letters are short and sweet. Usually, they say something about how you’ve been "randomly" selected to be verified, which means they need you to give them a receipt for absolutely everything you’ve ever bough, in addition to providing them with federal tax returns for every family ever still living. Since they know how much fun that is, they tend to ignore the randomness of it and they just make you do it every year.

Then–just like any other boyfriend–as soon as you start getting really used to having them around, the Financial Aid office starts needing their space. Right around the time that you’re reapplying for Financial Aid for next year, they virtually shut down. They ask for you to be a little patient while they help the students who are applying. It makes perfect sense; just when you need them the most, they make you learn the hard way how to be independent. Maybe other schools have a wimpy Financial Aid office that guides you through each application form, but not Pomona.

Another one of my personal favorites is the payroll department. They constantly strive to break from traditional forms of customer service. For example, when you go up to their little window, they don’t rush to go up and help you. Instead, they sit in their desks and make you yell your request across the room. Sometimes you need to yell rather loudly though, because they’re oftentimes having a conversation on the phone while they pretend to help you. Of course, it’s understandable that they would be busy. After all, they only pay you every two weeks, so they really need to get busy on that. And when your supervisor doesn’t turn in your timesheet and you’re beyond broke, you should appreciate that Payroll is giving you the opportunity to improve your volunteer skills until they get around to giving you some financial compensation.

These offices truly serve as paradigms of efficiency, and they do indeed "run like butter." Thank God the Princeton Review let me know about that before I made the foolish decision where there was lots of red tape and bungling staff.