Thanks for the critical feedback, I rewrote this section several times trying to get it right but sounds like things still weren't made clear. My idea from the start was that Catalina (like Catherine) was a very average student, graduating secondary school with a solid B/C average (though I have to emphasize I don't know the actual grading system used in Argentina, since it wasn't germane to the story).

After the main events of the novel she enrolls in the technical school and gets super motivated studying. But her entrance exam score was probably still average at best, and her location meant she didn't have lots of those extra activities/honors Universities like. So I theorized her university transfer application was a 50/50 shot of acceptance, and any little thing could either push her over the threshold or drag her down. My idea was that she hoped to use Dr. Figueroa as a key reference both for general admittance and help getting into the nursing program, but that her application didn't gain traction because he didn't turn the necessary paperwork in and she only found out after the fact, making it too late to substitute with someone else.

As for the doctor, his relationship with Sr. Tilve meant he was strongly discouraged (both on a personal level and by his betting partner putting on the squeeze) from doing anything to help Catalina. And once Enrique learns what happened, he turns to other avenues of work in response. I didn't want to dwell too long on this part but looks like I didn't spend enough time to make it understandable, so thanks again for both noting the confusion and forcing me to clarify my thoughts. I hope to do a full edit of this story before releasing it as an eventual eBook in the future and will certainly take this critique into consideration.