It's that time of year. You've gotten accepted to your dream school and you have received your high school diploma. It's time to register for your fall semester classes! I have had some interesting class registration experiences, so I'm here to tell you of what I've learned from it. It's and exciting time but stressful if not prepared. Here are some tips to help you create that almost perfect class schedule:
1. Be prepared for registration time.
Go over the school, as well as your major course requirements, and make sure you know what credit hours you need. Make sure you've spoken with an advisor, fulfilled your prerequisites, claimed any dual credits, have good internet connection, and have your registration number, so you don't run into any hiccups while registering. The more prepared you are, the smoother the process will be, and you'll hopefully get the classes you want.
2. Know your productive hours.
Some colleges you may not have a choice (like mine) whether you want an 8AM or Noon, because of the smaller school size. But if your school does offer a variety than take advantage of that. Are you a morning person? Maybe an afternoon person? Before you start looking at your college schedule, know what times of the day you are most productive. For example, I try and schedule my classes in the morning, because I like to have classes done before noon and be able to focus on blog stuff and club responsibilities in the afternoons. Be realistic, and create a schedule that works and that you'll be happy with.
3. Discuss classes with past students.
Does your school have a FB page to discuss classes or rate professors? Maybe consider starting one, because it really does help talking with students that have taken the classes you need to take. Ask around about a professor's teaching style, grading scheme, exams, homework, and general interest in the students. Don't be afraid to go up to those seniors and ask them for a class opinion and recommendation, you might even make a friend out of it. Also, Rate My Professor is a great resource for your university/college's student feedback.
4. Use a guide to plan your classes.
I have done this every time I've needed to register for classes. Being able to block out times and visually see what your days would look like greatly helps in the planning process. I recommend using a computer program such as Excel, or a site like MyEdu. You can customize the colors and see what class you have at what time, so you don't accidentally overlap in scheduling. Below is an example of what a schedule would look like. The only con with MyEdu is that it's not available at all schools, mostly smaller colleges aren't on there.
No matter how much you plan and perfect your schedule, most likely you'll have to take a class you weren't planning on because your first pick got filled up. This happened to me a lot because my school registers by how many credits we have. So those with 50 plus credits obviously register before those with 15, which means some classes you want might be filled up before you can register. In case this happens, save yourself some frustrations and have some back up classes just in case. They don't even have to be a different class, maybe just change the section of time.
6. Make sure to have FUN!
Scheduling your classes should be an exciting experience, because with every semester down, is one closer to graduation. Think of those registration periods as a stepping stone for your future, because that's what they are.
