Opinion
Registering for classes causes stress
November 18, 2011
It’s that time again. The time where every student on campus is trying to plan out his or her schedule for next semester. Professors and advisors advise you to plan out your schedule plenty ahead of time so you don’t have as much to figure out right before you have to click that enroll button on eSIS. But there are always some complications when it comes to registering and planning out schedules.
I had to register for classes on Nov. 15. For one of my classes it was an assignment to have a schedule planned out, though I still found the night before that half the classes I had picked out where already full. It can be unbelievably frustrating when you specifically want a certain class and it gets filled the night before you register or even more annoying, a half hour before.
Everyone wants a schedule that fits their lifestyle, but how many other students on campus have the same wants or needs? There are many college students who prefer to start their day later than 8 a.m., so the later morning classes can be often a little difficult to get if you’re registering late. Those that go back to their hometown on weekends might prefer Friday classes to be earlier in the day so they don’t have to wait and leave campus late. There is nothing like those who are leaving school at 4 p.m. when they’ve got a four-hour plus drive ahead of them.
There are a lot of classes that are available, but times for those classes are limited which can cause quite a problem when you need to take five to six classes and get all the times to work around each other.
General classes, I find, are always the most difficult to get into because all students want to get them completed before starting the majority of their major classes. There are some upperclassmen however, that have procrastinated on getting certain Gen Ed. classes until a semester or two before they graduate, which can be problematic as well. Luckily for them, they usually have priority for enrolling before lowerclassmen so getting into certain classes might not be such a hassle.
To avoid some of these registration problems, planning a tentative schedule and an alternative schedule in case a class or two get filled before you can enroll could help tremendously. Making sure you have enough credits and trying to figure out what classes can double count for generals and majors or minors is always helpful too. Why take more classes than necessary, right? Students take 15 credits on average per semester and to be considered a full-time student you must be taking at least 12 credits. Be sure to use an updated Degree Progress Report so that you are taking the correct classes.
Meeting with your advisor to get your pin number that is required for registration is also a time for you to ask questions you may have about your future schedule.
Remember, if you didn’t get into a certain class, keep checking back to see if someone dropped it. You’ve got a few months before second semester classes start so there is time for students to change their schedules around. Registering for classes can be quite frustrating, but if you are prepared and have alternative solutions you can avoid scrambling to find a last minute replacement class.
Samantha Mayberry is a junior and is majoring in journalism. She is from Rochester, Minn., and loves to read, listen to music and take pictures.