With each new semester comes great responsibility. Like, you’re choosing your fate for the next semester and you’re making sure you’re on track to graduate on time while also attempting to dodge Friday classes, morning classes and possibly even night classes. Honestly, choosing classes in college is like playing a video game except a little bit more crying and a lot more sighing.
Anyway, now that you’re sufficiently concerned, here is a huge and helpful guide to registering for and choosing classes in college.
1. Suck it up when it comes to time slots.
If there’s a class you really want to take but the time that it’s offered is crap, take the class. Trust me, I took a Friday late afternoon class (gross) because it was about the Darkside of Relationships, which sounded incredibly interesting to me. I didn’t want class on Friday, but this class is one of my favorite classes of all time so I’m glad I sucked it up and took a shitty time slot to get an awesome class.
Think about it, in the future will you remember the time you didn’t have a morning class on Tuesdays or the lessons you learned in the interesting class you took?
2. Map out your classes.
Your school might offer a service that shows you which classes you’ve taken and which classes you still need to graduate. If not, bust open Google Sheets and map out your plan. Actually, even if it does it might help to make your own plan.
Take note of classes only offered in the fall or spring and take note of classes that have prerequisites or can only be taken in certain years. This will help you with choosing classes in college for every semester to come.
I have a master document where I broke up the classes I need by category or type so I can keep track of what I am taking and what I plan to take as well.
3. Add variety to your classes.
If you can avoid it, don’t take multiple classes that are very similar or with the same professor in one semester. This semester a lot of my classes are upper level communications classes and needless to say I’m getting a lot of overlap with what I’m learning and it’s driving me crazy. I also have the same professor for two classes and while it’s not horrible, it is very overwhelming because a lot of due dates and exams fall on the same day.
Basically, if you can take two computer classes, an english class and a math class, that’s probably better than taking four computer classes and a math class. Variety will keep you sane.
4. Ask questions.
Feel free to e-mail professors asking to learn more about the class whether it be if it’s discussion-based or what topics will be taught or focused on. There’s no harm in sending an e-mail. Definitely reach out to your college’s registrar or class registration center if you have questions about times, prerequisites or anything else. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I almost registered for a class that was being taught in a different country, so I’m still glad I double checked by calling Registrar first and e-mailing the professor!
5. Be honest with yourself.
If you know taking four classes in a row will destroy you, attempt to avoid it. If you know you sleep through every morning class you take, try to avoid it. This is common sense, but don’t kid yourself when you’re choosing time slots for your classes.
Also be aware of you kidding yourself. You might not want morning classes and claim you can’t deal with them but if you know you can handle them just fine, own it and embrace it and take the class.
6. Know that you can’t always control your schedule.
Sometimes every class you need falls on the same day. Sometimes you won’t get a day off. Complain about it for a day and then embrace it and hope for the best next semester. There’s always a bright side to a “bad” schedule, you might just need to look a little bit harder for some of them. For example, if you have all 8 AM classes the bright side is that your entire day is free–you’re in class and then you’re done.
7. Look up the professor reviews but take it with a grain of salt.
I say this all of the time, but it still reigns true. Rate My Professors or other similar sites can be helpful but sometimes they’re very inaccurate. If you have friends who have had those professors, try asking them about the work load or quality of the teaching rather than how nice the professor is.
As much as it sucks to hear this, sometimes the really nice, chill professor who doesn’t teach and is an easy grader isn’t the best option. Sometimes you need to take the “hard ass” who teaches a lot of important information.
8. Make a bunch of mock up schedules.
I make myself a little template with each day of the week and each class time slot and print a few copies. Then, I make a bunch of mock-up schedules to see what my semester would be like if I chose those classes. This is super easy to create over Google Sheets.
This also helps you see if you accidentally chose two classes that are the same day and same time or if you’ve absolutely overbooked yourself for one day. It’s also good for figuring out when you can work or intern during the semester.
9. Have multiple back up plans.
I don’t know about your school, but at my school you oftentimes don’t get your top choices. Choosing classes in college can be savage and you oftentimes don’t get into the classes you initially planned on taking. A back up plan is crucial, I recommend having a few back up classes.
These back up classes can be classes that also fill the same requirement, different time slots of the same class or an elective if you have the space for it.
10. Figure out which classes are absolutely non-negotiable for this semester.
If there’s a class you NEED to take this semester because it won’t be offered again or you need it in order to take another class later on, take note of this. Sometimes you may have the majority of your classes be non-negotiable, so you don’t have room to play with your schedule, but know that every semester (likely) won’t be like this.
11. Don’t rely on overrides.
I’m not sure if every college does this, but an override is when the class is filled up so you get permission to join the class after. Don’t assume you’ll be let in to every class you want to take and don’t assume the professor will just let you in. Oftentimes you need to be a senior or have a very valid reason in order to work your way into a class.
Also, if you can still take the class but at a different time or with a different professor, your chance of getting an override is very slim unless you have something legitimate not allowing you to take the other class. Namely, your reason can’t be “I don’t want class on Friday.”
12. Check prerequisites and other information.
If the class is only for certain majors or you need a different class in order to take this one, look it up and double check! I learned this the hard way. Trust me on this one.
13. Before choosing electives, make sure you have the space to do so.
If you have two more semesters, which is ten more classes and you need eight more required classes in your major and minor to graduate, you have two electives to play with. Use them wisely. Before you take a bunch of random elective courses, make sure you have the room to do so and still graduate on time.
My huge pet peeve is when students take a bunch of electives because they don’t have a plan and later realize they’re going to need to take extra courses and winter classes so they graduate on time.
14. Consider studying abroad, work internships and other outside factors.
If you plan on studying abroad for a semester, look into that before choosing your classes. You can also see your adviser and they can potential help you figure out what you should or should not take to prepare for this. This also goes for internships–which days do you need free in order to intern?
15. See your adviser.
Advisers are often hit or miss. Like, they can be incredibly useless and clueless or they can help you get your life together. If your adviser is not helpful at all, hit up the advising center at your school, change your adviser or ask a friend who’s on top of their game for some help. Asking for help always works.
16. Read the course description.
Before choosing a class, read the description of it. This is crucial because it’s nice to know what you’re signing up for. If you can’t find this, try Googling “YOUR SCHOOL course catalog” or “YOUR SCHOOL course descriptions.” This is also helpful to find out if a class is discussion-based or not, which some people might not enjoy.
17. Count your credits.
Be sure to take the amount you need to be a full-time student but not to take so many that you’ll be charged extra, unless you so choose to do so. Be aware of how many credits your classes are and add them up for each of your potential schedules.
18. Start early.
Don’t wait until the night before to choose your classes, but do keep checking to see if your classes have filled up if you don’t get to choose classes first. Keep yourself up to date with what’s going on, but try to plan your schedules out at least a week before you choose classes.
What are your tips for choosing classes in college?
