Registering for classes especially in larger public universities can be a pain. However, today we share some essential tips that will best prepare you to enroll in your top-choice courses.
1. Create a 4-Year Plan
While this may sound challenging especially if you are an incoming college freshman, it is crucial to have an organized overview of your courses rather than a disorganized list. In college, there are several classes to take. Some classes are necessary to fulfill your major and minor requirements, others are necessary to fulfill general education requirements, and still others are necessary to fulfill your professional track requirements if you are for example on the pre-med or pre-law track. As a result, your course list can get chaotic and overwhelming. I suggest you create an Excel sheet, assigning a column to each year and further dividing the column into sections for each of your semester or quarter. You don’t have to stick to the schedule you create in the beginning of your college career, but having a general idea will save you from stress and from wasting significant time.
2. Talk to Upperclassmen
Reaching out to upperclassmen who share a common major or field of interest as you is one of the best proactive actions to take before deciding on classes. Upperclassmen have already experienced their freshmen year, and whether they had a favorable or unfavorable experience, they will have several points of advice to share. As previous students of your preferred classes, they know details that aren’t shared on the internet. For example, they have insight on which professors are better at teaching material, which classroom locations are harder to reach in time, and even whether some courses are worth it at all.
3. Check Reddit
If your college community has a Reddit page, be sure to check out what courses and professors students from your college have recommended. There are countless posts ready for you to dig through for information from experienced peers, including some who have graduated and are already matriculates of medical schools or law schools. Reddit has a wide audience and participant population. You may also directly post questions for advice on the page itself. However, take the information you find on Reddit with a grain of salt! Everyone has different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Their experience doesn’t automatically determine your experience, and you must take into account individual variances.
4. Review Teacher/Course Evaluation Scores
Some universities provide teacher and course evaluation scores to promote a transparent academic environment. These evaluations are one of the most important resources to use when planning your classes. While teachers don’t determine your grade, in a way they greatly influence your experience. These evaluations, including what percentage of the professor’s past students recommended them and what percentage of the students recommended the course, are done by hundreds of students through forms the university provides. Thus, these are credible sources to use!
5. Speak with an Academic Advisor
Academic advisors are there to support your educational journey. Make use of the professional advice they can provide you! After assisting numerous students in planning their schedules in relation to their career goals, time availability, interests, strengths, and weaknesses, academic advisors can help you with advice that also considers your post-grad years. They are professionals for a reason, so don’t miss out relying on their support. Remember, they want to help you!
6. Prepare Back-Up Plans
Course registrations come with many anomalies. It’s quite rare to have the luxury of registering for all the courses you desire. With a vast student population, the university simply cannot satisfy all the students’ top choices for their courses. Thus, you must have back-up plans to adapt to certain situations where your classes no longer have any availability. By planning ahead, you’ll save yourself from unnecessary stress.
7. Be Aware of First-Pass/Second-Pass
In larger public universities like most UCs, there are systems that incorporate the first-pass and second-pass. During the first-pass students can only enroll up to 11.5 units and in the separate second pass (which usually happens about a week later), the students can enroll up to 22 units. This depends on each university but you must be aware that you need to prioritize which classes to enroll in. Make sure to enroll in classes that you need to take for the next year and classes that are most likely going to run out of spots earlier than later.
8. Know Your Waitlist Chances
Finally, there is a 10 percent rule for waitlists. If you happen to take your chances on being on the waitlist, don’t despair! Calculate 10 percent of the total class seats. This number is usually the number of additional students the class will take. Note: This rule does not apply to all universities.
I hope these 8 tips support your academic journey in the upcoming course registrations.
Best of luck to all of you!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆
While this may sound challenging especially if you are an incoming college freshman, it is crucial to have an organized overview of your courses rather than a disorganized list. In college, there are several classes to take. Some classes are necessary to fulfill your major and minor requirements, others are necessary to fulfill general education requirements, and still others are necessary to fulfill your professional track requirements if you are for example on the pre-med or pre-law track. As a result, your course list can get chaotic and overwhelming. I suggest you create an Excel sheet, assigning a column to each year and further dividing the column into sections for each of your semester or quarter. You don’t have to stick to the schedule you create in the beginning of your college career, but having a general idea will save you from stress and from wasting significant time.
2. Talk to Upperclassmen
Reaching out to upperclassmen who share a common major or field of interest as you is one of the best proactive actions to take before deciding on classes. Upperclassmen have already experienced their freshmen year, and whether they had a favorable or unfavorable experience, they will have several points of advice to share. As previous students of your preferred classes, they know details that aren’t shared on the internet. For example, they have insight on which professors are better at teaching material, which classroom locations are harder to reach in time, and even whether some courses are worth it at all.
3. Check Reddit
If your college community has a Reddit page, be sure to check out what courses and professors students from your college have recommended. There are countless posts ready for you to dig through for information from experienced peers, including some who have graduated and are already matriculates of medical schools or law schools. Reddit has a wide audience and participant population. You may also directly post questions for advice on the page itself. However, take the information you find on Reddit with a grain of salt! Everyone has different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Their experience doesn’t automatically determine your experience, and you must take into account individual variances.
4. Review Teacher/Course Evaluation Scores
Some universities provide teacher and course evaluation scores to promote a transparent academic environment. These evaluations are one of the most important resources to use when planning your classes. While teachers don’t determine your grade, in a way they greatly influence your experience. These evaluations, including what percentage of the professor’s past students recommended them and what percentage of the students recommended the course, are done by hundreds of students through forms the university provides. Thus, these are credible sources to use!
5. Speak with an Academic Advisor
Academic advisors are there to support your educational journey. Make use of the professional advice they can provide you! After assisting numerous students in planning their schedules in relation to their career goals, time availability, interests, strengths, and weaknesses, academic advisors can help you with advice that also considers your post-grad years. They are professionals for a reason, so don’t miss out relying on their support. Remember, they want to help you!
6. Prepare Back-Up Plans
Course registrations come with many anomalies. It’s quite rare to have the luxury of registering for all the courses you desire. With a vast student population, the university simply cannot satisfy all the students’ top choices for their courses. Thus, you must have back-up plans to adapt to certain situations where your classes no longer have any availability. By planning ahead, you’ll save yourself from unnecessary stress.
7. Be Aware of First-Pass/Second-Pass
In larger public universities like most UCs, there are systems that incorporate the first-pass and second-pass. During the first-pass students can only enroll up to 11.5 units and in the separate second pass (which usually happens about a week later), the students can enroll up to 22 units. This depends on each university but you must be aware that you need to prioritize which classes to enroll in. Make sure to enroll in classes that you need to take for the next year and classes that are most likely going to run out of spots earlier than later.
8. Know Your Waitlist Chances
Finally, there is a 10 percent rule for waitlists. If you happen to take your chances on being on the waitlist, don’t despair! Calculate 10 percent of the total class seats. This number is usually the number of additional students the class will take. Note: This rule does not apply to all universities.
I hope these 8 tips support your academic journey in the upcoming course registrations.
Best of luck to all of you!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆