Scheduling Classes

A college freshman’s first semester can be a roller coaster ride. Proper scheduling will help smooth out some of the hills and valleys found in these early new challenges. Early registration for classes is critical in aiding class selection. Any opportunity that allows earlier registration should be closely examined. For example, if college freshmen with the last names starting with M are scheduled to register at 11:30 am, arrive at 10:30 am and jump on any chance to register early. As I have mentioned before, if being enrolled in the honor’s program on campus allows earlier registration, investigate the requirements for the honor’s program and join briefly if necessary. Many a college freshman has waited until the last possible moment to register and been left out in the cold for the good classes. What remains is the left over, late night or early morning classes that only add to the challenges of the 1st semester.

A college freshman will want to meet with a faculty member to help assist in the scheduling process. Professors often reserve hours to meet with incoming freshman about class selection. Sign-up sheets are sometimes posted to allow one-on-one teacher/student discussion. Pick the earliest time available and be prepared with a list of questions. Some schools do not let you register if you do not see your advisor first. Make sure your advisor clears you via the computer for registration. If he forgets, you are left out in the cold.

Whenever possible, diagram your complete college schedule from start to finish. Realize that some key class in your major may be offered only once during a year. In addition, critical courses may be required before participation in upper level coursework can occur. These key courses’ time slots may change, however at least you planned a rough scheduling draft to avoid delays. Anticipate summer participation if you think it will be required, to aid in your scheduling thought process. Enter your classes in the computer as quickly as possible. It may be a few seconds between you getting the class you wanted versus not getting it. If a class is taken, finish your list then search for a replacement class.

A full-time spring and fall semester load is at least 12 college hours on most campuses. During the summer months 6 college hours are required at most schools to be considered full-time. Scholarships that require a student to be full-time for benefits will only pay if the set number of hours is maintained. Students that sign up for 12 hours in the fall and drop a class may loose their scholarship benefits. Moreover, many professors will not recommend more than 18 hours for a beginning freshman, and more than 20 often requires permission from the dean during the spring and fall semesters. Fifteen hours is a fair amount the first semester. It leaves room for dropping one class but still remaining full time.

Several students have been caught in the above predicament. Freshmen that allow flexibility to drop a lecture class often do not consider the laboratory involvement. Therefore, after the freshmen drops the lecture, they are left to struggle in the laboratory without lecture discussion on the involved topics. A poor grade may result from such failures and may start a downhill grade point average slide.

College freshman should avoid the dreaded (W) withdrawal whenever possible. However, in many cases college freshman do not have the connections on campus to be wary of excessively tough faculty members and classes.

In general, if you pick a class taught by the dean of a program, be prepared for maximal studying and tedious test taking. W’s will show up on all classes from which you withdraw on your college transcript. Graduate schools and employers may look unfavorably on applications, if too many W’s are found on a college transcript.

Normally, a set date is identified to be the latest time students can withdraw from a course. Professors often give at least 1 test prior to the withdrawal date to help students identify their position in the course. However, it should be noted that this is not always the case. Some midterms will be scheduled to fall just after, or prior to the withdrawal date, and students will have to take an educated guess on their position in the class. Moreover, some professors set the bar low on the first test to allow students to get a feel for the exam, and then really turn up the intensity following the withdrawal date. Also, usually during the first week of classes, you can change your schedule without being credited with a “W.”

Students that are early risers will want earlier class times. Be cautious of starting classes too late during the day, if you want to work a campus job, off-campus job or if you are commuting to college. Businesses are looking for college employees’ that have large time blocks available for work. Businesses will not hire students with only 1-2 hours of available work time in a block, because that employee never gets up to speed on business operations. Commuters may find difficulty with parking and traffic if scheduling mid-day classes. Parking spaces on most campuses are at a premium and reserved for faculty and senior students.