It’s that time of year again for all current Hope students – the exciting (and sometimes dreaded) scheduling for next semester. Class of 2018, this isn’t anything to worry about until the end of your first semester. Regardless, here’s some tips to get ahead of the crowd when it comes to beating the stress of writing, re-writing, and editing your schedule when the time comes later this fall.
I do feel as though I should mention this before beginning: being a Communications major, I have a relatively flexible schedule in order to complete my major requirements. Many of my classes do not have prerequisites, and therefore it makes my scheduling significantly more stress-free in that I have many options to complete the classes required for my major. Prior to registering, be sure you are informed about the requirements of your major and look up prerequisites that may apply. Many math, science, and some English courses require lower-level classes be taken prior to some higher-level ones. Other majors also apply for completion of prerequisites, so again, definitely check this out before scheduling your classes.
1. Check out the email that Hope sent out a couple of days ago. In it, there’s a link for the class scheduling paper we had last semester (if you can’t locate the email, you can find the link here.) This makes it easy to compare your first and second choices as well as write them on a daily schedule to ensure you’re not overlapping classes!
2. Meet with your advisor or “someone who knows something” about your field (suggestion: department chairperson or a professor you really like from your major.) They’ll be the most knowledgeable to assist you with deciding which classes to take. Your First Year Seminar professor is also a good resource to have, but it is also essential to meet with someone from your field of study as well if it is possible.
3. Choose a good amount of second, third, and sometimes fourth choice classes. If you have a lot of General Education courses to take, organizing these as second options is the best way to complete requirements if you cannot
3. Look at your time to register WAY before the actual dates begin. This way, you can prepare yourself to know the date and time of your registering date. Although you cannot miss class to submit your schedule, if your class happens to overlap the time of your scheduling, try to be organized prior to class in order to schedule for next semester immediately after your class is over.
4. Seriously, don’t worry. It may seem like a stressful process, but there are always other options if you don’t make it into the classes you want following your registration time. There are times you can email the professor to enter the course if it is already closed. Also, the registrar’s office does a great job of helping out students in need of more credits if many courses are closed at the time of registration.
Best wishes to current students as this process begins on Sunday! Personally, I’m looking forward to getting these classes scheduled for this fall. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes on Monday. Check out my Twitter feed @hopesophie17! If you have questions, comments, or want to learn more, please feel free to email me at sophie.guetzko@hope.edu.