Course registration is highly regarded as one of the most stressful periods of the semester. You’re scrambling to figure out which classes you want to take and if there’s enough seats for you, all for your fate to be left to good WiFi and quick clicking. The first time I went through the process I was overwhelmed, but after four registration cycles and a few tears I think I’ve developed a pretty good system for staying sane and organized throughout it all! Here are my six tips for a smooth course registration:
- Browse the WHOLE course catalog
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The registrar sends out an email a few weeks before course registration with a link to the course catalog. This is where you can see every course being offered at Colgate in the coming semester!Â
I always find it fun and helpful to look at the different courses and their descriptions to figure out what I might want to take. You can sort through the courses by department, requirement and even meeting time! Be sure to take note of how many seats a course has and whether it’s restricted to certain class years or has certain prerequisites. You don’t want to get excited for a course you can’t take!
When making your list of potential courses, you should write down any and every course that looks interesting. Have back-ups for your back-ups! This especially applies to underclassmen who register after the upperclassmen. Unfortunately, a lot of classes will fill before you even attempt to register, so you’ll need to have other courses you’d be okay taking. Have an open mind—sometimes you end up loving the classes you didn’t originally want! Especially if you haven’t declared your major, exploring different departments can help you dip into new areas and explore the liberal arts curriculum.
- Meet with your advisor!
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This step is SUPER IMPORTANT and required by Colgate! Your advisor gives you a unique pin that you will need to enter into the website when it’s your time to register. The pin changes every semester, so you can’t use a previous one. When your advisor tells you your pin, make sure to write it down in a place you’ll remember to look and double check you have it right. I like to use the notes app on my phone! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Most advisors will not be able to get you your pin on registration night so you need to be proactive.
In this meeting, you should also run your potential schedule and backup options by your advisor. They can help you confirm that your potential courses meet your major and graduation credit requirements and that there are no classes that overlap timewise. Your advisor can also give you some insider tips on professors and backup classes to potentially take that align with your interests.Â
- Send email introductions
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If you’re hoping to get a course but are worried it’s going to fill up before your allotted time, email the professor who is assigned to teach it! Professors have the ability to add extra students to a course after registration ends, especially if it’s really popular, so you want to stand out.
You should introduce yourself (if you don’t already know the professor) with your name, major/minor, and a few sentences about why you want to take the course. Make this part sing—explain how the course would help your education and career. If a professor is going to add an extra seat to the course, they want it to be filled by someone who wants to be there!
If the professor’s office hours are posted online you can introduce yourself in person, but it’s totally okay to just send an email, even if you haven’t met them. Professors are used to it! The key is to get your name and interest in their minds in case you need to follow up if you didn’t get the course.
- Organize your space
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Since a lot of the success of course registration depends on timing, there are a few things you can do to increase your efficiency.
Colgate’s registration portal has a feature called “plan ahead”, which I’ve used every time. I’ve linked the full instructions here, but the feature pretty much lets you save classes in a “plan” so you can easily find them when it’s time to register. You don’t want to waste time searching up the courses, so this step is crucial! I like to create multiple plans with my different backups in case I attempt to register for classes and one of them doesn’t work out.
You should also plan to register for courses somewhere with good WiFi. If your dorm room doesn’t have the best connection, consider finding a study room or other academic space on campus that you know will be reliable. I’ve heard a few horror stories about my friends’ computers glitching because of the connection, so you don’t want to take the risk!
Make sure to have your pin ready to go. Even if your last name isn’t in the first time slot, you should make sure the registration screen is refreshed and have your pin copied into the text bar. This way, when the clock hits your time, all you have to do is press one button to enter into the registration section.
Speaking of times, set your computer’s clock to show seconds! You want to jump into registration the SECOND it hits your assigned time.
- REGISTER
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And now, the scary part! Click into the registration section and add your courses to the little box at the bottom of the screen. Make sure you don’t put in too many credits/backups, or else the system will not register you for any of the classes. Once the courses are all in and say “attempt to register” next to their names, click submit! The screen will reload and you’ll be able to see whether or not you got into your classes. If all of the boxes say “registered”, you did it! Congratulations!
- Don’t fret
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If you had to use some of your back-ups or aren’t thrilled about the courses you ended up with, don’t worry! There are a couple systems you can take advantage of to try to get into the classes you want.Â
Get on the waitlist! Once you have registered for your classes, you can “attempt to waitlist” as many other classes as you want. Do this quickly, as the waitlist is first come first served. Sometimes students drop classes they thought they wanted, leaving an open spot. If you’re next on the waitlist, Colgate will email you and give you 24 hours to register for the course! I’ve done this a couple of times and gotten off the waitlist as soon as a week after registration. I recommend staying on until the beginning of the next semester when they remove the waitlist. You never know how far up you are and how many seats will open!
Now is also the time to use any connections you made with professors! Explain how you didn’t get the course, but are on the waitlist and are still very interested. They may be able to add a seat for you or tell you when they’ll be offering the course again.
And remember, there’s always Drop/Add. You can go to the classes you hope to get into at the beginning of the semester and ask about open seats. Professors are usually willing to work with you on getting into the class if you’re respectful and dedicated! Keep your eye on the course catalog for open seats, as Colgate won’t let you know about them once Drop/Add has started. I’ve always had success with Drop/Add!
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Hopefully, you’re feeling a little more prepared for and confident about course registration. There are so many support systems in place to help you choose the right classes and get into the ones you want. Make sure to keep an open mind and take deep breaths. Happy registering!