What’s the most stressful day of the semester? Okay, besides exams… most stressful five minutes. Yes, Registration! I’m sure your nightmares of registration include sleeping on a computer in FML to beat the early morning computer rush and being forced into Woodworking 101 for a three hour class twice a week, yikes! Not to worry, with a little preparation, you can turn your registration nightmares into a scheduling home-run!
Meet With Your Advisor (Two weeks before Registration)
Having a meeting to start out your spring registration process is the best way to get on track. A twenty minute meeting will give you great insight into how much of your core/major you have completed, the classes you need to take before the end of the year, and what elective requirements you still need to fulfill. Come to your advisor meeting with questions! He/she will not just give you your perfect schedule on a silver platter! Students in the College of Business & Economics can schedule their appointment with their advisor here: https://advisortrac.cc.lehigh.edu/TracWeb40/default.html
Don’t forget to write down your alternate pin! You do not want to lose this!
Pre-registration Survey (Two weeks before Registration)
Don’t forget to take the survey prior to registration. Here is all the information on the survey: http://www.lehigh.edu/registrar/students/preregsurveyinfo.html
Talk to Friends (Two weeks before Registration)
Now that you know what classes you are taking next semester, take advantage of your friends who have taken them before! Ask your sorority sisters, Gryphons, or upperclassmen in your organizations what they thought of their professor, or if the other professor teaching the course was better. Especially if you are looking for interesting electives, pick the brains of those older and wiser!
MyEdu.com (One week before Registration)
My love affair with this website is actually questionable during registration season. It’s a free site that allows you to try out different sections of multiple classes to make a schedule that fits. You can also use the “schedule generator” tool to have MyEdu create multiple schedule options based on certain hours you want to have classes.
Have Multiple Options for Schedules (One week before Registration)
This was my biggest regret during spring semester registration! Make sure to have multiple schedules to choose from in case sections fill up before you register. Use different sections of each core class, as well as multiple elective classes that fulfill credit requirements. Around five different schedules should be safe come registration day. Write them out with the name of the class and the course registration number for each, every second counts when registration opens!
Check Class Availability (Day before Registration)
Especially for my fellow underclassmen girls, those upperclassmen are vultures when it comes to easy elective classes, so do your homework! Because the seniors, juniors, and sophomores register first, be sure to check Course Site the night before registration and be sure there are spots available for your elective class. This could narrow down your schedule options, and you may have to find other elective options!
Wake Up Early! (Registration Day)
Early bird gets the worm, ladies! At this point you should have plenty of full schedule options with registration numbers ready, so the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight! Set a zillion alarms on your phone just in case, and make the biannual dash to the nearest computer lab! If you arrive at Grace Hall twenty minutes before registration and all of the computers are full, don’t stress. Using an Ethernet cord in your dorm gives you just as good of an Internet connection
Most importantly, don’t let registration anxiety get the best of you! As long as you adequately prepare, registration will be a breeze.
Happy registering! May the odds be ever in your favor ;) xoxo
Picture Sources
http://honors.utah.edu/a-welcome-to-freshmen/welcome_incoming_freshme/2759
http://hashcampuslife.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/tech-talk-myedu-online-cl…
http://www.sohe.wisc.edu/undergraduate-career-advising.htm
http://anneelliott.com/2010/07/a-peek-into-my-notebook-and-computer/