While most students are content with lounging at the social pool and ignoring the approaching loom of finals, Tulane seems intent on reminding everyone the end of the semester is nearing. Whether it’s through housing and storage unit emails or the inescapable “Fuel for Finals!” dining posters, disregarding the upcoming end of the school year is proving nearly impossible. The constant notifications regarding class registration times don’t help matters either, and in fact serve as the most sobering reminder of the semester’s end. The stress of choosing future classes while attempting to survive the ones you’re in now is never enjoyable, and I can’t help you make it so. But I can help you get through the process as painlessly as possible, so you can return to tanning and deleting your Scottie C. emails in peace.
DO: Meet with an academic advisor. The Academic Advising Center typically consists of three or four semi-stressed out students, a desk attendant, and calm group of advisors. The week before class registration, however, the place transforms into a madhouse. Appointments must be made a week or two in advance, and I personally saw two students crying at my session last week. But the Academic Advising Center turns into a madhouse because it’s helpful, and students know it’s helpful. Although finding a time slot before registration would be a small miracle at this point, as the process begins so soon, periodically checking the website isn’t entirely futile. Cancellations are common, and you may be able to snag a newly opened spot before someone else sees it. If you can’t score an appointment and still have questions regarding your schedule, sending an email to your designated advisor is the next best thing. While not as informative as a one-on-one session, an advisor can quickly clear up confusions and calm your nerves.
DO: Have a plan. If your registration time slot is Wednesday, April 17 at 2:00 pm, Wednesday, April 17 at 2:00 pm is not the time to begin casually browsing the class options on Gibson. Well in advance of registration, carefully plan your schedule and the actual process of registering will be relatively headache free. Peruse the site Rate My Professor, talk to older students, and familiarize yourself with the requirements of your major and/or minor. Selecting classes is a very important decision, and you will be more apt to make a good one if you plan in advance.
DON’T: Register late. Five minutes before my registration time I will be sitting anxiously at my computer, obsessively watching the clock. All classes have a size limit, and some are quite small. Some are quite large as well, but even these are free of guarantee. Classes fill up fast, especially popular ones, so it’s imperative to register as soon as you can.
DO: Sign up for waitlists. You can sit at your computer with a carefully crafted schedule and register at precisely the right time and still not get into all the classes you want. It’s life. I remember compulsively checking the number of available seats in classes during last semester’s registration period. I slowly watched the numbers dwindle, and as they decreased so did my hopes of having a complete schedule. However, there’s still hope, even when the class says full. Waitlists are your friend. Many people rearrange their schedules, and thus it’s actually fairly easy to move off a waitlist and into a class.