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UVA Course Enrollment Tips

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UVA chapter.

With Spring Enrollment right around the corner, here are some helpful tips for picking out the perfect schedule for next semester.

  1. Use Lou’s List first

Before I even open SIS to start looking through classes, I go to Lou’s List first. It is far easier to navigate, and it is very user friendly. I really like how I can visually see all the course departments and course options on one screen, which makes it the best place to start brainstorming which courses you are interested in for the next semester.

  1. Look for more descriptive course information on department websites

This is something that I did not previously know about course enrollment. Many departments, like the English department, list the course offerings for the next semester on their websites with more information about the courses. For example, the course department may go into further detail about the specific course requirements or may even provide a sample syllabus. This is an awesome way to get a better understanding of the courses you are considering taking.

  1. Use Coursicle for building sample schedules

I like Coursicle for the early stages of schedule building. It is easy to save different schedule versions, and the editing process is much more seamless than the schedule builder on SIS.

  1. Be sure to check out the course forum

The course forum is an invaluable tool to read course reviews from previous students. The course forum additionally has information about grade breakdowns and ratings on the amount of time previous students spent on the course weekly, and ratings on the difficulty of the course. This allows you to make more informed decisions about which courses you take.

  1. Turn on the seconds feature to your clock

I turn on the seconds feature on the clock on my laptop, which allows me to be ready to enroll at the exact second my enrollment appointment starts. We all know that courses fill up so quickly, so jumping in at the exact time of your enrollment appointment is a strategy to have the best chance of getting spots in your desired classes.

  1. Enroll with a singular click directly from the build my schedule tool on SIS

To save time when enrolling, I think using the schedule tool on SIS is one of the best strategies. Instead of having to manually select each course from your shopping cart, you can add all the courses in which you want to enroll into the schedule builder tool.  When your enrollment appointment starts, you can enroll in the entire schedule with a single click.

Good luck with course enrollment season!

Elizabeth Parsons is a staff writer at the University of Virginia’s Her Campus chapter. She joined the team during the 2022-2023 academic year. Elizabeth is from Virginia Beach, VA. As a fourth-year student with a passion for reading and writing, she is studying both English and French. She is also a Senior Associate of The Cavalier Daily’s Life Desk, which focuses on content specific to student life at UVA — including features of student events and organizations, food-related articles, student columns, and top 10 lists. Beyond Her Campus at UVA, Elizabeth loves sipping oat milk lattes, strolling through bookstores, reading the latest issue of The New Yorker, playing Wordle, and watching reality TV. She is always looking for book recommendations, and she loves talking about her latest reads. After spending the summer after her second-year in London, she dreams of moving to London one day. She is looking forward to another year with Her Campus and to sharing a mix of all her passions with readers. From the best lip gloss to her tips for studying abroad, Elizabeth is excited to share about all the things that matter to her.