Scheduling classes is very important for college students. Each semester students must piece together a schedule for the next semester in a short period of time.
When to Schedule Classes
Most colleges and universities give priority to upperclassmen (or students who have the most credits), allowing them to pick their classes first before the lower classmen even have access.
All students should be sure of the exact date and time they are able to schedule classes.
Classes fill up fast, and if you don’t get a pre-requisite class you need, it may cause you to spend another semester at college.
Preparing for Class Scheduling
Meet with your student advisor. Some schools require students to meet with their student advisors before being allowed to schedule. If this is the case, make sure you get an appointment with your advisor ASAP.
Students should list all the classes they need to take and all the classes they could take and list them in order from most important to least important. Try to piece together a couple different schedule options. Some schools allow you to at least see how many seats are still open for a class. Make sure you meet all the requirements for the classes you are trying to take, some classes have pre-requisites that won’t allow you to attend a class until you have taken other lower level classes.
Ask friends or other students who are the best college professors to take for which classes. Also consult RateMyProfessor.com to see what other students are saying. If there is only one class left and everyone says the professor is horrible, try to put that class off until the next semester (if it is not a pre-requisite for other classes). The next semester you will be able to schedule earlier (because you will have more credits by then) and this avoids an entire semester of hell with a bad professor.
Scheduling classes
Students should sign into the scheduling software early in order to schedule at the earliest possible time.
Go to the scheduling page and hit refresh on your browser until it lets you in. Schedule the classes that will hardest to get into first, these will be the pre-requisite classes you must take this semester to take additional courses the following semesters.
These classes typically have only a few seats open to schedule.
Fill in the rest of your classes and be aware of the times and locations of the classes so you don’t schedule classes back to back that are across campus.