Registering for Classes in Your First Year of University

 

Usagi Tsukino, AKA Sailor Moon getting a bad test score (tuxedounmasked.com)

As most of you know, I will be starting University next month and I am super excited to embark on the lovely (yet sometimes daunting)journey into the world of academia! Registering for your classes can seem scary but exciting and even a little confusing, all rolled into one! I wanted to share my experience in this process in hopes this blog post can help any first-time University students who are registering for their first classes! If anyone has advice, please hit me up in the comments! Again, this process can be daunting for any new student who is entering University and any tidbit of information is helpful!

The Most Important Thing You Must Know - The University Won't Chase After You

When I went to register for University and even after I signed my acceptance letter, I was bombarded with emails from the school with lots of information. A lot of it was for International students who are moving to my city for school. A lot of it was about Campus tours and Orientation. Once you are "in" you need to find basic information on your own. The school website is a cornucopia of information and I strongly suggest you log in regularly. I found out about many conferences that you can sign up for that will help you. The University won't chase you to take these and yes, you will get that information eventually but it never hurts to spend an hour of your day getting information in advance. I have noticed that these events are often held by Graduate Students who are kind enough to devote their time to help us! They went through the same experiences we are going through and can afford a lot of help sharing their knowledge with you! Most of these conferences are held online, are free to attend, and you can sit in the comfort of your own home, in your pyjamas, getting all kinds of valuable information from a fellow student!

Attend any Conference (be it in person or online) About the Registration Process

To expand on my previous point. These conferences have helped me so much and I was very cynical, even ignorant about it at first. Registration for classes has already opened up for the winter semester at my University. I have been logging into the website every day to see if I can register and I came across a Zoom meeting you can sign up for on how to register for classes. I originally thought "oh it's not that complicated. I just sign up for a bunch of classes I want to take" but I decided that a session wouldn't hurt. It was also being held on a day I wasn't working and I thought "why the hell not?" Turns out, it was a really good decision! I learned that some programs require you to take certain courses, and some must be taken in your first year too! I was shown where on the University's website I can find all the information I need about my program, what classes are mandatory and what can be taken as an elective. Turns out, for my degree, I fall under the category of having to take mandatory classes in my first year. Also, some classes are at a higher level and recommended for students who have been in the program longer. I guess that the Shakespeare class I wanted to take will have to wait a few semesters!

Also, since I am in the English department, depending on what degree I am getting (there are many different branches of English one could take, for example, my goal is to get a degree in English Literature while some students are getting a degree in creative writing, ESL, etc) there can be certain courses where either an entrance exam or an introductory (sometimes non-credit) course required if you don't pass that entrance exam.  This all depends on your level of English.

It's good knowing the class requirements beforehand!

Make Sure Your Account Doesn't Have any Holds Before Doing Anything Else

Alright, I attended the Zoom meeting, and I am filled with knowledge! I see the classes I need to take in my first year and I see they are filling up fast. Panic sets in. Instead of listening to my lovely Zoom instructor, I see it as a personal competition to register for my mandatory classes on the days and times I want before it fills up. If I would have listened, the smart thing would have been to check to make sure my account didn't have any holds on it before starting the registration process. All I saw in that moment of panic was that I didn't want to have to take a class at 8am! You don't want to know how much time I wasted because not only did I have to register for the class but some of them had conferencing times and you had to also register for those too! After doing all that work, I get to the final steps in the registration process only to get an error message that my account is on hold! How frustrating! If I would have checked first like the Zoom instructor told us, I would have known there is a hold on my account because I need to speak with Academic Advising first. This leads to my next point:

Gilmore Girls, (WB and the CW)

Speak With an Academic Advisor Before Registering

Even if you are not required to speak to an Academic Advisor, I strongly recommend you should. At my University, mine called me back the next day. She was able to confirm with me that my program doesn't require any exams or courses that I would require to take before signing up for any class. On the other hand, there are those two mandatory classes that I have to take during my first year. I don't need to pass an exam or course to take those. She strongly suggested taking them in order because she didn't when she started University and it was a little confusing for her. We also discussed my future plans on what I want to do with my degree once I graduate. While the Academic Advisor recommends first-year students to not decide on any minors in their first semester, we briefly discussed mine. Turns out, for my minor (Professional Writing) I would either need to pass an English entrance exam or take a class or two before taking classes for my minor. I already have a reminder to call back in the spring so I can arrange this over the summer! I was also told I must attend another Zoom conference and speak with the Academic Advisor there too. Once I go through this process, the hold on my account will be taken off and I can then shop for my classes! I have this  Zoom conference scheduled for the near future and I will probably do another post on that! Even though I took matters into my own hands and spoke to an Academic Advisor already (one was assigned to me once I accepted my offer),  I still need to attend that Zoom conference which is a class registration group session next week. My program and academic goals will be further discussed at length in that meeting. Once I attend that conference, the hold on my account will be removed and I will be able to register for classes!

All in all, I am glad I signed up for these information sessions and spoke to my Advisor early on. I have more knowledge about how to register for my classes and what classes I want/need to take. I feel like a more concrete path lies ahead of me when it comes to school and taking classes. It helped relieve my anxiety too. The interface to register for classes online is pretty easy to navigate but there is so much you need to know beforehand. I am grateful for the students who hosted that informative information session and even the Academic Advisor I spoke to was impressed with how well they presented the process. I have waited so long to be in a position where going to school is a reality that my enthusiasm swept over me. I am glad I was able to keep myself grounded enough to get the information necessary so I can start my first year on the right foot. While I was annoyed at that time, I am also grateful that the University put my account on hold and required me to see an Academic Advisor prior to registering. I can't wait for my next Zoom conference so I can go more in-depth about my goals and my time as a University student. At least I will know that the classes I will be attending will help contribute towards my personal goals. It is very comforting knowing that I will be going in the right direction and will be able to walk out with my degree in a few years! Good luck with signing up with your classes and don't stress too much!