This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Fordham chapter.
I registered for my last semester of college this week, cue the ugly crying and sobbing about getting old. Nevertheless, I am extremely happy that it is over, and I am taking what I am taking this semester (Harry Potter and Philosophy, get at me!). After doing this 7 times, I thought I would pass what I have learned over these last 7 semesters down, and help Fordham collegiettes land that perfect schedule.
- Make sure you see/email your advisor to have them lift the registration hold on your account. Yes, that exists. Even some of us veterans forget about it, but realizing the day before you register that your advisor hasn’t lifted the hold can be a nightmare…don’t let it happen. Your advisors are also a great resource for what classes you should take as well as professor recommendations.
- Freshmen, reminder that you have certain classes that have to be completed freshman year… Philosophy of Human Nature, Faith and Critical Reasoning, Comp II. For business majors, there are a few others. Make sure you include those in your schedule. Even if the night before it seems like everything you wanted it closed, just suck it up and take the 8:30; you’ll be glad in the end. You need to get the core done before you can go into fun, upper- level stuff.
- Speaking of the core, try to get as much of it done within your first 2 years here at Fordham. Undecideds, it’s a great way to see if there’s a subject that sparks your interest that you may like to major in. Those who are already decided, it may lead to a minor or a double major. I took my pluralism as my introduction for American Studies, and here I am, a double major, writing a thesis.
- Degreeworks is a great indicator of where you are in terms of the major/core you are working towards. Pro tip- If you click on a specific requirement (take Understanding Historical Change) you can see what courses are being offered that cover that requirement, along with when they are being offered and how many seats are left in the class. This will give you a better idea of just how much luck you’ll need at 7:00 A.M. If there are only 2 seats left, make sure you have a back up plan.
- Schedulizer.com allows you to enter classes you want to take, accesses the school’s registrar, and displays all possible combinations of classes. It can seem overwhelming when 400 possible schedules pop up, but it is a great visualizing tool. If back-to-back Art History and Spanish doesn’t appeal to you, you can imagine it easily here.
- Try the “Double Dip” method. Register for a philosophy EP. A history/globalism, especially if you think the class will be interesting. The classes that count for more than one core requirement usually get filled up fast, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not getting into them as a freshman or sophomore.
- Make multiple schedules that you will be happy with. Odds are, hundreds of you want that 11:30 Faith and Critical Reasoning with Father Denniston, but there are only 35 seats.
- Don’t be afraid of TBA professors. My Faith and Critical Reasoning was Monday/ Thursday 8:30 and TBA… and he wound up being the nicest professor with a great teaching style. It’s all about your attitude towards the class.
- Write your CRNs (the numbers beside the class description that you enter into the system) onto a Post- It the night before and put it on the inside of your laptop. Trying to go back and forth between that Excel/Word document you made to create your schedules is time consuming, and in that time you may just get locked out of your class.
- Wake up about 15 minutes before registration for your credit threshold, aka set an alarm for 6:45. Log into the system, but do not click “Add or Drop Classes” until exactly 7. Trying to refresh the page when already in is harder than getting onto that page. Click around the page so you stay actively logged on (i.e. open blackboard or your email a few times.) When you enter your CRNs and hit submit DO NOT HIT REFRESH. It will go through eventually, it may just be slow.
- REMAIN CALM. You will get classes. The Internet may be slow, the system may crash; these are realities of hundreds of people flooding to one web page. But you will get classes. Your deans are here to help if you are locked out and absolutely HAVE to take that 10:00 Intro to Politics because you are a Poli Sci major and it’s the only one that fits.
Good luck Rams, and…