It’s that time of year again! No not Spring Fling, but a time of year that we all dread and love as we take one step closer to graduation: registration.
Each year Temple’s students fight to get the best class times and professors, but there may be some students that aren’t hip to this process. I’ll give you a few of the tips that I have learned through my college experience to help ease your registration woes.
1. Plan ahead! I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s true that the early bird catches the worm. Always check the course bulletin for your major information that outlines the sequence and title of courses that must be taken to fulfill its requirements. If you go to www.temple.edu and search for Undergraduate or Graduate Bulletin, you will find loads of information.
2. Look up courses that you will be registering for in the course scheduling (this information is usually made available a few weeks before registration opens). Write down the days, times, and locations and CRNs of these courses so that you can easily refer to this information later. Note: CRNs can be used to register efficiently if you know that certain courses tend to fill quickly. That way you can save time. All you have to do is register for one course and there will be boxes on the bottom of the screen so you can enter all other CRNs at one time!
3. Compare the courses that you have found in the scheduling. Group together courses from most desired schedule to least desired schedule. For example, if your most desired schedule is all Tuesday/Thursday courses, then group together the courses that meet on these days, then arrange them so that courses don’t overlap.
4. Once you actually register: breathe. Maybe you didn’t get the ideal schedule that you wanted or that professor that you heard was hot. The wonderful thing about open registration is that it does not close until the start of the semester and by then you have to worry about late fees (Ain’t nobody got time for that!).
The key to getting what you want is to keep checking. As it gets closer to the start of the following semester, there will usually be people that switch courses or departments add more sections, depending on the need of the course. Sometimes departments even offer “green cards” so that you can get into specific course, but it truly is a fight to use green cards because you must attain the card from the department under which the course falls and then you must gain the approval of the course instructor to sign the card.
The bottom line: It is up to you to take charge of your academic future. Keep in mind the reason that you came to college. We all want to be successful at whatever we do and the first step in that process is being proactive.