It’s almost time for Spring 2019 registration which means lots of mixed feelings. Many students, including myself, feel stress about planning for the future. I also feel excited as I search for classes that interest me and will help me toward my degree. Since I love helping my friends plan their class schedules, I decided I should try and help everyone out. Below are some tips and tricks I use when planning my course schedule for the following semester.
Use Degree Works
Degree Works can be accessed from the MyGeneseo website. After you login, the Degree Works tab should be among the list of other helpful resources. Degree Works is a report of all classes you have taken or will need to take at Geneseo. It displays the progress made toward your degree and other requirements. Courses that Degree Works lists as required are general education courses and courses for your major.
There is also a “what if” option that lets you add a second major, minor or even a concentration. If you load a new major, minor or concentration into “what if” trial, you will be able to get a sense of whether or not you can complete everything in your desired time at Geneseo.
Use “Plan Ahead”
Once you have an idea of classes you need to take this semester, go to the Registration tab that is also on MyGeneseo. Afterward, hit the plan ahead option and select the appropriate term. Toward the top of the page there is a “Create New Plan” button that you can use to plan your top courses.
Using “plan ahead” is helpful in many ways. It will show a calendar of what your week will look like so you can make sure classes do not overlap. You can’t be in two places at once, so checking the times of classes on the calendar is one of the best tools about “plan ahead.”
Another very useful benefit of “plan ahead” is that when you go to register the morning of your date, there is an option to plug your plan directly into your registration. This saves you a lot of time and effort.
Try to take classes that can count for many requirements
There are many courses that fulfill more than one gen-ed requirement. One example is anthropology 100 which covers a social science and other world. Some major courses can also count toward gen-ed requirements. You don’t need to take another natural science gen-ed if you’re a biology or chemistry major that has to take several different sciences courses for your major already. Some communications courses also fulfill social science requirements.
One way to check this is to use the advanced search engine. If you use the attribute tab, you can try to find overlapping courses that will count for different gen-eds. Overlapping generally occurs with history, geography or anthropology courses. You will probably never find a natural science gen-ed that also counts as a social science.
You can also look at the course directly. If you search one attribute type or major, after you view sections you can hit the name of the course. A separate screen will pop up that shows restrictions, instructor and meeting times, attributes and more. The attributes tab is the one that reveals how many gen-eds a course can count for.
Use Rate My Professor
Rate My Professors is a website that college students use to “rate” their professors. A standard rating will show overall quality, level of difficulty, tags students used to describe the professor, whether or not students would take the professor again and a hotness rating (which shouldn’t matter but was probably added as a joke).
If you scroll through the reviews, some professors will have different reviews for different classes. While a higher overall quality rating is what I generally look at, looking specifically for information about the class could give insight into what your next semester could look like.
Have Back Up Plans
On “plan ahead”, you can create up to five plans. I would clearly label your preferred plan. The website also does this for you. However, some students don’t always get the classes and professors they need or want. You should have other courses and professors planned that could fit into your schedule just in case on the morning of you get locked out of a class. As unlucky as this is, it does happen. Just be prepared in case of emergency.
Ask Your Advisor for Help
If you’re a freshman, your advisor should be emailing you about a meeting that will discuss all of this and more. A hold will also be put onto your account, meaning you can’t register until you meet your professor. Some upperclassmen do not need to meet with their advisors since they do not have holds put onto their accounts as often. If you are an upperclassmen and you do want to meet with your advisor, you can email them about office hours.
Your advisor is assigned to help you. If you need help, go to them.
Talk to Upperclassmen/ Other students
I was lucky enough to get to know some upperclassmen during my freshman year. I have met even more since then. When it is around the time of registration, I often ask for advice about gen-ed professors. If I know a student in my major, I also ask for specific advice.
Most students would be happy to help you figure out your plan. If you want, I would even do it for fun!
I hope these tips help make planning and registering less scary. Good luck planning! I hope you all get the classes you want!
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