It’s that time of year again. Pre-registration. A compound noun that, in itself, can strike panic into even the most confident Hoya’s heart. Here are some things that I’ve learned from pre-registration that will make your college experience that more incredible. 1. Don’t always listen to ratemyprofessor.com. Yes, it can be extremely helpful when you have to choose from three or more teachers, but don’t shy away from an interesting class just because the rating of the teacher may not be to your standards. If you find a class interesting, you know you’re going to put in the work no matter what and do well. Don’t let a “poor” rating scare you.
2. Plan ahead. Better said than done. Yes, I know I’m just a freshman, and I have plenty of pre-registrations ahead of me, but planning ahead definitely hasn’t hurt me. I’m in the business school, so I have to take certain business core requirements as well as fill the general Georgetown core. Planning is essential.
3. Seek advice. I don’t know what I would do without my dean or my peer adviser. Even just speaking to someone who can listen while you ramble about your schedule can make you feel better. Trust me.
4. Use MyDegree. It will save your life. You can even select a major and use the “What If” option to let you know which classes you need to take in order to fill all of that major’s requirements.
5. Don’t waste your electives. If you have a lot of elective requirements, I would definitely recommend saving them until the semester you study abroad. That way, you can focus on taking Georgetown-specific courses for now and then take whatever you want when you’re studying abroad. This will definitely save yourself a whole lot of stress.
6. Sign up for a fun class with a friend. This may go completely against the last tip, but if you see a class that looks interesting, don’t be afraid to tell your friend about it. This semester I took a class on Jay-Z with my roommate, and we both love it. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to sign up for it without knowing someone in the class. Plus, it makes studying so much easier when your roommate is prepping for the same tests as you!
7. Time slots matter. Seriously consider when each of your classes is. Even if you are a morning person, waking up for an 8 a.m. every Monday for an entire semester is something that shouldn’t be done unless it is the only section of a really cool class or if it’s the only time slot that will fit into your schedule. I thought I would be fine with early morning classes because of high school, but college is different. I’m staying up later, and even my 9:30 a.m. classes can be the ultimate struggle.
8. Take risks. Always wanted to learn a new language? Sign up for it. That’s the beauty about college. The possibilities are endless.
9. Set up a meeting with your academic dean or adviser and talk about the future. This sort of goes along with planning ahead, but making a draft of a four-year plan, even though it seems unnecessary right now, is definitely beneficial.
10. Get your priorities straight. Don’t hit submit right away. Always go over the ORDER of how you list your classes for pre-registration. Even if you have all the classes you want, you need to prioritize your courses to get the best chance of getting everything. That’s the beauty of Georgetown’s system. It’s an algorithm, so you can spend the entire week of pre-registration planning and not submitting it until the last day and end up with a full schedule. My best friend goes to a school in Connecticut, and when he picks classes, he has to find a place with flawless Wi-Fi and pray that the site doesn’t crash as everyone in his grade dashes to pick classes before all the good ones get filled up.
11. If your pre-registration doesn’t work out, don’t stress it. There’s always the Add/Drop period if you’re unhappy with your schedule. It’s not the end of the world.
12. Yes, there’s the Waitlist, but don’t rely on that. I was waitlisted for one of my classes for the fall semester, and I wasn’t able to get off it. I didn’t let that phase me though. I utilized the Add/Drop period and signed up for a class I never would’ve taken if the first class had worked out. Everything happens for a reason.
13. Know your limits. Nineteen credits may not look like much on paper, but it will definitely feel like that much when you’re drowning in homework every night. College is all about quality, not quantity. Make sure the classes you take are worth it and that you still have time to enjoy everything else Georgetown has to offer.
14. When in doubt, triple check. If you’re trying to fill a requirement, always, ALWAYS make sure the class you pick actually consists of the necessary credentials. Just in case.
15. Lastly, enjoy the experience. Academics are taken seriously at Georgetown, and it definitely shows through students’ enthusiasm with the wide breadth of classes offered. Make the most of it.